We have a small, five-game NBA DFS slate on Tuesday night, including a doubleheader on TNT. It starts with LeBron James and the Lakers heading to Madison Square Garden to play the Knicks at 7:30 p.m. ET before the Pelicans continue their three-game road trip in Denver to play two-time MVP Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets at 10 p.m. ET. Our DraftKings lineup has a good mix of veterans with solid matchups and a few value sleepers under $6K who are the type of low-risk, high-reward options that are key in daily fantasy basketball tournaments.
Before we break down all of our picks, here are the most notable scoring rules for DraftKings contests: Made three-point shot (+0.5 points), rebound (+1.25 points), assists (+1.5 points), steals and blocks (+2 points), double-double (+1.5 points — max one per player) and triple-double (+3 points — max one player).
MORE TUESDAY DFS: FanDuel lineup
Tuesday night’s NBA DraftKings Picks: NBA DFS lineup for GPP tournaments
Tuesday night main slate, $50,000 budget
PG Jalen Brunson, Knicks vs. Lakers ($7,900). Brunson has a favorable matchup tonight at MSG against the Lakers and should be in multiple DFS lineups. This season, the Lakers have allowed the second-most DFS points (52.44) and second-most points (27.17) to PGs. The former Villanova standout is coming off a solid performance against the Nets on Saturday, posting 26 points (10-19 FG, 6-6 FT), four assists, and three rebounds (37.3 DK points). Brunson has scored 35 or more DK points in six out of his past eight games, and he’s averaging 39.18 DraftKings points per game over that span. It wouldn’t be a shock to see Brunson score 35-40 DK points against the Lakers’ backcourt of Patrick Beverley and Denis Schroder, who played 35 and 34 minutes, respectively, in Monday night’s loss to the Nets.
SG Tyler Herro, Heat @ Cavaliers ($6,700). To round out our backcourt for tonight’s main slate, we’ll roll with Herro, who doesn’t have a great matchup against the Cavs but is one of Miami’s top three scoring options. The fourth-year shooting guard is averaging 20.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 37.1 DK points per game. Herro played well in the Heat’s last game against the Hornets on Sunday, producing 37.3 DraftKings points (24 points, five rebounds, and assists) on nine-of-21 shooting, including five-of-nine from three-point range. We hope he can stay locked in against the Cavs, who are allowing the fewest DK points (36.27) and three-pointers made (2.48) to SGs. However, Cleveland is allowing teams to shoot 37 percent from three-point range this season (fourth-highest in the NBA).
SF Paul George, Clippers @ Bulls ($8,900). George is coming off another 40-point DraftKings performance against the Hawks last weekend. The star forward did a little bit of everything, recording 23 points, seven rebounds, and six assists for 43.3 DraftKings points. George is averaging 45.4 DK points per game over his past five games. He will now face a Bulls’ defense that allows the 10th-most DraftKings points per game to SFs (42.88) this season.
PF Evan Mobley, Cavaliers @ Heat ($7,200). The second-year power forward is one of our favorite NBA DFS options no matter who is on the main slate. Mobley has a tough matchup against the Heat, who allow the ninth-fewest DraftKings points per game to PFs (43.41), but we aren’t looking for the former USC standout to drop 20/10 tonight (even though that would be great). In the Cavs’ last game against the Clippers on Sunday, Mobley only had nine points, nine rebounds, three assists, and three blocks in 27 minutes. With Bam Adebayo having to worry about Jarrett Allen, Mobley should be able to score 30 DK points, which would continue his three-game streak with 30 or more DK points.
C Brook Lopez, Bucks vs. Hornets ($6,000). The veteran center didn’t play well in the Bucks’ last matchup against the Hornets, where he had nine points and rebounds (16 DK points) earlier this month. However, we’ll bank on a bounce-back performance against Charlotte tonight, which allows the second-most DK points (59.43) to centers this season. Lopez has scored in double figures in seven out of his past eight games, which has helped him average 28.7 DraftKings points per game. If the veteran can duplicate his past two outings against the Pels and Pacers when he scored 35 and 29.5 DK points, DFS players will receive good value at $6K.
G Max Strus, Heat @ Cavaliers ($4,000). If you are looking for a solid value play at guard, Strus is not a bad option against the Cavaliers. The 26-year-old guard failed to score 20 or more DK points for the third-straight game against the Hornets last weekend (14 DraftKings points), but he has 20-point upside if he can get hot from beyond the arc against a lackluster three-point defense from the Cavs.
F Rui Hachimura, Lakers @ Knicks ($5,000). Hachimura has given the Lakers a much-needed scoring boost off the bench since being acquired from the Washington last week. The former Gonzaga standout is averaging 11.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in three outings with Los Angeles. Even though it’s a small sample size, Hachimura has produced at least 20 DK points in two of those games. He will now play the Knicks, who he saw earlier this month with the Wizards. Hachimura had nine points, four rebounds, and an assist for 18 DK points. We’re hoping for the fourth-year forward can score in double figures tonight at MSG, making him another excellent value play.
UTIL Bones Hyland, Nuggets vs. Pelicans ($4,300). In Denver’s last game against the Sixers, Hyland had 11 points (4-10 FG, 1-6 3pt) and two assists. Even though Bones didn’t shoot the ball great, he still scored 21.8 DraftKings points. The young combo guard will look to build off that solid performance against the Pelicans, who have been middle of the pack in terms of guard defense.
