Fantasy basketball tips and NBA betting picks for Tuesday

ESPN's fantasy basketball and basketball betting tips cheat sheet is your pregame destination for basketball betting predictions and our best intel and data, featuring ESPN's proprietary Basketball Power Index (BPI) to help you make smart fantasy and wagering decisions. NBA game odds for Tuesday, Feb. 28 are provided by Caesars Sportsbook, and fantasy advice is based on ESPN 10-team leagues.

The major news on Tuesday is sadly injury-driven, as LeBron James and LaMelo Ball are dealing with significant ailments. Ball is likely lost for the season due to an ankle fracture suffered last night, while James is dealing with a foot injury that appears of the multi-week variety in a season with, well, only weeks left.

The fantasy fallout for the Charlotte Hornets points to veteran wing Gordon Hayward (39% available in ESPN leagues) seeing increased usage and playmaking duties. Those in deeper leagues might consider Dennis Smith Jr. given the fun assist and steal production he flashed in place of Ball to open the season. Smith is a free agent in 82% of leagues.

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James' absence is a bit trickier on a roster without much playmaking past Dennis Schroder (71%), who immediately becomes a fun fantasy source for tonight's meeting with the Memphis Grizzlies. There's also reason to pursue Malik Beasley ahead of tonight's tilt in Tennessee for streaming, DFS, and shooting prop purposes, as Eric Moody details below.

My favorite strategy of Tuesday's slate might just be finding room for both Kris Dunn (98% available) and Walker Kessler (53%) of the Utah Jazz on fantasy rosters ahead of tonight's matchup with a