This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
It's a massive Tuesday night in the NBA, with a deep player pool headlining this 14-game slate and 11 contests on the FanDuel main slate. Navigating a night like this requires more than just box-score watching — leveraging NBA projections, monitoring the NBA injury report, and tracking confirmed NBA starting lineups are critical to building competitive lineups. This fantasy basketball breakdown combines matchup context, NBA player projections, and late-breaking NBA news to highlight elite plays, chalk, and value options. Whether you're using a fantasy basketball cheat sheet, NBA fantasy rankings, or a DFS lineup optimizer, this slate offers plenty of opportunity for sharp roster construction.
NBA Games Today (Dec 23)
For the latest spreads and over-unders, visit RotoWire's NBA Odds page. There, you can also find player props, futures, picks articles and sportsbook bonus codes.
Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Tuesday, Dec. 23 @12:30 p.m. ET:
Brooklyn Nets at Philadelphia 76ers (-9.5) (O/U: 218.5)
Washington Wizards at Charlotte Hornets (-5.5) (O/U: 232.5)
Milwaukee Bucks (-1.5) at Indiana Pacers (O/U: 218.5)
Chicago Bulls at Atlanta Hawks (-4) (O/U: 253.5)
New Orleans Pelicans at Cleveland Cavaliers (-9.5) (O/U: 244.5)
Toronto Raptors at Miami Heat (-5.5) (O/U: 228.5)
Denver Nuggets (-7) at Dallas Mavericks (O/U: 235.5)
New York Knicks at Minnesota Timberwolves (-8) (O/U: 228.5)
Oklahoma City Thunder (-5.5) at San Antonio Spurs (O/U: 232.5)
Los Angeles Lakers at Phoenix Suns (-6) (O/U: 226.5)
Memphis Grizzlies (-3.5) at Utah Jazz (O/U: 243.5)
We have a mostly competitive slate projected, as even the vaunted Thunder is just a 5.5-point road favorite over a capable Spurs team. Projected totals are very eye-catching, as we have the extremely rare instance of multiple games with figures north of 240 points, including the jaw-dropping 253.5-point figure attached to a Bulls-Hawks rematch following the 152-150 Bulls victory in the first installment Sunday.
NBA Injury Report
For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.
Luka Doncic, LAL (leg): OUT
In Doncic's absence, LeBron James will naturally see a massive boost in usage, as will Austin Reaves if he can play through his calf injury, while Bronny James and Marcus Smart could share plenty of point guard minutes.
Victor Wembanyama, SAN (calf): QUESTIONABLE
If Wemby is sidelined, Luke Kornet could draw a start at center while the likes of De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle see big usage bumps.
Jalen Brunson, NYK (ankle): OUT
In Brunson's absence and that of OG Anunoby, plenty of extra usage should be available for the likes of Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Austin Reaves, LAL (calf): QUESTIONABLE
If Reaves can suit up, he'll be primed for massive usage due to Luka Doncic's absence.
Ja Morant, MEM (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
If Morant remains out, Cam Spencer will be in line for another start.
Other notable injuries:
Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL (calf): OUT
Kristaps Porzingis, ATL (illness): OUT
Tyler Herro, MIA (toe): OUT
Dyson Daniels, ATL (hip): OUT
OG Anunoby, NYK (ankle): OUT
RJ Barrett, TOR (knee): OUT
Grayson Allen, PHO (knee): DOUBTFUL
Chet Holmgren, OKC (illness): QUESTIONABLE
VJ Edgecombe, PHI (illness): QUESTIONABLE
Joel Embiid, PHI (illness): PROBABLE
Elite NBA DFS Players
We have five players with five-figure salaries that have a chance to play on Tuesday's slate – Nikola Jokic ($12,600), Victor Wembanyama ($11,400), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($11,100), Jalen Johnson ($10,800), Tyrese Maxey ($10,400) and Anthony Davis ($10,300).
Jokic accrued 62.1 FD points in just 29 minutes against the Jazz on Monday and therefore should be relatively fresh despite the back-to-back.
Wemby's status will have to be monitored due to his calf injury management, but he'd be a very viable play if available despite the fact he'll likely log abbreviated minutes again.
The Thunder are projected for a competitive matchup against the Spurs on the road and Gilgeous-Alexander therefore projects for what should be a full load of minutes.
Johnson has put up over 60 FD points in two of his last three games despite Trae Young's recent return, keeping him as a legitimate five-figure-salary play for the time being.
Maxey should see Joel Embiid return to the floor Tuesday but he's scored over 45 FD points in three straight.
Davis went off for 60.4 FD points against the Pelicans on Monday but did play 35 minutes, so he could have a bit of a reduced ceiling for a tough matchup against the Nuggets.
Expected NBA DFS Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Donovan Mitchell, CLE ($9,800)
Mitchell scored 30 points in just 28 minutes in his return from a one-game absence Monday and carries the ceiling of a five-figure-salary player, which should keep him popular Tuesday.
Josh Giddey, CHI ($9,500)
Giddey has scored over 50 FD points in three of the last five and will be an integral part of the game with the highest total of the night, which should keep him on plenty of rosters.
Anthony Edwards, MIN ($9,200)
Edwards has tallied 56.9 and 39.8 FD points in his first two games back from a three-game absence, which should lock in his popularity Tuesday.
LaMelo Ball, CHA ($9,100)
Ball has put up over 38 FD points in two of his first three games back from an ankle injury and draws a premium matchup against the Wizards, putting him firmly in play.
LeBron James, LAL ($9,000)
LeBron will take the floor without Luka Doncic and possibly Austin Reaves and has scored over 50 FD points in four of the last five, which should ensure he's one of the highest-rostered players on the slate.
Key NBA DFS Values
Deandre Ayton, LAL at PHO ($6,300)
As already mentioned, Luka Doncic will sit out Tuesday's game for the Lakers, a scenario in which Ayton averages 42.8 FD points per 36 minutes. The big man will be due for even more usage if Austin Reaves misses another game as well, and Ayton will have the extra incentive of facing his old Suns squad. Ayton just put up 41.6 FD points across 30 minutes against Phoenix in his most recent game Dec. 14, and he has another tally of 27.3 versus the Suns this season. The Suns are also conceding 52.5 FD points per contest to centers in the last 15 games, while Ayton has exceeded 30 FD points in 13 of 23 games.
Jaime Jaquez, MIA vs. TOR ($6,100)
Jaquez has scored over 23 FD points in four straight and is averaging 38.4 FD points per 36 minutes with Tyler Herro, who will miss another game Tuesday, off the floor. Jaquez could draw a spot start Tuesday, but even if he's on the second unit, he's facing a Raptors squad he tallied a solid 24.8 FD points against on Dec. 9 and has exceeded 30 FD points on 10 occasions, both factors that give him a reasonable chance of delivering at least a 5x return on investment.
Bub Carrington, WAS at CHA ($5,300)
Carrington may remain in the starting five Tuesday despite Bilal Coulibaly's return from an ankle injury, as the former has earned plenty of minutes by averaging 32.5 FD points on 17.3 points, 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 50.0 percent during his current six-game starting run. Carrington has averaged a robust 37 minutes per contest as well in that span, and he's facing a Hornets squad Tuesday that's allowed over 50 FD points per game to point guards in the last 15 games, along with the fourth-highest offensive efficiency rating to backcourt players (54.2) for the season.
ALSO CONSIDER: Jaylen Wells, MEM at UTA ($5,700)
