This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We're set for a solid six-game slate Tuesday, a slightly larger ledger than usual for the second night of the week. There's not a long list of short-term injuries, but the few there are involve some of the biggest names in the NBA.
Slate Overview
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Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Tuesday, 11/19 @ 1:00 a.m. ET:
Cleveland Cavaliers at Boston Celtics (-5.5) (O/U: 232.0)
Charlotte Hornets at Brooklyn Nets (-3) (O/U: 222.5)
Denver Nuggets at Memphis Grizzlies (-4) (O/U: 225.5)
New Orleans Pelicans at Dallas Mavericks (-10.5) (O/U: 220.5)
Oklahoma City Thunder (-8.5) at San Antonio Spurs (O/U: 222.5)
Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Lakers (-11) (O/U: 232.0)
We have a mixed bag of a slate in terms of the expected competitiveness of the games. It's encouraging to see three lines of 5.5 points or fewer, and it's worth noting the Pelicans-Mavericks spread could also narrow some if Luka Doncic is announced as unavailable due to his knee injury.
The Cavaliers-Celtics projected total is the most encouraging one of the night even though it matches the Jazz-Lakers one, as Cleveland and Boston are expected to have a much higher chance of a wire-to-wire matchup as the defending champs strive to be the first team to put a blemish on the Cavs' record.
Injury Situations to Monitor
For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.
Luka Doncic, DAL (knee): QUESTIONABLE
If Doncic were to sit out, Kyrie Irving would see a major boost in usage while Quentin Grimes, Jaden Hardy and Spencer Dinwiddie would likely handle point guard duties between them.
Nikola Jokic, DEN (personal): QUESTIONABLE
If Jokic sits out a third straight game, Dario Saric would likely draw another start after averaging 28.8 FD points in his first two games in Jokic's stead.
Victor Wembanyama, SAN (knee): DOUBTFUL
In Wembanyama's likely absence, Zach Collins is likely to draw another start while the rest of the starting five enjoys increased usage opportunities.
Other notable injuries:
Ja Morant, MEM (hip): OUT
Chet Holmgren, OKC (hip): OUT
Zion Williamson, NOP (hamstring): OUT
Dejounte Murray, NOP (hand): OUT
CJ McCollum, NOP (thigh): OUT
Kristaps Porzingis, BOS (foot): OUT
Zach Edey, MEM (ankle): OUT
Aaron Gordon, DEN (calf): OUT
Mark Williams, CHA (foot): OUT
Jeremy Sochan, SAN (thumb): OUT
Walker Kessler, UTA (hip): OUT
Caris LeVert, CLE (knee): QUESTIONABLE
Payton Pritchard, BOS (thumb): QUESTIONABLE
Marcus Smart, MEM (illness): QUESTIONABLE
Rui Hachimura, LAL (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
Tre Mann, CHA (back): QUESTIONABLE
Anthony Davis, LAL (foot): PROBABLE
Elite Players
We have seven players with five-figure salaries on Tuesday's slate – Nikola Jokic ($12,500), Victor Wembanyama ($11,700), Luka Doncic ($11,600), Anthony Davis ($11,200), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($10,800), Jayson Tatum ($10,300) and LeBron James ($10,000).
If Jokic returns from his two-game absence, he should certainly be well rested and will be looking to build on the 86.1 FD points he produced his most recent time on the floor Nov. 10.
Wembanyama appears highly unlikely to play, but if he were to unexpectedly suit up, he'd be looking to build on a four-game stretch where he's scored 56.3 to 71.2 FD points.
If Doncic can make it back from his one-game absence, he'll look to exceed 50 FD points for his third straight non-injury-shortened game.
Davis is enjoying a season reminiscent of his Pelicans heyday and has scored 64.4 and 56.3 FD points in his last pair of contests.
SGA is now averaging 50.3 FD points per game on the season and has tallies of between 52.5 and 82.1 FD points in three of his last four games, which coincides with the contests Chet Holmgren has missed thus far with his hip injury.
Tatum has scored at least 41.8 FD points in seven straight games and is starting to accumulate a bit of rest after a very busy start to the season, as Tuesday's game is only the Celtics' second in the last six days.
LeBron dipped to 33.9 FD points in 37 minutes against the Pelicans on Saturday but had scored 48.2 to 67.4 FD points in his eight prior games.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
LaMelo Ball, CHA ($9,600)
Ball has scored at least 43.8 FD points and as many as 54.8 in six straight games, the type of production and consistency that should make him very reliable at his salaries.
Donovan Mitchell, CLE ($9,400)
Mitchell will play a key role in the marquee matchup of the night and scored 58.1 to 60.6 FD points in the three games prior to taking a rest day Sunday that should leave him particularly refreshed for this matchup.
Kyrie Irving, DAL ($8,900)
Kyrie scored a modest 32.2 FD points despite Doncic's absence in the Mavs' most recent game Sunday, but his ceiling is naturally much higher and he could be taking the floor without his star backcourt mate again.
Jalen Williams, OKC ($8,800)
Williams has also seen elevated usage since Holmgren's injury, posting 45.5 to 64.7 FD points in three of the four games the big man has missed thus far.
Brandon Ingram, NOP ($8,600)
Ingram continues to carry a salary that isn't commensurate to his current expanded role, as he's scored 51.3 and 53.8 FD points in the last two games without Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum available while averaging 24.5 shot attempts and 37.5 minutes per contest.
Key Values
Jrue Holiday, BOS vs. CLE ($5,600)
Holiday sat out Saturday's game against the Raptors for knee injury management, but he carries no injury designation for Tuesday's showdown with the Cavaliers and should be very rested considering his last time on the floor was Wednesday. Holiday scored 39.2 FD points in that game against the Nets, his first time over 30 FD points since Opening Night against the Knicks. The veteran guard does have another tally of 29.3 FD points this season and averaged a solid 24.8 FD points in the seven games preceding his season-best effort versus Brooklyn. The Cavaliers have been about middle of the pack defending point guards, but they've surrendered 38.5 percent three-point shooting to ones. Cleveland has also conceded the third-most points (27.3) and a league-high 5.2 made threes to PGs over the last seven games, brightening Holiday's outlook further.
Trey Murphy, NOP at DAL ($5,400)
Murphy was just starting to get into a rhythm after playing three games following a delayed season debut when he sat out Saturday's game against the Lakers due to a hamstring injury. However, the talented guard is off the injury report ahead of Tuesday's matchup against the Mavericks and is coming off having scored 32.1 FD points in his most recent game against the Nuggets on Friday. Even if Murphy's shot is still a bit rusty, the fact he'll have plenty of increased usage opportunities with McCollum and Williamson still out for New Orleans and the fact Dallas is allowing 48.3 FD points per game to power forwards makes him very worthy of consideration at his salary.
D'Angelo Russell, LAL vs. UTA ($5,000)
Russell is admittedly best left for tournament play, as he's been a bit inconsistent in his bench role. However, consider that this is a salary you'll never see attached to the talented point guard, who already has one tally of 32.4 FD points since his move to the second unit. Russell has been cleared from an illness that was bothering him his last time out on the floor Saturday, and he's facing a Jazz squad allowing the fourth-highest offensive efficiency rating to point guards (29.6) and fifth highest to bench players (47.2), along with 58.3 FD points per game to ones in the last seven contests.
ALSO CONSIDER: Scotty Pippen, MEM vs. DEN ($5,800); Devin Vassell, SAN vs. OKC ($5,700); Zach Collins, SAN vs. MEM ($5,400)
