Tuesday's six-game slate is a gift for NBA DFS managers who carefully track the NBA injury report, as key absences shift NBA depth charts and create immense value. Stars like Wembanyama, Morant, and Banchero are out, directly impacting NBA lineups and making their replacements crucial. We've identified players like Jalen Johnson, De'Aaron Fox, and Jaren Jackson who gain significant usage bumps and are set to deliver elite NBA player stats against favorable matchups. Focus on value plays like Daniss Jenkins and Payton Pritchard to afford the slate's high-ceiling options and crush your daily contests.
Slate Overview
For the latest spreads and over-unders, visit RotoWire's NBA Odds page. There, you can also find player props, futures, picks articles and sportsbook bonus codes.
Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Tuesday, Nov. 18 @12:00 p.m. ET:
Golden State Warriors (-3.5) at Orlando Magic (O/U: 223.5)
Boston Celtics (-11) at Brooklyn Nets (O/U: 221.5)
Memphis Grizzlies at San Antonio Spurs (-6) (O/U: 232.5)
*Detroit Pistons (-1) at Atlanta Hawks (O/U: 229.5)
Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Lakers (-12.5) (O/U: 239.5)
Phoenix Suns at Portland Trail Blazers (-2) (O/U: 236.5)
* Denotes team on second night of back-to-back set
Tuesday's betting lines paint a fairly encouraging picture, given the four games with totals of 229.5 and above and the single team on a back-to-back set. The pair of double-digit spreads isn't ideal for DFS purposes, but given the defensive deficiencies of the underdogs in those contests, there's still plenty to explore in terms of potentially rewarding individual matchups.
Injury Situations to Monitor
For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.
Victor Wembanyama, SAN (calf): OUT
In Wemby's absence Tuesday, Luke Kornet and Kelly Olynyk are likely to handle the majority of center minutes, while De'Aaron Fox and Devin Vassell will be among those primed for the biggest bumps in usage considering Stephon Castle will also be sidelined due to a hip injury.
Ja Morant, MEM (calf): OUT
In Morant's absence, Vince Williams and Cam Spencer may handle the majority of point guard minutes, while Jaylen Wells and Jaren Jackson may be among the biggest beneficiaries in terms of usage.
Paolo Banchero, ORL (groin): OUT
In Banchero's absence, Tristan da Silva is likely to continue starting at power forward and Franz Wagner will have even more opportunity than usual.
Cade Cunningham, DET (hip): QUESTIONABLE
If Cunningham remains sidelined, Daniss Jenkins is expected to continue handling heavy minutes at point guard, and Jalen Duren will likely see even more scoring responsibility than usual.
LeBron James, LAL (back): QUESTIONABLE
If LeBron is able to make his season debut, the likes of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves will see at least a slight hit to their usage.
Other notable injuries:
Stephon Castle, SAN (hip): OUT
Trae Young, ATL (knee): OUT
Grayson Allen, PHO (quadriceps): OUT
Jrue Holiday, POR (calf): DOUBTFUL
Onyeka Okongwu, ATL (knee): QUESTIONABLE
Kristaps Porzingis, ATL (knee): QUESTIONABLE
Ausar Thompson, DET (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
Jalen Suggs, ORL (groin): QUESTIONABLE
Elite Players
We have two players with five-figure salaries that have a chance to play on Tuesday's slate – Luka Doncic ($12,500) and Cade Cunningham ($10,600).
Doncic has scored over 56 FD points in three of the last four games, but he could be welcoming back LeBron James on Tuesday, a scenario that would result in at least a slight reduction in the star point guard's opportunities.
If Cunningham is able to return from a three-game absence Tuesday, he'll have the unenviable task of trying to follow up his 95.9 FD-point showing in his most recent contest and will likely be a good bet to approximate his season average of 51.7 FD points.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Jalen Johnson, ATL ($9,400)
Johnson continues to see elevated usage in the ongoing absence of Trae Young (knee) and has scored 45 to 88.6 FD points in his last four contests, numbers that should lock in a high roster rate Tuesday.
Devin Booker, PHO ($9,200)
Booker has been a virtual lock for at least 40 FD points of late, and his reliability and salary should therefore keep him popular Tuesday.
Deni Avdija, PHO ($8,800)
Avdija just scored 48.7 FD points in his most recent contest against the Mavs, and he has 41.7 FD points or more in five of his last seven games.
Lauri Markkanen, UTA ($8,300)
Markkanen has been on a multi-game tear that's featured tallies of 44.6 to 69.4 FD points in his last three games, production that's bound to lead to a very high roster rate Tuesday.
De'Aaron Fox, SAN ($8,300)
Fox is primed to handle massive usage due to the absences of Wembanyama and Castle, and he already checks in having scored 51.8 and 47.9 FD points in his last two contests.
Key Values
Jaren Jackson, MEM at SAN ($6,600)
Jackson is set to see his minutes and opportunities rise considerably Tuesday, as Ja Morant will begin a multi-game absence due to his calf injury. Jackson has gotten plenty of experience running the floor without his star teammate in recent seasons due to the latter's plethora of suspensions and injuries, and the big man already sports a 29.1% usage rate without Ja on the court this season. Additionally, Jackson catches a nice break in the form of Victor Wembanyama's absence on the other side, and the former has also scored over 32 FD points in seven of 14 games under less ideal circumstances than the ones he'll play under Tuesday.
Payton Pritchard, BOS at BKN ($6,100)
Pritchard's best production typically comes at TD Garden, but the veteran sharpshooter is still putting up a solid 27.8 FD points per game on the road on the strength of 14.1 points, 5.0 assists and 4.3 rebounds per contest in that split. Pritchard has delivered over 5x his current salary on six occasions in 14 games overall, with half those instances coming on the road. Additionally, he's locked into one of the best possible matchups for backcourt players with scoring-dependent fantasy production Tuesday, as the Nets are surrendering the fourth-most FD points per game to two-guards (45.1) and NBA-high 52.6 percent shooting at home overall.
Daniss Jenkins, DET at ATL ($5,600)
Jenkins is under consideration whether or not Cade Cunningham is available Tuesday, as the undrafted second-year player has arguably carved out a solid role for himself in the rotation under any circumstance. Jenkins has been outstanding over the last four contests – including the last game Cunningham was available for – averaging 41.7 FD points on 21.8 points, 7.8 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals per contest. The St. John's product is shooting a blistering 47.6 percent from three-point range during the sample as well, and the opposing short-handed Hawks check in allowing the sixth-most FD points per game to point guards (55.0) in the last seven contests.
ALSO CONSIDER: Cedric Coward, MEM at SAN ($5,500); Keldon Johnson, SAN vs. MEM ($4,700)
