Written By: Ryan Humphries on Twitter/X & LineStar chat @Ryan_Humphries

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DFS Main Slate Rundown 📰

As 2025 comes to a close, we’re greeted with a modest four-game Tuesday slate. While the player pool is smaller, the overall game environments are solid, highlighted by PHI/MEM and DET/LAL, both of which feature elevated totals and tight spreads. This slate also skews late, with the first tip not coming until 8:00pm ET and two games tipping off at 10:30pm and 11:00pm.

On the injury front, there are a handful of impactful tags to monitor, most notably Joel Embiid and Keyonte George, either of whom could swing roster construction depending on their status. Even with fewer games to work with, there’s enough here to create some interesting builds. It should be a fun little slate, so let’s get down to business. Best of luck!

Main Slate Match-Ups w/ Game Totals & Point Spreads

Today’s Key Injuries 🚑

^{Note: NBA injury reports can be fickle and often update throughout the day. Be sure to stay up-to-date on all injury news leading up to tip-off as the list below may be a bit outdated by the time you’re reading this.}

^{Additional Note: Players who have yet to play this season will be excluded from the injury report, unless they have either a probable, questionable, or doubtful injury designation, with some amount of chance to make their season debut. Injured players who have been out for an extended period of time and/or are not expected to play for a month-plus will also be excluded.}

• 76ers: J. Embiid – Questionable, K. Oubre Jr. – OUT, T. Watford – OUT

• Grizzlies: Z. Edey – OUT, J. Landale – Questionable, V. Williams Jr. – OUT, K. Caldwell-Pope – OUT, B. Clarke – OUT, J. Konchar – OUT

• Celtics: None

• Jazz: K. George – Questionable, A. Bailey – OUT, K. Love – OUT

• Pistons: C. LeVert – OUT

• Lakers: A. Reaves – OUT, R. Hachimura – OUT, G. Vincent – OUT

• Kings: D. Sabonis – OUT, K. Murray – Questionable, Z. LaVine – OUT

• Clippers: I. Zubac – OUT, J. Collins – Questionable, B. Bogdanovic – OUT

Top DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Plays

Note: NBA position designations are never going to perfectly align between the major DFS sites. For the purposes of these newsletters, positional designations will default to DraftKings.

Point Guards/Shooting Guards to Consider 🏀

PG James Harden, LAC | DK: $9.1k, FD: $9.3k | vs. SAC

James Harden has been a major driver of the Clippers’ recent four-game win streak, averaging 45.6 DKFP while logging heavy workloads at 38.8 minutes per game. With Ivica Zubac still sidelined, Harden continues to shoulder more of the offensive burden, seeing his usage climb from 27.7% alongside Zubac to 29.1% with him off the floor, and he’s pushed that even higher to 30.9% over his last five games. Sacramento sets up as a favorable opponent, ranking 27th in defensive rating on the season and allowing the sixth-most fantasy points per game to point guards over their last 20 contests. The Clippers also receive the second-largest pace boost on the slate, further raising Harden’s volume expectations. Harden’s role and minutes are about as stable as it gets and, at these price points, he stands out as one of the strongest high-end guard options on the slate.

PG/SG Derrick White, BOS | DK: $7.4k, FD: $7.8k | at UTA

With Jayson Tatum out of the picture this season, Derrick White has taken on a larger share of the Celtics’ offense and continues to benefit from the elevated role. His usage has climbed to 25.0% over his last five games, and he’s added meaningful upside through defensive stats, averaging 3.0 STL+BLK per game in that span. The matchup sets up extremely well, as Utah ranks third in pace and sits second-to-last in defensive rating, pushing Boston to the highest implied team total on the slate at 125.5 points. White has already shown how well this environment suits him, averaging 47.6 DKFP in games where Boston’s implied total has reached at least 120 points this season. Utah also allows the third-most opponent blocks and the ninth-most opponent steals per game, which plays directly into White’s strengths. He checks a lot of boxes as a steady option with real upside in an elite spot.

PG Isaiah Collier, UTA | DK: $4.3k, FD: $4.8k | vs. BOS

Isaiah Collier has quietly provided steady value, producing at least 21 DKFP in six of his last seven games – including a pair of 38+ DKFP performances in that stretch -- and his outlook improves further with Ace Bailey (hip) sidelined. With Bailey out, Collier should be in line for roughly 25–30 minutes, which is plenty of runway at these price points given his 0.96 FPPM production on the season. PG Keyonte George (illness) is also questionable, and if he’s ruled out, Collier would be a strong candidate to slide into the starting lineup and see an even cleaner path to minutes and usage. This slate naturally pushes builds toward a stars-and-scrubs approach, making affordable guards with stable roles especially important. If Collier’s minutes land where expected, he becomes one of the more useful salary-savers on a short slate.

