This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
The pieces for the second round of the playoffs are largely starting to fall in the Western Conference, but the Eastern Conference remains unsettled. However, there are two potential elimination games Tuesday night, as well as a pivotal Game 5. To make matters all the more intriguing, we have the heftiest injury report of the postseason yet, and it's loaded with big names that could well be on their way to sitting out their respective games.
Slate Overview
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Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Tuesday, April 30 @11:45 a.m. ET:
Philadelphia 76ers at New York Knicks (-4.5) (O/U: 204.0)
Orlando Magic at Cleveland Cavaliers (-5) (O/U: 201.5)
Indiana Pacers (-4) at Milwaukee Bucks (O/U: 216.0)
As just alluded to above, there are some moving parts with star players and their injury situations, but it's unclear how much impact that might have on the spreads. Both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard are unlikely to play for Milwaukee, and that's already factored into the Pacers' projected four-point advantage. There is some question about Tyrese Haliburton's availability for Indiana as well, but if he's confirmed as available, the number could grow even further.
The other two games should see their respective lines remain stable, unless Joel Embiid takes a turn for the worse for Philadelphia. The first two games are also unsurprisingly predicted to be very low-scoring contests, given the defenses and styles of play of each squad.
Injury Situations to Monitor
For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.
Joel Embiid, PHI (illness/knee): QUESTIONABLE
Embiid's troublesome knee isn't his only issue, as he also missed Tuesday morning's shootaround due to a migraine. If he were to sit out, which still seems unlikely given the stakes at play for Philadelphia, Paul Reed would move into a starting role while the usage for the rest of the starting five would see a significant boost.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL (calf): DOUBTFUL
In Antetokounmpo's likely absence, Bobby Portis will draw another start at power forward and the rest of the starting five will also see a big jump in opportunity.
Damian Lillard, MIL (Achilles): DOUBTFUL
In Lillard's likely absence, Patrick Beverley (oblique-PROBABLE) will draw another start at point guard and the rest of the starting five will also see a big jump in opportunity.
Tyrese Haliburton, IND (back): QUESTIONABLE
If Haliburton were to sit out, T.J. McConnell should draw the start at point guard, while the rest of the starting five will see big jumps in usage.
Other notable injuries:
Jalen Brunson, NYK (knee): PROBABLE
Khris Middleton, MIL (ankle): PROBABLE
Kelly Oubre, PHI (illness): PROBABLE
Patrick Beverley, MIL (oblique): PROBABLE
Mitchell Robinson, NYK (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
Elite Players
We have three players with five-figure salaries on Tuesday's slate – Joel Embiid ($11,800), Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,100) and Jalen Brunson ($10,300).
Embiid's status is looking a bit more iffy than usual as noted in the previous section, but assuming he suits up in the potential elimination game for Philadelphia, he should be in for as many minutes as he can handle and will look to extend his streak of 50+ FD-point tallies in the series to a fifth consecutive game.
Antetokounmpo continues to look very unlikely to suit up due to his calf injury.
Brunson is apparently mostly over the knee contusion he suffered in Sunday's Game 4 win, and he's earned the five-figure salary after following up a tally of 56.9 FD points in Game 3 with 68.8 FD points in Game 4.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Tyrese Haliburton, IND ($9,300)
Assuming Haliburton is confirmed available, he should remain highly rostered despite somewhat underperforming relative to salary in three of the first four games, as he'll be facing a depleted Bucks first unit.
Tyrese Maxey, PHI ($9,200)
Maxey should be very popular irrespective of Embiid's status, considering the former has scored at least 41.2 FD points in each of the first four games of the series.
Khris Middleton, MIL ($8,900)
Middleton boasts a 38.5 percent usage rate and is averaging 49.6 FD points per 36 minutes without Antetokounmpo and Lillard on the floor, and he checks in having scored 58.5 and 43.5 FD points in the last two games.
Myles Turner, IND ($8,300)
Turner has been dominant down low without Antetokounmpo's length to contend with, scoring 44.3 to 54.8 FD points in the last three games of the series.
Bobby Portis, MIL ($8,200)
Portis should draw another start at power forward and scored 33.2 and 41.6 FD points in Games 2 and 3 before getting ejected after six minutes in Game 4.
Key Values
Brook Lopez, MIL vs. IND ($6,600)
As already mentioned, it's do-or-die time for the Bucks on Tuesday, and Lopez should therefore be involved heavily with his team's two biggest usage monsters off the floor. Lopez is averaging 38.2 FD points per 36 minutes without Giannis and Dame on the floor, and he's scored 28.3 to 39.3 FD points in three of the first four games of the series. The big man has taken double-digit shot attempts in all four first-round games as well, and he's shooting a blistering 60.4 percent, including 55.6 percent from three-point range, in that span.
Kelly Oubre, PHI at NYK ($6,400)
Oubre is probable due to an illness, and he therefore figures to be out there in the 76ers' extremely high-stakes matchup. The talented wing has put together a solid series, averaging 28.4 FD points per contest while shooting 48.6 percent, including 46.2 percent from three-point range. Oubre has done a great job complementing his standard fantasy production with defensive contributions, averaging 2.0 steals and 1.3 blocks per game thus far. He also encouragingly took double-digit shot attempts for the first time in the series in Game 4, and with everything on the line Tuesday, he could certainly be similarly aggressive.
Malik Beasley, MIL vs. IND ($4,700)
With Antetokounmpo and Lillard out in Game 4 and Bobby Portis getting the early hook, Beasley stepped up to provide 26.6 FD points across 34 minutes on the strength of a stellar shooting performance. The veteran went 8-for-12 from the field, including 4-for-7 from behind the arc. Beasley has averaged 22.4 FD points per 36 minutes without Giannis and Dame available this season, but he could be looked to for significant offensive contributions as the starting shooting guard Tuesday due to the stakes of the game. The Pacers are also ranked No. 26 in offensive efficiency rating to shooting guards (24.8), furthering Beasley's case at a salary he's provided over a 5x return on in 26 instances since the start of the season.
ALSO CONSIDER: OG Anunoby, NYK vs. PHI ($6,500)
