This article is part of our DraftKings NBA series.
Team Analysis
Defense to avoid: Cleveland Cavaliers, vs MEM: The Cavaliers are elite against opposing frontcourts, ranking sixth against opposing small forwards, fifth against opposing power forwards and seventh against opposing centers. The Grizzlies are a frontcourt-dominated team, especially with Mike Conley injured, and they are planning to sit Marc Gasol for rest, which further weakens them up front and overall.
Offense to use: New York Knicks, vs PHO: The Suns struggle defensively against four of the five positions, ranking 28th against opposing point guards, 21st against shooting guards, 21st against small forwards and 19th against power forwards. Derrick Rose, Brandon Jennings, Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis all make for good plays on Tuesday.
Teams on Back-to-Backs:
First game: Cavaliers, Grizzlies, Thunder, Magic
Second game: Trail Blazers
Damian Lillard, POR vs OKC ($8,300): If you can afford him, Westbrook is the obvious pick here. Not only for the likely magnitude of his fantasy production (probably at least 65 fantasy points) but for his consistency. That said, if Westbrook is just too pricey, there are three other elite guards that are between $4k and $5k less-expensive who have a reasonable likelihood of popping for 50 fantasy points themselves. Stephen Curry against the Pelicans is a good matchup, and Eric Bledsoe has been on a great run of late, but Lillard gets the call here because: a) his fantasy score has rounded to 50 points or higher in four of his last five games; b) he's playing at home; c) he has the best matchup of the trio, according to DraftKing's opponent rankings; and, d) the Trail Blazers are on a four-game losing streak that Lillard will be doing his best to break against a potential playoff rival.
Zach LaVine, MIN at CHI ($6,300): LaVine has been consistently productive, with over 30 fantasy points in eight of his last nine outings, including three over 40 fantasy points and one over 50. He also has a great match-up against a Bulls defense that ranks 28th in production allowed to opposing shooting guards.
Brandon Jennings, NY at PHO ($4,400): Whether Derrick Rose plays or not, Jennings has been pretty consistently productive. He has produced more than 20 fantasy points in five straight and seven of his last nine games, including a 19-point, 4-assist, 3-rebound, 3-trey effort on Sunday in a game where Rose played 34 minutes. Plus, the Suns rank an awful 28th in production allowed to opposing point guards.
Anthony Davis, NO vs GS ($11,300): Davis is approaching my doghouse, having disappointed (relative to price tag) in three straight games (two games in the 40s of fantasy points and one late scratch). However, this is a guy who has produced 60 or more fantasy points for the majority of the season and is facing a defense ranked 30th in the NBA against his position.
Andre Roberson, OKC at POR ($4,500): Roberson has been solid for a value player for much of the season, but this particular rec is based on the thought that Victor Oladipo may sit on Tuesday. Oladipo injured his wrist on Sunday and had to leave the game, and he didn't participate in practice on Monday. If Oladipo sits, Roberson could be called upon to play a larger role on Tuesday, and adding any offense at all to his usual strong defensive numbers would give him good upside for his price point.
Zach Randolph, MEM at CLE ($5,100): The Grizzlies are sitting Marc Gasol for rest on Tuesday. Randolph is the player on their frontline with the most upside to improve in Gasol's absence, and the team will need him to do it to remain competitive in Cleveland. The risk is that the Grizzlies punt on this game and it becomes a blowout, but at his price point Randolph is worth taking an upside-risk on.
Karl-Anthony Towns, MIN at CHI ($8,600): In his last 10 games, Towns has a floor of 31 fantasy points. That came against Andre Drummond who, frankly, is too physically strong for Towns to comfortably operate against. He also has a ceiling of 80 fantasy points against a Knicks frontline that doesn't have the combo of size and quickness to slow him down. The Bulls' frontline with Robin Lopez is more similar to the Knicks' than the Pistons', and Towns should be able to get what he wants.
Serge Ibaka, ORL at ATL ($6,400):Nikola Vucevic and Bismack Biyombo are both questionable on Tuesday, which means that Ibaka could potentially go from battling for minutes with two other strong bigs to having to carry the load alone. Ibaka is already solid (31.8 fantasy points per over his last six outings), so if he gets more responsibility he has solid upside, even against a strong Hawks frontline.
Tyson Chandler, PHO vs NY ($4,900): Chandler has three straight double-digit rebound games, in which he has averaged 13.7 boards, 9.3 points and 1.7 combined steals/blocks per game. He's coming off a 14 and 21 effort on Sunday against Anthony Davis and the Pelicans, and on Tuesday has a potential revenge game against his former Knicks team, which ranks last in the NBA against opposing centers.
