Winners of 11 straight games, the Houston Rockets have managed to avoid any major injuries as they've made their run up the Western Conference standings. That changed on Monday, as it was reported that starting center Clint Capela is expected to miss time due to a leg injury that L'Equipe reported as a broken fibula. While guard James Harden ($11,000) is the headliner for Mike D'Antoni's team, Capela was one of several Rockets who have benefitted from the combination of Harden's excellence and D'Antoni's offensive system. Where Houston turns to fill the spot left open by Capela is one question to consider when putting together your FanDuel roster for Tuesday's games.
The other options at the five who are currently in the rotation are Nene ($4,100) and Montrezl Harrell ($4,000), with the former being a center and the latter being a rugged, energetic (and athletic) power forward rather than a center. But with Ryan Anderson ($5,100) having a skill set that would not fit in at the center position for long stretches, those two stand to see an increase in minutes as Houston looks to continue this current hot streak. And Capela's injury will impact what Houston's opponent Tuesday night, San Antonio, does. Pau Gasol ($6,400) has played well of late, and the Spurs also have Dewayne Dedmon ($3,500) getting minutes at the five.
Here are our selections for Tuesday's 11-game NBA slate, working with a nine-player roster and a salary cap of $60,000. (Getty)
PG: Damian Lillard, Portland
Opponent: at Sacramento
Price: $9,500
Portland's most recent outing wasn't pretty at all, as they were blown out by 45 points by Golden State Saturday night. Following the game Lillard called out the team for its lack of effort, and if there's one thing that's been a constant throughout Lillard's career it's that whenever he's upset or feels disrespected a big night is sure to follow. In the first meeting between the Blazers and Kings this season, Lillard scored 36 points and dished out seven assists. Don't be surprised if he posts a similar stat line in Sacramento. (Getty)
PG: D'Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers
Opponent: at Charlotte
Price: $5,800
The Lakers rested Russell for their loss to the Cavaliers Saturday night, as he's only recently returned to the lineup after missing 11 games with a knee injury. Russell was on a minutes restriction in his first games back, and that may still be the case to a certain extent. But he played 27 minutes in his most recent outing, and head coach Luke Walton said Monday that Russell responded well to Saturday's night off. Russell's accounted for 22 FanDuel points or more in two of his four games since returning, most recently tallying 28.4 points against Philadelphia. (Getty)
SG: DeMar DeRozan, Toronto
Opponent: vs. Brooklyn
Price: $8,600
DeRozan has scored 30 points or more in each of the last four games for the Raptors, who have been one of the NBA's best offensive teams this season. But in those games DeRozan has failed to surpass the 40 FanDuel point mark twice, as in those games he had a minimal impact in the rebound and assist categories. DeRozan is going to put up points, but he can have even greater value from a FanDuel standpoint if he were to be active in other areas as he was against the Hawks Friday night. DeRozan finished with 34 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals, resulting in a 49 FanDuel point night. (Getty)
SG: Eric Gordon, Houston
Opponent: at Milwaukee
Price: $6,000
Gordon accounted for 35.1 FanDuel points in Houston's game against Memphis on Saturday, and five days ago he scored 25 points in a win over the Bucks. Of Gordon's 20 field goal attempts on that night 17 were three-pointers, and he made seven while also grabbing four rebounds. Gordon isn't the most productive player outside of the scoring department, but he is capable of putting up solid rebound or assist numbers at any given time. (Getty)
4. San Antonio
Record: 27-7
Last week: 3rd
San Antonio's four-game win streak came to an end Sunday night in Atlanta, with the Hawks beating the Spurs 114-112 in overtime. Gregg Popovich's team appeared to have things under control in the fourth quarter, but the inability to slow down either Paul Millsap or Tim Hardaway Jr. cost San Antonio in the end. Millsap finished with 32 points and 13 rebounds, and Hardaway Jr. added 29 and five rebounds off the bench. While LaMarcus Aldridge and Tony Parker combined to score 49 points Kawhi Leonard struggled, scoring 13 points on 3-for-12 shooting. With six of their next eight games at home, the Spurs are set up to go on a run this month. (Getty)
SF: Wilson Chandler, Denver
Opponent: vs. San Antonio
Price: $5,600
Speaking of that matchup between the Spurs and Nuggets, there's the question of which forward Kawhi Leonard is more likely to defend: Danilo Gallinari or Wilson Chandler? Whichever one isn't defended by "The Claw" could potentially pose a matchup problem for San Antonio's starting power forward, and the bet here is that Chandler will be the beneficiary. Chandler's been up and down of late with his production, but after tallying just 18.3 FanDuel points against the Kings he could be in line for a bounce-back performance if the trend continues. (Getty)
PF: Jabari Parker, Milwaukee
Opponent: at Chicago
Price: $7,200
Parker has met or exceeded his FanDuel average for the season (32.2) in five of his last six games, most recently tallying 33.7 points against Minnesota Friday night. On Saturday he and the Bucks face a struggling Bulls team, which could bode well for Parker from a productivity standpoint. In two games against Chicago this season, Parker's averaging 20.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, shooting 63 percent from the field. (Getty)
Zach Randolph
C: Nene, Houston
Opponent: vs. San Antonio
Price: $4,100
With Capela being injured we're going with his backup for the center spot. Nene's been quiet from a production standpoint in recent games, but that was with Capela taking the majority of the minutes at the five. Houston doesn't need Nene to be the second edition of Hakeem Olajuwon, but they do need him to be closer to his 12-point, six-rebound effort against Brooklyn eight days ago than the following three games. He'll have plenty of chances given Houston's offensive system; it's simply about taking advantage. (Getty)
FanDuel NBA Lineup Picks, Advice & Analysis for December 20