After getting Monday night off, Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook ($12,600) is back in action Tuesday as the Thunder visit Portland. That's one of six games on the NBA schedule, and with Westbrook available many FanDuel players will look to add him to their rosters. In his most recent game Westbrook's triple-double streak cam to an end at seven games, but he was still highly productive in leading Oklahoma City to a three-point win over Boston on Sunday. Westbrook finished the game with 37 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, two steals and seven turnovers, with the stat line working out to 57.4 FanDuel points.
Averaging 58.4 FanDuel points per game this season, Westbrook has surpassed the 60-point mark in nine games. Tuesday's matchup with the Blazers will be an interesting one, as Portland has two talented guards of their own in Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. Yet neither would be considered a lockdown defender, and as a team the Blazers are ranked 28th in scoring defense (111.7 points allowed per game) and 30th in defensive rating (112.4). Those poor numbers can be partly attributed to Portland being without Al-Farouq Aminu, who has returned to the lineup. But there's still the issue of defending high-level perimeter players, which could mean another big night for Westbrook.
Here are our roster picks for Tuesday's games, working with the rules of a nine-player roster and a $60,000 salary cap. NOTE: This was published before Cleveland announced that Kyrie Irving was being rested for tonight's game. (Getty)
PG: Kyrie Irving, Cleveland
Opponent: vs. Memphis
Price: $7,000
Irving's averaging 33.5 FanDuel points per game this season, but his production's decreased some in recent games. Tonight brings about an interesting test for Irving and the Cavaliers. While Memphis is young at the point with Andrew Harrison and Wade Baldwin IV replacing the injured Mike Conley, both have been solid as the Grizzlies have won six straight. And Memphis is good enough defensively as a team that they don't leave those young guards on an island to defend a player of Irving's caliber. That being said, Irving should be able to put together a solid night statistically speaking. (Getty)
PG: Tim Frazier, New Orleans
Opponent: vs. Golden State
Price: $5,600
With Chicago's Rajon Rondo ($6,000) listed as a game-time decision, the pick here is Frazier despite the fact that he's now coming off the bench. In Sunday's game against the Suns Frazier posted the first triple-double of his career, finishing with 14 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists and five steals. Duplicating that feat will be incredibly difficult against the Warriors, but that doesn't mean Frazier can't have some success. In their first meeting Frazier tallied 40.2 FanDuel points, and he finished with 32.8 points in the second meeting. (Getty)
SG: Zach LaVine, Minnesota
Opponent: at Chicago
Price: $6,200
After accounting for just 19.9 points against the Knicks on November 30, LaVine's scored 28.6 FanDuel points or more in five of his last six games. Most recently, he finished with 33.6 FanDuel points in a loss to Golden State as he posted a stat line of 25 points, four assists, three rebounds and one turnover. Tonight he faces a Chicago Bulls team that's among the best in the NBA defensively, which won't be an easy task at all. But given how LaVine has produced in recent games, it wouldn't be too much of a reach to expect him to keep on that path in Chicago. (Getty)
SG: Evan Fournier, Orlando
Opponent: at Portland
Price: $5,500
With Detroit's Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ($5,600) being declared out for his team's game against Utah, Fournier is another low-cost option to take into consideration. After missing five games with a heel injury Fournier hasn't been at his best, averaging 12.8 points per game and shooting 37.3 percent from the field. Tonight's game against Portland could provide the boost he needs to get back on track, as the Blazers are ranked 27th in scoring defense and 28th in defensive rating. (Getty)
SF: Kevin Durant, Golden State
Opponent: at New Orleans
Price: $10,000
Having failed to score 20 points or more just three times this season, you know what you're going to get from Durant scoring-wise. The bonus has been how well Durant has done when it comes to rebounds and blocked shots, as his averages of 8.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game lead the team. In Golden State's first game against the Pelicans Durant accounted for 65.4 FanDuel points, and in the second meeting he was limited to 33.3. Look for him to fall somewhere in the middle Tuesday night, with his season average being 46.7 FanDuel points per game. (Getty)
SF: Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota
Opponent: at L.A. Clippers
Price: $6,800
After three straight games in which he scored 19 points or more, Wiggins was limited to just ten by the Spurs Tuesday night. He'll be up against another tough defensive team Thursday night, as the Clippers are ranked 5th in the NBA in defensive rating and 7th in scoring defense. Wiggins scored 22 points in the first meeting between the two teams in mid-November, but he did so on 8-for-24 shooting from the field. The hope here is that Wiggins can be more efficient against a team that's playing without two key starters in Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. (Getty)
PF: Taj Gibson, Chicago
Opponent: vs. Minnesota
Price: $5,500
Gibson has an interesting matchup tonight, as Minnesota uses Gorgui Dieng and Karl-Anthony Towns as its starting big men. Gibson may not be able to do as much work around the basket as a result, but he's skilled enough to step away from the basket and knock down some mid-range jumpers. He'll be active on both ends of the floor, as Gibson is averaging 12.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game on the season. Gibson may be giving up a little bit from a height standpoint, but he's a competitor who won't concede anything and there's a good chance that results in a solid FanDuel score. (Getty)
PF: JaMychal Green, Memphis
Opponent: at Cleveland
Price: $5,500
Green's averaging just 9.6 points and 7.9 rebounds per game this season, but in his role as the starting power forward he's been a solid contributor for the Grizzlies. Green's posted a double-double in three of his last five games, most recently accounting for 14 points, ten rebounds and two assists in Memphis' 110-89 win over Golden State. He'll be asked to defend Kevin Love tonight while also chipping in some offensively, and at this point in the season that isn't asking a whole lot of Green. Look for him to have another solid performance. (Getty)
C: Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota
Opponent: at Chicago
Price: $8,800
Averaging 21.6 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, Towns has improved upon the numbers he posted as a rookie last season. Against Golden State on Sunday, Towns went off for 25 points and 18 rebounds, his seventh consecutive game with a double-double. He could very well make it eight straight games with a double-double against the Bulls, even with Chicago having a quality defensive center in Robin Lopez. (Getty)
FanDuel NBA Lineup Picks, Advice & Analysis for December 13