If you can believe it, today marks the last day of January! With a plethora of NBA developments slated for the next four weeks, including the All-Star Game and the trade deadline, it can be easy to overlook the impending hoops night at this stage of the season. Tonight’s slate features five solid games, giving us countless DFS lineup opportunities, so we picked FanDuel to participate in the $375K Tuesday NBA Clutch Shot ($100K to Prime).
Here’s the lineup for Tuesday, the last night of basketball in an action-packed January:
- Heat ai Cavaliers (19:00 ET)
- Lakers ai Knicks (19:00)
- Hornets to Bucks (8pm)
- Clippers al Bulls (20:00)
- Pelicans at the Nuggets (10:00pm)
That’s a lot of contenders on a five-game slate, including a handful of MVP contenders like Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James. With the playoff race heating up now that the regular season is more than 60 percent complete, the daily fantasy contests are getting more and more fun to participate in. We review our FanDuel Clutch Shot squad for Tuesday night and briefly explain why we drafted every player in our lineup.
Before we dive into all of our picks, here are the most important scoring rules for FanDuel contests: Three-point shot made (+1 point), bounce (+1.2 points), assist (+1.5 points), steal and block (+3 points), basket made (+2 points) and successful free throw (+1 point).
ANOTHER TUESDAY DFS: DraftKings lineup
Tuesday Night FanDuel Picks: NBA DFS Lineup for GPP Tournaments
Tuesday main swap list late, $60,000 budget.
PG Jalen Brunson, Knicks contro Lakers ($ 7.500)
Brunson’s breakout year looks to get better and better as the season progresses and we expect him to be one of the names shortlisted for the All-Star Game this Thursday night. How can we not love this guy at $7,500? He is averaging 37.5 fantasy points per game but has finished above 40 points nine times since Jan. 4. He posted 49.3 in Boston last week against a tough Celtics defense, finishing with 29 points, seven assists, four rebounds and two blocks. It was Brunson by the book: hyper-efficient with both the ball and the shots. He only turned the ball once, hit 12 of 25 shots, two of six threes and three of four free throws. Against a weak Lakers defense in Madison Square Garden tonight, he should put an exclamation mark on his All-Star nomination.
PG Russell Westbrook, Lakers ai Knicks ($ 6.700)
It’s almost against my DNA to pick Westbrook for anything fantasy-related at this point, but let’s face it: He’s enjoying a huge stretch, especially in point formats, coming off the bench. His baseline is now 35 fantasy points per game, but he’s put up three 50-pointers since the schedule moved to 2023. He remains incredibly active and beats up opposing reserves like guard Montrezl Harrell. The Knicks, much like the Lakers, struggle to defend backcourts, so don’t hesitate to use Westbrook at this price and hope for a repeat of his 41.6-point night in Brooklyn on Monday.
SG Paul George, Clippers al Bulls ($ 8.300)
George has been missing some time recently with knee and hamstring problems, but he lights up when he sees the floor. The veteran forward averaged 24.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.2 steals in 34.8 minutes in his last five appearances, which was good for a collective average of 43.9 fancy points per game. Sticking to the theme of attacking below-average defenses with above-average wingers, then fire up PG13 against the Bulls, who yield eighth fantasy points to guards.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope NBA highlights NUGGETS vs 76ERS 01-28-2023 REGULAR SEASON https://t.co/BKZ34gx88N
Follow us for more highlights!!#KentaviousCaldwell-Papa #Kentavious #Caldwell-Papa #NBAREGULARSEASON #nbahighlights #basketball #denver #pepe #pepe pic.twitter.com/DSaalznfeM
— NBA Players Highlights (@NBAPlayersHigh) January 28, 2023
SG Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Nuggets contro Pelicans ($ 4.900)
KCP may seem like a boring DFS pick, but its statistical contributions across the board certainly add up. He hasn’t scored more than 11 points or amassed more than a five-count of any other peripheral stat in his last six games, yet he’s averaging 23.2 fantasy points in that span. He does a lot of things well, like rebounding, passing and shooting, but his incredible steals over the last couple of weeks have really pushed him beyond the DFS range.
SF Kawhi Leonard, Clippers al Bulls ($ 9.600)
Leonard joins PG13 as our first of two star stacks and honestly, it was a no-brainer. He’s averaging 50.12 fantasy points over his last five games, thanks in no small part to fierce scoring stretch. He has scored at least 24 points in 10 straight games and has 29 boards in his last four. Plus he still constantly creates for others and of course still acts as a “backup” beast whenever he hooks up. Anything under $10,000, especially against a bad Chicago defense, looks like value for Kawhi.
SF Norman Powell, Clippers al Bulls ($ 5.500)
Powell joins PG13 and Leonard as the third Clipper on our team, and joins Westbrook as our second candidate for Sixth Man of the Year. He never contributes much at defensive end, but is always a threat to turn him on for 25-30 points with his he three-level scoring prowess. A 26-4-3-1-1 line with a few triples is always in play for Powell, especially against poor defensive units. He’d be a quiet 35-40 point fantasy for just $5,500, a range he’s closed in twice since Jan. 18.
PF Julius Randle, Knicks vs. Lakers ($ 9.400)
Here’s another guy I dislike in 9-cat fantasy but use constantly in DFS tournaments. Randle sometimes makes your head scratch with his shot selection or brutal turnovers, but we can’t deny the overall impact he has on this Knicks team. He has reached the 50s in fantasy points 12 times since Dec. 23 and the 60s four times in that time frame. He scores, rebounds and serves assists as well as any forward in the game, more than making up for his defensive ineptitude. The Brunson-Randle stack completes our second of two stellar stacks and we’re starting to really appreciate our potential to win some DFS loot tonight.
PF JT Thor, Hornets a Bucks ($ 3.600)
We had to put a stain on one of our last two roster spots, so we’re opting for Thor, as he plays at least 12-17 minutes a game. Even if it’s trash time, Thor can rack up five to eight fantasy points, and trash time in a Hornets at Bucks game may be unavoidable.
C Larry Nance, Thunder at Nuggets ($ 4.500)
One of our favorite role players in the NBA, Nance consistently puts effort into both sides of the court and plays basketball smart. He had a double-double in New Orleans’ last game and eclipsed 25 fantasy points in back-to-back games. He also ate a 40 burger 10 days ago in Miami, finishing with a fantasy line of 12-7-4-1-4. The Thunder will need as much Nance as they can get against Nikola Jokic and the wily Nuggets.
