As you know doubt know if you read the DFS NBA Position Coach last season, my general preference when constructing NBA DFS lineups is to fill the most shallow positions first and save the deeper positions for the end. If you follow that pattern as well, you should fill the power forward and center positions first. With so few games and a lot of tough matchups those positions are extremely shallow, and filling those first will give you more options for rounding out your lineup with quality plays. Go ahead and anchor your lineup with Steph Curry if you want, but don’t tweet me when Mason Plumlee sinks your lineup with a four point, five rebound effort.

Point Guard

There are a lot of very good point guards in Tuesday’s slate, but I don’t really want to play any of them. This may be the position I fill last.

If I don’t wait to pick my point guard, I will probably play George Hill. I don’t think people realize how good George Hill was in Indiana, especially when Paul George was out. Perhaps more importantly, Hill might have the best matchup of the night, as Portland’s guards aren’t exactly known for their defense. Hill should have the ball in his hands a bit more with Gordon Hayward out, and he could see a good amount of time at shooting guard until Alec Burks returns.

With that in mind, Dante Exum is intriguing, especially for GPP lineups. Exum has looked good in the preseason, and few people doubt he has the talent to produce for fantasy.

In general, I’m not going to use Stephen Curry a whole lot when Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are all starting, but I will make an exception Tuesday. On the one hand, the lack of other options helps Steph, but mostly he is buoyed by the lack of anyone on the Spurs who can guard him. Kawhi Leonard has effectively shut Kevin Durant down in the past, and if that is the case Tuesday, this game could look an awful lot like last season, when Steph averaged 28.8 points, 5.8 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 3PM against the Spurs.

A lot of people seem to expect Kyrie Irving to take a step forward this season, and while I’m a bit skeptical, I will admit he has some upside, especially relative to his price. Perhaps more importantly, Derrick Rose and Brandon Jennings are pretty terrible defensively, and I think the Knicks match up pretty well with Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love. Irving can probably score at will in this game, and there is a decent chance he takes an above-average number of shots.

PLAYERTMH/AOPPMPGFT%3PTMPTSREBASTSTLBLKTOFG%USAGEFDPTS/GDKPTS/GACEPTS/GYPTS/G$FD$DK$FA
George HillUTAAPOR34.10128894298259831710144%9.02%23.525.323.724.4$5,600$5,300$4,650
Dante ExumUTAAPOR0000000000%NAN%0000$3,500$3,400$3,000
Stephen CurryGSWHSAS34.2040223754305271691526250%19.91%47.952.448.250.5$9,300$9,600$7,400
Kyrie IrvingCLEHNYK31.50841041157250561812445%16.32%30.732.830.931.5$7,100$8,000$5,650

Shooting Guard

The only knock on Rodney Hood is he will probably be owned in a ton of lineups, but I think I will probably play him quite a bit anyway. Hood was good last season when Alec Burks was out, and Gordon Hayward’s absence only helps. Hood could feast if he is matched up with C.J. McCollum for any significant amount of time.

I don’t know that I will ever feel comfortable using J.R. Smith in a cash lineup, but he probably has the highest upside among the cheaper plays. Courtney Lee is a solid if unspectacular defender, and this could easily be a game where Smith gets hot and makes a bunch of threes.   

C.J. McCollum averaged 26.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 3.5 3PM against the Jazz last season. If he comes close to those numbers he will be in a lot of winning lineups.

PLAYERTMH/AOPPMPGFT%3PTMPTSREBASTSTLBLKTOFG%USAGEFDPTS/GDKPTS/GACEPTS/GYPTS/G$FD$DK$FA
Rodney HoodUTAAPOR32.201611149267213731612542%11.28%23.325.323.524.3$5,400$6,000$4,700
C.J. McCollumPORHUTA34.801971666259341972319645%14.71%31.734.331.832.9$6,900$6,300$5,000
J.R. SmithCLEHNYK30.7020495521713081215942%8.48%20.22220.321.5$4,500$4,100$4,300

Small Forward

With Gordon Hayward out and Derrick Favors possibly joining him, there could be a ton of shots available in Utah. Joe Johnson doesn’t provide much besides scoring and threes at this point in his career, but there could be plenty of both to go around, especially if he is matched up with Moe Harkless for much of the night.

