Christmas changed the usual pattern of the NBA schedule and as a result there was a relatively large Tuesday slate last week. However, things return to normal this week with a very small five game slate. To make things worse, rotation questions also litter the small slate. Normal headaches such as the Kings, Spurs, and Suns are on the slate but the return of Isaiah Thomas and Damian Lillard have the potential to shake up otherwise relatively stable rotations. That said, as usual, it will be vital to follow news throughout the day before locking in your lineup.

With the information known at the time of publishing, Tyreke Evans and Dwight Howard stand out as the two high-priced studs I want to roster. The Phoenix-Atlanta matchup will likely be a chalky game-stack, but for good reason. As a result, I won't go very in depth on this game throughout the article, but know that there are strong value plays at basically every position from this game.

Below you will find our daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel on 1/2/18. These DFS lineup picks can vary from higher-priced players and elite options, to lower-priced players and value picks on FanDuel. You can also read more DFS lineup picks for DraftKings and other sports too.

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FanDuel DFS Guards

Frank Ntilikina - PG, vs. SAS ($4,700)

Ntilikina has slowly taken over a bigger role both in minutes and usage for the Knicks. Over his past four games, he has earned at least 27 minutes on the floor and taken at least 10 shots from the floor on three occasions. He still isn’t especially efficiently, but he fills in the stat sheet nicely. San Antonio isn’t an ideal matchup, but he showed just four days ago he is capable of posting big lines against them.

Bogdan Bogdanovic - SG, vs. CHA ($4,800)

Normally, Kings’ rotations are a nightmare to figure out but Bogdanovic has carved out a role for himself averaging 28 minutes in the month of December. On Tuesday, there is a strong possibility the Kings will be short at guard as Frank Mason has been ruled out and De’Aaron Fox could miss his seventh consecutive game. Bogdanovich’s minutes should remain safe as a result and the Hornets have been a turnstyle against opposing guards this season.

Also Consider: Dennis Schroder - PG, @PHO ($7,700), George Hill - PG, vs. CHA ($4,700), Kent Bazemore - SG, @PHO ($5,800)

 

FanDuel DFS Forwards

Evan Turner - SF, @ CLE ($3,700)

Turner is the punt play of the day. Admittedly, he has looked terrible for almost the entirety of the season. Yet, he still sees consistent minutes and is priced at a point where he is worth paying attention to in positive matchups. Tuesday is such a night, as the Cavs struggle mightily against wings. Turner is definitely a tournament punt option, but the price is low enough that the risk is relatively low.

Frank Kaminsky - PF, @SAC ($5,200)

Kaminsky is another younger player who is in the process of slowly overtaking a vet. Over his past five games, Kaminsky has seen more minutes than Marvin Williams in three and has averaged 25 minutes overall. He has made the most of those minutes, shooting nearly 50% from the field and racking up steals and blocks. Both those things may cool for him in the future as he is shooting way over his head based on career numbers and has never been much of a contributor in defensive stats, but the Kings have the worst defensive rating in the league so I’ll ride Kaminsky’s hot shooting one more night.

Also Consider: T.J. Warren - SF, vs. ATL ($7,500)

 

FanDuel DFS Centers

Dwight Howard - C, @SAC ($8,900)

There aren’t a lot of enticing options at center tonight and given the limited slate, I will opt for chasing raw points as opposed to being a slave to 5X value. That said, Howard is a safe bet to reach 35 points but still possesses the upside to reach value and then some against a poor Kings defense against bigs. If you want to look elsewhere, Pau Gasol is my favorite mid-tier option on the slate.

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