NBA DFS First Look & Optimal Lineup Picks Today

The Slate Starter is a daily first look at to get your daily fantasy basketball lineup-building process started before lock tonight. Each day, we will go through some of the best NBA DFS picks, top stacks and optimal lineup construction for DraftKings and FanDuel. Be sure to check Awesemo’s NBA Starting Lineups page, as it will be updated throughout the day as the NBA injury reports are released and breaking news surfaces. Let’s dive into some players who stand out as key options on Tuesday’s seven-game main slate.

Want to see how your lineup stacked up against yesterday’s winning NBA DFS lineups on DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo? Check out Awesemo’s Optimal Lineup Review, which uses Fantasy Cruncher Rewind to analyze the winning plays from the night before.

DraftKings & FanDuel NBA DFS Lineup Advice Today

Stephen Curry, PG, Golden State Warriors

It’s been an odd year for Curry. He came out of the gates red hot, leading the Warriors to an 18-2 record through their first 20 games. Curry emerged as a massive favorite to win the MVP, which would be the third of his career.

Unfortunately, he has cooled off substantially since then. Overall, he’s shooting just 41.5% from the field and 37.6% from 3-point range, both of which would be the lowest full-season marks of his career.

However, he’s started to turn the corner recently. He’s coming off a massive performance Monday vs. the Rockets, scoring 40 points with seven 3-pointers. He also made six 3-pointers three games ago, so it’s possible that Curry is officially out of his slump.

If that’s the case, Curry is underpriced across the industry. He’s down to just $10,200 on DraftKings and $9,300 on FanDuel, and those are excellent price tags for him. Only three players are projected for more points on Tuesday, and they’re all substantially more expensive.

Latest NBA DFS Content

Nicolas Claxton, C/PF, Brooklyn Nets

The absences are starting to pile up for the Nets. Kevin Durant remains out of the lineup, and he’ll be joined by LaMarcus Aldridge and Paul Millsap on Tuesday.

That should result in a few additional minutes for Claxton. He played just 17 minutes in his return to the lineup on Saturday, but he’s currently projected for 27.6 minutes vs. the Suns. That’s a substantial uptick. Claxton has averaged 0.95 DraftKings points per minute this season, so 10 additional minutes is a big deal. The Suns are a tough matchup, and the Nets are currently implied for just 106.5 points, but Claxton still stands out as one of the best sources of value on the slate.

The only concern is his potential ownership. If his ownership projection is too high, he’ll own a negative leverage score in the Boom/Bust Tool.

JaVale McGee, C, Phoenix Suns

Deandre Ayton remains out of the lineup for the Suns, but McGee did return to the lineup in their last game. Bismack Biyombo continues to play the lion’s share of the center minutes, but that still leaves enough for McGee to be fantasy relevant. He’s an elite producer on a per-minute basis – he’s averaged 1.32 DraftKings points per minute this season – so he doesn’t need a ton of playing time to return value.

The price difference between McGee and Biyombo makes the former the superior value on Tuesday. He’s priced at just $4,200 on DraftKings, while Biyombo is all the way up to $5,500.

McGee could also provide some value in the player prop market. He racked up five points and seven rebounds in his last outing, and he did that in just 14 minutes. Make sure to take advantage of the Awesemo Player Prop tool, which highlights the most exploitable prop bets each day.

Thanks for reading to the end of this article! If you appreciate this free content and want to see more of it every day, you can help us out by sharing this article on social media!