This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
The postseason is upon us and kicks off Tuesday night with a pair of intriguing Western Conference play-in battles. Naturally, each team knows its opponent and its tendencies extremely well at this juncture, and all should be at full strength in terms of front-line players. That's good news for us on the DFS front, given we're working with such a limited player pool to begin with.
Slate Overview
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Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Tuesday, April 16 @ 11:30 a.m. ET:
Los Angeles Lakers at New Orleans Pelicans (-1) (O/U: 224.5)
Golden State Warriors (-2) at Sacramento Kings (O/U: 223.0)
Both lines are unsurprisingly narrow, and each is noteworthy. The Lakers-Pelicans spread has flipped overnight, with Los Angeles the one-point favorite late Monday. The total has also inched up a point, and that figure could well climb a bit further.
The Warriors-Kings nightcap has seen more stability, with Golden State notably the road favorite right from the onset. The two teams split their four-game series, and one of the Dubs' two victories was indeed at Golden 1 Center. Three of the four matchups notably were decided by a single point.
Injury Situations to Monitor
For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.
Anthony Davis, LAL (back): QUESTIONABLE
Davis suffered hip and back spasms after a collision late in Sunday's regular-season finale with the Pelicans, but he's likely to play barring any turn for the worse given the importance of the game.
LeBron James, LAL (ankle): PROBABLE
James is fully expected to play through his ongoing ankle issues.
Elite Players
We have three players with five-figure salaries on Tuesday's slate – Anthony Davis ($11,500), Domantas Sabonis ($10,800) and LeBron James ($10,300).
If Davis suits up, he'll be looking to build on the 50.7 FD points he scored against New Orleans on Sunday, his fourth straight game with at least that amount in a contest where he's logged over 30 minutes of playing time.
Sabonis didn't make it to the end of the regular season with his double-double streak intact, but he still carries an ultra-safe floor and averaged 45.8 FD points over his last 15 contests. He also scored over 45 FD points in three of four games against the Warriors.
James capped off the regular season by racking up 80.7 FD points against the Pelicans on Sunday and scored over 51 FD points in four of his last five contests. He shot 55.1 percent, including 60.0 percent from three-point range, against New Orleans this season.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
De'Aaron Fox, SAC ($9,900)
Fox wrapped up the regular season averaging 48 FD points over his last 10 games, which should keep him very popular on the small slate.
Zion Williamson, NOP ($9,200)
Williamson averaged 45.9 FD points over his last 11 games of the regular season, and although his scoring was down in Sunday's regular-season finale with Brandon Ingram back on the floor, the big man should remain popular.
Stephen Curry, GSW ($8,900)
Curry averaged 45.6 FD points over the last five games of the regular season while shooting 45.5 percent from three-point range, and on a small slate, he'll undoubtedly be in plenty of lineups at a salary that he can easily blow past.
CJ McCollum, NOP ($8,500)
McCollum's usage will tick down some with Ingram back in the fold, but the star guard should still be highly rostered at his salary given his upside.
Brandon Ingram, NOP ($8,100)
The fact Ingram was able to prove his health in the final game of the regular season with a 23-minute cameo should help him get into plenty of lineups on Tuesday's small slate with his very modest salary.
Key Values
Klay Thompson, GSW at SAC ($6,200)
Thompson languished well below his career norms for a significant chunk of the season, but the veteran came alive at the right time and finished the campaign with a flourish. Thompson averaged an impressive 36.3 FD points over his final six games, averaging 24.7 points on 51.5 percent shooting, including 46.0 percent from behind the arc. Naturally, there's always the risk of a cold spell with him, but at his salary and with a hot hand coming in, he's certainly worthy of consideration for tournaments against a Kings team that yielded 38.0 percent three-point shooting to two-guards this season.
Rui Hachimura, LAL at NOP ($5,700)
Hachimura found his rhythm in the Lakers' starting five over the course of the season, and he wrapped up the campaign as a reliable source of complementary production. The floor-stretching big man averaged 31.4 FD points over his last eight games, a sample during which he shot 56.3 percent, including 41.2 percent from distance. Hachimura eclipsed 40 FD points twice during that sample alone, and he totaled 30.4 against this same Pelicans squad in Sunday's regular-season finale. New Orleans also wrapped up the regular season displaying some vulnerability to power forwards, giving up 50.9 FD points per contest to the position over the last seven games.
Herbert Jones, NOP vs. LAL ($5,600)
Jones is always an interesting play when his salary is well below $6K, given his ability to complement his scoring and rebounding with defensive stats. The talented wing finished the regular season with back-to-back 30+ FD-point tallies, including a 30.5 FD-point effort versus the Lakers on Sunday. For the season, Jones recorded multiple steals in 30 games and multiple blocks in 12 instances, and Los Angeles finished the regular season ranked No. 28 in offensive efficiency rating surrendered to small forwards (25.0).
ALSO CONSIDER: Trayce Jackson-Davis, GSW at SAC ($5,500); Larry Nance, NOP vs. LAL ($4,500)
