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

NBA DFS Today w/ Tyler Wiemann

🏀Tyler’s NBA prop bets can be found on the LineStar YouTube Shorts page!🏀

DFS Main Slate Rundown 📰

It’s a light Tuesday across the NBA with just four games on tap for this evening’s main slate, which gets underway at 7:30 PM ET. The matchups are middling on paper, but at least the injury report is manageable, which should help keep roster construction straightforward. Let’s jump right into the plays and see where the value shakes out. 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 Be sure to stay up-to-date on all injury news leading up to tip-off as the list below may be a bit outdated by the time you’re reading this.}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.}

• Pacers: I. Zubac – OUT, A. Nesmith – Questionable, J. Furphy – OUT (will miss remainder of season w/ a torn ACL, so he’ll be excluded from future injury reports), TJ McConnell – Questionable, M. Potter – Questionable

• Knicks: OG Anunoby – Questionable, M. McBride – OUT, M. Robinson – OUT

• Clippers: D. Garland – OUT

• Rockets: None

• Mavs: K. Thompson – Questionable

• Suns: G. Allen – OUT, C. Anthony – OUT, I. Livers – OUT

• Spurs: None

• Lakers: L. Doncic – OUT, L. James – OUT, A. Reaves – OUT, D. Ayton – Questionable, M. Smart – 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/SG Devin Booker, PHX | DK: $8.1k, FD: $8.2k | vs. DAL

After missing seven games with an ankle injury, Booker returned to the lineup Saturday and turned in a solid showing with 21 points and nine assists. The most encouraging part was the workload, as he logged just over 32 minutes in his first game back following a two-week layoff and has since had three full days to recover. Booker has spent most of the season priced in the high-$8k to low-$9k range, so if he’s back to essentially normal starter minutes, he stands out as one of the stronger values at the position. The matchup only helps, as Dallas has ranked dead last in DvP versus starting shooting guards over the last 20 games. The Suns are also tied with the Knicks for a slate-leading 118.5 implied team total this evening and Phoenix receives the largest positive pace differential on the slate.

SG/SF Marcus Smart, LAL | DK: $5k, FD: $4.8k | vs. SAS

With Luka Doncic (hamstring/out) set to miss a third straight game, Smart should continue to operate in a more stable and clearly defined role. Without Luka on the floor, he’s produced 28.75 and 32.75 DKFP in his last two outings, and the on/off splits help explain why. Smart jumps from 14.0% USG%, 10.5% AST%, and 0.67 FPPM with Luka active to 18.7% USG%, 18.0% AST%, and 0.81 FPPM with him off the floor. Austin Reaves does not currently carry an official injury designation, but with the Lakers on the second leg of a back-to-back, he would be a logical candidate to sit after dealing with a long injury absence of his own recently, which would only enhance Smart’s outlook. As things stand, Smart projects for around 32.0 minutes as the starting point guard and draws a favorable matchup against a Spurs team that has allowed the most FPPG to starting PGs over their last 20 games.

Update: Smart has been ruled out.

PG Jose Alvarado, NYK | DK: $3.5k, FD: $4k | vs. IND

The injury report is fairly clean on this slate, which limits the amount of obvious value available (note: this was written before half of the Lakers team was ruled out), but Alvarado stands out as a viable punt option at guard. He made his Knicks debut Sunday and immediately made his presence felt, scoring 12 points while adding two assists, two rebounds, and two steals, good for 24.0 DKFP in just over 25 minutes. While it’s obviously a small sample, the role is worth monitoring, especially with OG Anunoby (toe/questionable) potentially missing another game. With Miles McBride likely sidelined until the playoffs, Alvarado appears positioned to handle the primary backup point guard duties behind Jalen Brunson. The matchup also checks out, as Indiana has ranked 28th in DvP versus reserve guards this season, making Alvarado a reasonable salary-saving option if the minutes hold in the mid-20s again and he continues to build chemistry with his new teammates.

Other Guards to Consider

PG Jalen Brunson, NYK vs. IND

PG/SF Cooper Flagg, DAL at PHX

SG Stephon Castle, SAS at LAL

PG Andrew Nembhard, IND at NYK

SG/SF Josh Hart, NYK vs. IND

SG Max Christie, DAL at PHX

SG/SF Jordan Goodwin, PHX vs. DAL

PG/SG Brandon Williams, DAL at PHX

PG/SG Dylan Harper, SAS at LAL

PG/SG Luke Kennard, LAL vs. SAS (Boost if starting)

SG/SF Dalton Knecht, LAL vs. SAS

SG Bronny James, LAL vs. SAS

Small Forwards/Power Forwards to Consider 🏀

PF LeBron James, LAL | DK: $8.9k, FD: $9.2k | vs. SAS

LeBron has now posted three straight points-and-assists double-doubles and should once again run the offense with Luka Doncic sidelined and Austin Reaves working off the bench. With Luka off the floor this season, LeBron has seen his role expand significantly, sporting a 32.7% USG%, a massive 43.4% Assist%, and 1.42 FPPM – all notable jumps from his on-court numbers alongside Luka (26.8% USG%, 27.0% Assist%, 1.15 FPPM). If Reaves were to sit as well, even more responsibility would funnel LeBron’s way. He also flirted with a triple-double the last time he faced San Antonio, posting a 19/15/8 line and 55.75 DKFP back on December 10th. While he logged 36 minutes against OKC last night, a home matchup against Wembanyama and the Spurs is the type of spot LeBron has consistently shown he can step up in, even in his age-41 season.

