This article is part of our FantasyDraft NBA series.
Tuesday's penultimate regular-season slate offers us five games to peruse, but very little in terms of playoff implications. Both the Sixers and Jazz could see playoff seeding slide with losses, while the Wizards could see an improvement with a win, so there will be a degree of motivation there. The rest of the teams on the ledger could certainly throw out some unpredictable rotations, due to either locked-in slots or an absence of a postseason berth. Therefore, we'll do our best to steer clear of some of the potential landmines while trying to identify some solid value at each tier:
GUARDS:
Premium
John Wall, WAS vs. BOS ($15,600): Wall should be back in the lineup after last taking the court on Thursday, so he should certainly be sporting fresh legs Tuesday in what would be his fourth game back from his extended absence due to a knee injury. Wall has compiled 42.25 and 59.50 fantasy points in two of his first three contests back, double-doubling in both games. He posted a 21-point, 14-assist double-double that also included five rebounds and one steal across 39 minutes in his one prior game against the Celtics on Christmas Day -- a performance that netted 51.25 fantasy points. Boston has also been exceedingly vulnerable to point guards of late, allowing the eighth-most fantasy points (56.8) to the position over the last five, along with the second-most made threes (3.6) and second-highest shooting percentage (50.0).
Mid-Tier
Josh Hart, LAL vs. HOU ($11,200): The Sixers' J.J. Redick ($11,500) and the Hawks' Damion Lee ($10,900) both hold appeal at this level as well, but Hart is also worthy of consideration at a price point that's exactly between the two. Kyle Kuzma (ankle) is questionable to take the court Tuesday, while Brandon Ingram (concussion) remains out. Another absence by Kuzma would push Hart back into the starting lineup at two-guard, setting him up for a matchup against a Rockets squad that's allowed 50.9 fantasy points to the position over the last five games -- a sharp uptick from their 39.9 season figure. Hart has been excellent whether coming off the bench or starting since his return from a multi-game absence due to a hand injury, scoring 24.50 to 39.50 fantasy points and logging over 30 minutes in five of the six games during that span.
Affordable
Isaiah Taylor, ATL vs. PHI ($8,800): Taylor's teammate Tyler Dorsey ($9,100) is also an intriguing option at this level if you have a few extra hundred, but Taylor has basically been matching Dorsey's production in recent games. The second-year guard is actually slotted ahead of Dorsey on the point guard depth chart, and he's scored 20.25 to 36.00 fantasy points in six of his last eight contests. He's logged 25 minutes or more in seven contests during that span as well, while sporting a 25.7 percent usage rate. Meanwhile, the Sixers come in allowing 50.5 fantasy points to point guards over the last 10 games -- a full eight-fantasy-point increase over their 42.5 season figure – and the ninth-highest offensive efficiency rating (42.2) to opposing benches overall on the season.
FORWARDS/CENTERS:
Premium
Taurean Prince, ATL vs. PHI ($13,400): Prince has been one of the few bright spots in a rough season for the Hawks, and he comes into Tuesday's contest having scored 30.25 to 55.50 fantasy points in the last three games. The Sixers have been vulnerable to the small forward position all season as well, allowing the fourth-most fantasy points to threes on the campaign (37.3), including the most (63.7) over the last five. They're also allowing the most made threes (5.0) to the position over the latter span, while Prince is draining an impressive 48.0 percent of his 5.0 tries from distance during that same stretch.
Mid-Tier
Ersan Ilyasova, PHI at ATL ($12,300): Ilyasova has been outproducing starter Dario Saric lately, as he's posted four straight double-doubles and has scored 24.25 to 49.50 fantasy points in his last six games overall, with the high end of that range having come against this same Hawks squad on March 30. Ilyasova is sporting a 22.0 percent usage rate and averaging 1.18 fantasy points per minute during that stretch, while Atlanta comes in allowing the ninth-most fantasy points to power forwards (40.5) on the season, along with the 10th-highest offensive efficiency rating (25.4) to the position on the season.
Affordable
Dragan Bender, PHO at DAL ($9,100): Bender has suddenly come alive during the stretch run of the season, scoring 21.25 to 36.50 fantasy points in the last four games. He's upped his shot attempts to 10.0 per game over the last three after having averaged just 5.9 on the season, and he's hit a new level of accuracy that he hadn't been able to display consistently all season. Bender is draining 50.0 percent of his attempts over the last five, including an impressive 42.9 percent of his 5.6 tries from distance, with both figures representing significant improvement over his respective 38.1 percent and 36.2 percent tallies for the season. Meanwhile, the Mavericks come in allowing 51.6 fantasy points to power forwards over the last 10 games, along with the eighth-highest percentage of scoring from three-pointers (30.3) on the campaign overall.
UTILITY
Robert Covington, PHI at ATL ($13,800): Covington is averaging a solid 16.0 points, 3.0 assists, 1.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals across 30 minutes in two games against the Hawks this season. Plus, Atlanta comes in allowing the most fantasy points to small forwards on the season (39.2), including 53.3 over the last five. Meanwhile, Covington has been thriving without Joel Embiid (orbital) in the lineup, scoring 29.00 to 50.75 fantasy points in eight of the last nine games, eclipsing 30 fantasy points in all but one of those contests. It's also worth noting that steals have been a pivotal complementary part of his production (multiple thefts in six of the last seven games), and Atlanta has given up the third-most steals (1.6) to small forwards on the season, including the most (3.4) over the aforementioned five-game sample.
Johnathan Motley, DAL vs. PHO ($10,400): Motley is slated to once again start at power forward Tuesday, setting him up with a premium matchup as a tournament play against a Suns squad that's allowed the third-most fantasy points to power forwards on the season (42.4), including the fourth most (61.5) over the last five. They're also yielding the highest offensive efficiency rating (29.1) to the position on the campaign, along with the fourth-most points in the paint (48.5) on the road. The latter figure has relevance when considering Motley, as he's logged 69.3 percent of his scoring in that area of the floor. Additionally, he's scored 27.00 and 49.50 fantasy points in two of his last three games, and the Suns' pace of 103.7 possessions per game will represent a significant boost in tempo for the Mavericks.
