This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We have a compact four-game slate on tap Tuesday night, and although that naturally leaves us with a narrow player pool, we have what projects to be a fairly competitive night with several teams that are on the second night of back-to-back sets. The injury report is also fairly light, although there are some big names either confirmed out or in danger of sitting.
Slate Overview
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Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Tuesday, 1/28 @12:30 a.m. ET:
Los Angeles Lakers (-4) at Philadelphia 76ers (O/U: 217.5)
Houston Rockets (-6.5) at Atlanta Hawks (O/U: 227.5)
Milwaukee Bucks (-6.5) at Portland Trail Blazers (O/U: 230.5)
Utah Jazz at Golden State Warriors (-11.5) (O/U: 229.5)
As alluded to earlier, it looks like we could be in store for mostly competitive games Thursday if point spreads are any indication. However, Rockets-Hawks line is one to keep an eye on, considering Atlanta will be a bigger underdog if Trae Young is sidelined for a second straight game.
Projected totals are also encouraging, considering that three of the games sit above 227 points and two also have reasonable spreads for the time being.
Injury Situations to Monitor
For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.
Paul George, PHI (finger): OUT
With George sitting out, Justin Edwards and Ricky Council could handle the majority of small forward minutes, while Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre should see even more usage than usual.
Trae Young, ATL (hamstring): QUESTIONABLE
If Young, who sat out Monday's loss to the Timberwolves, is absent again, Vit Krejci is likely to remain in the starting five at point guard.
Jalen Johnson, ATL (shoulder): OUT
In Johnson's absence, David Roddy and De'Andre Hunter should handle the majority of minutes at power forward.
Deandre Ayton, POR (knee): QUESTIONABLE
If Ayton can't play, Donovan Clingan and Robert Williams are likely to absorb all the playing time at center.
Other notable injuries:
Joel Embiid, PHI (knee): OUT
John Collins, UTA (illness): OUT
Draymond Green, GSW (calf): OUT
Bobby Portis, MIL (personal): GTD
Dyson Daniels, ATL (ankle): GTD
Walker Kessler, UTA (shoulder): GTD
Andre Drummond, PHI (toe): OUT
Guerschon Yabusele, PHI (knee): PROBABLE
Anthony Davis, LAL (calf): PROBABLE
LeBron James, LAL (foot): PROBABLE
Elite Players
We have three players with five-figure salaries on Tuesday's slate – Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,900), Anthony Davis ($11,400) and Tyrese Maxey ($10,000).
Antetokounmpo just went off for 71.1 FD points across 36 minutes against the Jazz on Monday, and he hasn't scored less than 52 FD points in five straight contests overall.
Davis has scored 66.1 to 74.6 FD points in three of the last four games, with the latter figure coming in a massive 42-point, 23-rebound double-double across 37 minutes in a win over the Hornets on Monday.
Maxey will be taking the floor without both Joel Embiid and Paul George, a scenario in which he boasts a 32.5 percent usage rate and averages 42.2 FD points per 36 minutes.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
LeBron James, LAL ($9,900)
LeBron scored over 43 FD points in six consecutive games before a slight dip to 37.4 on Monday, and he should remain highly rostered on such a small slate.
Damian Lillard, MIL ($9,800)
Lillard has now hit the 50 FD-point mark in five of the last six games after hitting that mark exactly Monday against the Jazz.
Amen Thompson, HOU ($8,800)
Thompson capped off an outstanding night against the Celtics on Monday with the game-winning shot, one where he posted 54.8 FD points after recording 60.8 against the Cavaliers on Saturday.
Deni Avdija, POR ($7,600)
Avdija totaled 51.6 FD points against the Thunder on Sunday and has two other tallies of over 40 FD points within the last three games, excellent upside for his salary.
Kelly Oubre, PHI ($7,200)
Oubre will play without Embiid and George on Tuesday, and he already checks in having scored 47.1 and 43.9 FD points in his last two games.
Key Values
Collin Sexton, UTA at GSW ($6,300)
Sexton has scored at least 31 FD points in seven of his last 11 games alone, a highly desirable floor made all the more appealing by his very reasonable salary. The veteran guard hasn't scored less than 26 in any of the other four games, either, and his fantasy production has actually been trending upward for well over a month. Sexton is averaging 33.8 FD points on the strength of 21.6 points (on 38.0 percent three-point shooting), 5.6 assists and 3.5 rebounds across the 16 contests he's suited up for since Dec. 19. The Warriors also check in allowing an elevated 47.7 FD points per game to point guards, and the Jazz-Warriors clash has the second-highest projected total of the night as of late Monday night.
De'Andre Hunter, ATL vs. HOU ($5,800)
Hunter turned in a season-best performance Monday night against the Timberwolves with all of Trae Young, Dyson Daniels and Jalen Johnson sidelined. With Johnson already ruled out for the time being, and Young and Daniels dealing with tricky hamstring and ankle injuries, it's certainly possible all three players are out again Tuesday. Hunter was already sporting a team-high 38.5 percent usage rate with all three players off the floor going into Monday, when he recorded 35.9 FD points and 35 actual points against the Timberwolves. Hunter is a very scoring-dependent player and therefore carries risk, but Hunter has already delivered over a 5x return on his current salary on 13 occasions this season. The Rockets are a tough defensive matchup, but given the potential for elevated usage again, Hunter is a very viable tournament play at his sub-$6K salary.
Toumani Camara, POR vs. MIL ($5,300)
Camara continues to demonstrate an ability to outpace his current salary by a comfortable margin, with the most recent example coming Sunday when he shook off a tough matchup against the Thunder by recording 37.8 FD points with the help of 8-for-11 shooting, including 5-for-5 from behind the arc. The second-year wing has been on a mostly productive run for much of the last month, averaging 28.6 FD points over his last 14 games even when factoring in two extremely rare scoreless efforts in that span. The opposing Bucks have been a tough task for small forwards all season, but Camara has already clearly proven capable of still churning out strong numbers in those scenarios.
ALSO CONSIDER: Tari Eason, HOU at ATL ($5,500); Dillon Brooks, HOU at ATL ($4,700)