Update: LeBron has been ruled out. Plenty of value options available for LAL now.

SF Dillon Brooks, PHX | DK: $6.6k, FD: $6.6k | vs. DAL

Even with Devin Booker returning in the Suns’ last game, Dillon Brooks still hoisted 23 shots, scored 28 points, and led the team in usage at 29.2%. Most of his fantasy production continues to come via scoring, as the peripherals and defensive stats have been almost nonexistent lately, which does introduce some volatility if his shot isn’t falling. That said, the situational setup is strong once again. Grayson Allen will miss a second consecutive game with a knee injury, which stabilizes Brooks’ role and minutes. And, as noted with Booker, Phoenix draws the largest pace boost on the slate. Brooks also owns the best individual matchup among all small forwards on this slate. Dallas ranks 27th in DvP versus starting SFs, with the next-closest team checking in all the way up at 16th. Brooks has shown he’s not going to shy away from chucking it and he’s likely going to put up 20+ shots again tonight.

SF/SG Ben Sheppard, IND | DK: $3.5k, FD: $3.8k | at NYK

With Johnny Furphy going down with a torn ACL on Sunday and with Bennedict Mathurin and Isaiah Jackson shipped off to the Clippers in the Zubac trade, there should be some additional minutes for Ben Sheppard to work with off the Pacers’ bench. That would be especially true today if Aaron Nesmith (hand/questionable) were to sit. Sheppard has averaged a respectable 0.94 FPPM over his last five games off the bench and currently projects for 21.0 minutes tonight. This game also has the most blowout potential on the slate with the Pacers being 12.5-point underdogs on the road. So, there is a decent chance that Sheppard could pick up additional minutes in the fourth quarter should things get out of hand – similar to the last game versus Toronto when Sheppard finished the game with 27 minutes, resulting in 24.2 DKFP. It’s not a slam dunk value play, but one that could easily work out.

Other Forwards to Consider

SF Kawhi Leonard, LAC at HOU

PF Jabari Smith Jr., HOU vs. LAC

PF OG Anunoby, NYK vs. IND (Currently questionable)

SF/PF Royce O’Neale, PHX vs. DAL

SF/PF Jarace Walker, IND at NYK (Boost if Nesmith is out)

SF/SG Jake LaRavia, LAL vs. SAS

SF/PF Rui Hachimura, LAL vs. SAS

PF Jarred Vanderbilt, LAL vs. SAS (Boost if starting)

Centers to Consider 🏀

C/PF Alperen Sengun, HOU | DK: $9.5k, FD: $10.1k | vs. LAC

The Rockets–Clippers matchup isn’t especially appealing at first glance, as it features two bottom-five pace teams in a game with a low 213.5 total. However, that kind of environment isn’t always a negative for bigs since slower tempos can create more rebounding chances and allow centers and power forwards to stay efficient without constant baseline-to-baseline sprinting. Sengun has already fared well against the Clippers this season, averaging 20.5 PPG, 13.0 RPG, 6.0 APG, and 2.5 STL+BLK across two meetings. With Ivica Zubac now out of the picture, this Clippers frontcourt is more exploitable, and Sengun comes in riding momentum after a 17/12/11 triple-double with three steals and three blocks against OKC on Saturday. On a slate with limited appealing spend-up options and real blowout risk in games like NYK–IND and LAL–SAS, Sengun stands out as a sensible high-end piece to build around.

C Daniel Gafford, DAL | DK: $4.9k, FD: $5.7k | at PHX

Gafford comes with some volatility, but when his minutes push into the mid-20s, he usually does enough to pay off at these price points. He ran into foul trouble last game and was limited to just 18 minutes while also getting outplayed by Marvin Bagley III off the bench, but that was the outlier – he logged 25+ minutes in each of the four games prior. The fact that he carries no injury designation tonight is another positive sign for his potential workload since he has spent plenty of time listed on the injury report this season. Gafford has averaged a steady 1.12 FPPM over his last five games and draws a favorable matchup against a Suns team that has allowed the third-most FPPG to starting centers over their last 20 games.

Other Centers to Consider

C Victor Wembanyama, SAS at LAL

C Karl-Anthony Towns, NYK vs. IND

C Mark Williams, PHX vs. DAL

C/PF Jay Huff, IND at NYK

C Jaxson Hayes, LAL vs. SAS (Boost if Ayton is out)

C/PF Drew Timme, LAL vs. SAS (Only if Ayton is out)

🔥 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!