It is a quiet Tuesday night in the NBA with only five games on tap but there are still some interesting options to choose from. The matchup between Phoenix and Atlanta looks to have plenty of fantasy goodness in it, while the Trail Blazers at Cavaliers looks like a good one as well. The Spurs will head to MSG to take on the Knicks in a game that holds the lowest projected total at 200, while the aforementioned Hawks at Suns game is projected at 218.5. We have Isaiah Thomas returning tonight, albeit in a limited role, and Lillard is expected to be back as well. Austin Rivers is also questionable, but outside of him, there isn't a lot of news to monitor.

Devin Booker, SG/SF, Phoenix Suns

Projected Minutes

Team Total

DvP

FPPG Allowed

Usage Rate

DK Projection

FD Projection

35 110 23 42.5 33.99 38.52 37.07

DK Salary: $9,100 / FD Salary: $8,000

While these GPP picks may not be low owned plays on tonight's slate, I do believe that they are extremely high-upside options, and sometimes you want upside more than low ownership, even on small slates like this. Because I am looking for guys that can put up the most raw fantasy points on the slate, I am looking at Devin Booker facing off against Atlanta. Booker has been outstanding since returning from injury three games ago, posting 48.25, 37.25, and 46.75 fantasy points in those games. He has struggled with his shot in those games, connecting on only 38.2 percent of his attempts, but that should regress tonight against the Hawks. He has at least 20 field goal attempts in those three games, with six assists in two of them. The Suns have rolled out a little bit of a wrinkle in the last two games with Booker, using him as the point guard to close games, and Jay Triano has stated that he wants to use that more often throughout their games. Lineups that feature Booker at the point guard position have posted a 126.0 offensive rating with a net rating of 61.5. Booker gets a wide open floor to operate with when playing alongside shooters like Troy Daniels and T.J. Warren, and that could spell disaster for the Hawks tonight.

Atlanta, as we all know, has struggled on defense this season. They are giving up 108.4 points per game to opponents and have surrendered the seventh-most fantasy points per game (42.5) to the shooting guard position. Opponents are connecting on 47.6 percent of their field goal attempts against them, including 37.3 percent from beyond-the-arc, and they are getting decimated in the paint. Opponents are connecting on 44.1 percent of their paint attempts on the season, where Booker is attempting 28 percent of his shots. They continue to struggle with pick-and-roll defense, giving up .89 points per play to the ball handler, and on spot-ups where they are allowing 1.04 points per play. Booker is operating as the ball handler in the pick-and-roll or spotting up on nearly 35 percent of his possessions this season. His price has increased considerably on DraftKings, where his $9,100 price is the highest it has been over the last 10 games, but at only $8,000 on FanDuel he cannot be ignored.

Dwight Howard, C, Charlotte Hornets

Projected Minutes

Team Total

DvP

FPPG Allowed

Usage Rate

DK Projection

FD Projection

35

104.75

28

55.5

23.62

41.91

42.08

DK Salary: $7,400 / FD Salary: $8,900

Two nights after posting a massive game against the Golden State Warriors, Dwight was in a great spot against the Clippers and laid an absolute dud. He went 1-of-9 from the floor against the Clippers, while pulling down only 10 rebounds, and was a disappointment to all of us that used him. I am going back to him tonight, however, as the Hornets head to Sacramento to take on the Kings. Outside of Dwight's stinker against the Clippers, the big man had been on quite a tear, with three consecutive double-doubles and a double-double in six of the last 10 games. He has pulled down 15 or more rebounds in five of the last 10 games and has scored over 20 points in three of those games. Dwight is fourth in the NBA, among centers, in rebounding chances per game at 20.5 and he is converting 60 percent of those chances per game. He is fourth in paint touches with 10.3 per game and is averaging .897 points per paint touch and he is posting up 8.5 times per game.

The Kings play fairly slow, which helps masks their defensive struggles, but they are allowing 105.3 points per game and rank 28th in fantasy points allowed to opposing centers with 55.5 per game. They are giving up 43.8 rebounds, 42.4 points in the paint, and 12.3 second-chance points while allowing .91 points per play on post-ups. As I mentioned above, Dwight is one of the top-5 centers in rebound chances, post-ups, and paint touches, making him an intriguing option to obliterate the weak interior defense of the Kings.

Dennis Schroder, PG, Atlanta Hawks

Projected Minutes

Team Total

DvP

FPPG Allowed

Usage Rate

DK Projection

FD Projection

33

108

28

51.3

27.63

37.02

36.15

DK Salary: $7,300 / FD Salary: $7,700

The Atlanta Hawks have started trending in the right direction with wins in three of their last four games and that surge has been sparked, in part, by Dennis Schroder. Schroder averaged 25.3 points on 53.7 percent shooting in those three wins while managing only 14 points on 6-of-20 shooting in their one loss to Toronto. He is averaging 40.4 fantasy points per game over his last four games and has scored at least 35 fantasy points in each of those games. He continues to dominate the usage on the team with a 29.3 percent usage rate and has at least 15 field goal attempts in eight of the last 10 games. He is operating as the ball handler in the pick-and-roll on a staggering 51.4 percent of his possessions, and he is operating in isolation on another 17.3 percent of his possessions.

The Suns have shown signs of improvement recently, with wins in five of their last eight games, but the defense continues to be an issue for the young team. They are giving up 112.4 points per game on the season while allowing opponents to shoot 46.2 percent from the floor, and rank 27th in fantasy points allowed to point guards. Opposing point guards have racked up 48.6 fantasy points per game against them on the season and they have allowed them to shoot 46.1 percent from the floor, including 40.9 percent from beyond-the-arc. The Suns are one of the worst teams in the NBA defending the ball handler in the pick-and-roll, surrendering .90 points per play, and they also struggle to defend in isolation. Schroder should have no issues racking up a big game against them tonight, and he is a lock in GPPs for me, despite him possibly having high ownership.



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