Other Guards to Consider

PG Luka Doncic, LAL vs. DET

PG Cade Cunningham, DET at LAL

PG Tyrese Maxey, PHI at MEM (Preferred if Embiid is out)

PG Ja Morant, MEM vs. PHI

PG Payton Pritchard, BOS at UTA

SG/SF Hugo Gonzanlez, BOS at UTA

PG/SG Jaden Ivey, DET at LAL

PG Nick Smith Jr., LAL vs. DET

PG/SG Walter Clayton Jr., UTA vs. BOS (Boost if K. George is out)

Small Forwards/Power Forwards to Consider 🏀

SF Kawhi Leonard, LAC | DK: $9.5k, FD: $10k | vs. SAC

Kawhi Leonard has been rolling alongside James Harden during the Clippers’ four-game win streak, and his role has only grown with Ivica Zubac (ankle/out) sidelined. Leonard has topped 54 DKFP in all four of those wins, including a massive 90.25 DKFP outing on Sunday where he scored a career-high 55 points, and Zubac has effectively missed nearly all of that stretch (he played just 11 minutes in the 12/20 game before exiting). With Zubac off the floor this season, Leonard’s usage jumps from 28.3% to a team-leading 34.8%, firmly reestablishing him as the focal point of the offense. Sacramento represents a pace-up boost and a soft defensive matchup, giving Leonard plenty of room to operate as both a scorer and playmaker. Another 90-point eruption isn’t going to happen, but with Leonard looking fully healthy, and his minutes and usage locked in, another 50+ DKFP result is very much on the table.

PF Tobias Harris, DET | DK: $5.2k, FD: $5.4k | at LAL

Harris is affordable and draws a favorable matchup against the Lakers, who rank 25th in defensive rating and have allowed the 10th-most fantasy points per game to starting power forwards over their last 20 contests. Caris LeVert is doubtful, which helps stabilize Harris’ role, even if his minutes don’t consistently push into 30+ territory. He’s not a high-volume option, but he’s efficient enough to get there when the matchup cooperates. At these $5k range price tags, Harris offers a straightforward path to value without needing a ceiling outcome.

SF/SG Brice Sensabaugh, UTA | DK: $4.4k, FD: $4.4k | vs. BOS

Brice Sensabaugh stepped into the starting lineup with Ace Bailey sidelined on Saturday and ended up logging a season-high 34 minutes. The fantasy score was modest at 21 DKFP, but the playing time was the more important takeaway, and he should be in line for another mid-30s workload tonight. Sensabaugh has now topped 20 DKFP in four of his last six games (while mostly playing ≤25 minutes), and his role becomes much more interesting with Bailey off the floor. In those splits, his production jumps from 0.69 to 0.86 FPPM, with usage climbing from 16.0% to 19.1%. If Keyonte George (illness/questionable) is also ruled out, those numbers rise again to 0.93 FPPM and a 21.2% usage rate. Boston is a slow-paced matchup, which caps the overall environment a bit, but when a player priced at $4,400 and has a strong chance to handle mid-30s minutes, that’s a tough potential value to ignore.

Other Forwards to Consider

SF Jaylen Brown, BOS at UTA

PF LeBron James, LAL vs. DET

PF/C Jaren Jackson Jr., MEM vs. PHI

PF/C Santi Aldama, MEM vs. PHI

PF Paul George, PHI at MEM (Boost if Embiid is out)

SF/PF Jake LaRavia, LAL vs. DET (Preferred if starting)

SF/PF Nique Clifford, SAC at LAC

PF Gregory Jackson, MEM vs. PHI

Centers to Consider 🏀

C Jusuf Nurkic, UTA | DK: $6k, FD: $6.2k | vs. BOS

Jusuf Nurkic is a bit of a gamble on this slate given the matchup, as Boston plays at the slowest pace in the league and has allowed the fifth-fewest fantasy points per game to starting centers over its last 20 contests. That said, Nurkic has performed well even in tougher spots recently, averaging an excellent 1.34 FPPM over his last six games, which included matchups against teams like Detroit, Denver, Orlando, Memphis, and the Lakers – all teams that have been stingy against centers this season. During that stretch, he’s posted a double-double average of 13.5 points and 10.8 rebounds, while also providing surprising playmaking value at 6.0 assists per game. If Utah can keep this one competitive as 8.5-point underdogs, Nurkic is far more likely to push past 30 minutes. In that scenario, he has a legitimate path to 40+ DKFP even if the matchup isn’t ideal on paper.

C Brook Lopez, LAC | DK: $5k, FD: $5k | vs. SAC

Brook Lopez is another somewhat volatile option, but he steps into a starting role for the fourth straight game with Ivica Zubac continuing to recover from his ankle injury. BroLo has logged 33+ minutes in back-to-back contests and erupted for 46.8 DKFP against Portland on Friday after knocking down a career-high nine three-pointers. That level of shooting is obviously an outlier, but Lopez has a long track record of producing in extended roles, routinely clearing 30 DKFP across his 80 starts with Milwaukee last season. The matchup also helps, as Sacramento has allowed the most fantasy points per game to starting centers over their last 20 contests. At an even $5,000 on both sites, BroLo remains firmly on the DFS radar when chasing value at center.

Other Centers to Consider

C Joel Embiid, PHI at MEM (Currently questionable)

C Jalen Duren, DET at LAL

C Maxime Raynaud, SAC at LAC

C Christian Koloko, MEM vs. PHI (Only if Landale is out again)

C Luka Garza, BOS at UTA

🔥 Props AI 🔥

In LineStar’s ongoing mission to improve, innovate, and help you reel in some cash, we have rolled out Props AI for NBA – available for LineStar Premium users! This tool can help you find value and mispriced odds on player props from sportsbooks and, more specifically, for PrizePicks, UnderDog Fantasy, and other prop apps/sites!

That will wrap us up with today’s “Daily Dribble” edition! Once again, you can find me on Twitter/X or in LineStar chat @Ryan_Humphries. Good luck everyone!