Speaking of the devil, Moe Harkless will start at small forward Tuesday, and while that may not sound like huge news, Harkless averaged 11.9 points and 6.6 rebounds in his 14 starts last season. Harkless is a decent option in Tuesday's small slate, though his upside is pretty limited.

Lebron James’s upside may be capped a bit because the Cavs have a lot of options and this game could be a blowout, but he is probably the safest play of the entire slate. LeBron averaged 26.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.8 steals against the Knicks last season, and New York didn’t add anyone who can slow him down.

PLAYERTMH/AOPPMPGFT%3PTMPTSREBASTSTLBLKTOFG%USAGEFDPTS/GDKPTS/GACEPTS/GYPTS/G$FD$DK$FA
Moe HarklessPORHUTA18.70394982806749356247%9.17%13.314.213.513.6$5,600$3,700$3,000
LeBron JamesCLEHNYK35.608719205655141044924952%20.05%45.147.745.545.7$9,600$9,000$7,300
Joe JohnsonUTAAPOR33.908567122423240211641%9.80%222422.222.8$5,400$4,300$3,800

Power Forward

I will almost certainly start a Jazz power forward in all of my lineups Tuesday, but I don’t know which one. Derrick Favors was a limited participant in practice Sunday, and he if starts for the Jazz he will probably start for me. The Trail Blazers were 25th in fantasy points allowed to power forwards last season. Favors averaged almost exactly as many fantasy points per game as LeMarcus Aldridge and Kevin Love last season, but he is cheaper than them (and Kristaps Porzingis, who he outscored last season) on most sites.

If Favors is out, Trey Lyles is a safe play. Lyles averaged 12.9 points and 5.4 rebounds in April thanks to Favors missing time, and DFS players can expect solid production if Favors sits Tuesday.

Boris Diaw would be a GPP play for me if Favors is out. We have no idea how the Jazz will use Diaw, but he is intriguing considering his skill set and the potential for a lot of minutes.

PLAYERTMH/AOPPMPGFT%3PTMPTSREBASTSTLBLKTOFG%USAGEFDPTS/GDKPTS/GACEPTS/GYPTS/G$FD$DK$FA
Derrick FavorsUTAAPOR3200101650394749110452%14.75%3233.332.432$6,900$6,700$4,950
Trey LylesUTAAPOR17.30494882995926186544%9.76%1212.912.212.3$4,000$3,600$3,000
Boris DiawUTAAPOR18.202548523317626219753%11.07%13.514.513.613.7$3,500$3,100$3,000

Center

I really wanted to have one position where I didn’t recommend a Utah player, but it is hard to argue against Rudy Gobert. Perhaps more importantly, all of the other centers have tough matchups. Gobert averaged 4.0 blocks per game against the Trail Blazers last season, and he has a good chance at a double-double if Favors is out.

Joakim Noah has produced when he is healthy, and he will likely never be as healthy as he is right now. The most fun part of this game may be watching Noah and Tristan Thompson battle on the boards for 48 minutes, and he could put up some nice stats if the Knicks use the Noah/Derrick Rose pick-and-roll as much as they say they will.

PLAYERTMH/AOPPMPGFT%3PTMPTSREBASTSTLBLKTOFG%USAGEFDPTS/GDKPTS/GACEPTS/GYPTS/G$FD$DK$FA
Rudy GobertUTAAPOR31.700557668914513511456%10.43%28.53029.128.5$6,200$7,000$5,250
Joakim NoahNYKACLE21.90012425511018295238%8.75%2223.322.422$5,000$5,500$4,900