This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Basketball series.
We have a busy night in the NBA ahead of us with nine games on the schedule Monday. There are some exciting matchups, too, with the Rockets hosting the Mavericks and the Celtics taking on the Raptors. Let's try to add to the excitement with a winning entry on Yahoo. Here are some players to consider for your entry, as well as a few to potentially avoid.
GUARDS
De'Aaron Fox, SAC at GS ($37): Fox has been excellent out of the gate, scoring at least 40.3 Yahoo points in four of six games. He's playing a ton, averaging what would be a career-high 34 minutes a night. His usage rate also checks in at a robust 28.5 percent. With Tyrese Haliburton (wrist) still on the shelf, minutes and shot attempts shouldn't be hard to come by for Fox against a Warriors team that has played at the second-fastest pace in the league.
George Hill, OKC at MIA ($15): After a quiet showing in a blowout loss to the Pelicans on Thursday, Hill rebounded to record 18 points, five assists and two steals across 28 minutes versus the Magic on Saturday. The veteran's tenure with the Thunder has started off on a high note, as he's scored at least 31 Yahoo points in three of four games. At this cheap salary, he could be well worth the risk, despite the potential for the Thunder to get blown out against a vastly superior team.
Guard to Avoid
Devonte' Graham, CHA at PHI ($24): As good as Graham was last season, he wasn't efficient, shooting 38.2 percent from the field. He's off to an even worse start in that department this season at 25 percent. With LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward now in the fold, Graham has also seen his playing time decrease by more than three minutes a game compared to last season. Combine that with his current shooting funk and there's no need to take a chance on him during a slate with so many other viable options.
FORWARDS
Gordon Hayward, CHA at PHI ($29): Entering Saturday's matchup with the Sixers, Hayward was coming off of a couple of quiet performances, partly because of lopsided scores. However, he was on top of his game against the Sixers, scoring 50.2 Yahoo points across 38 minutes. That marked his third game of the season with at least 43.3 Yahoo points. He's clearly shown an ability to contribute in multiple areas with his averages of 18.8 points, five rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.8 steals, so as long as the Hornets can avoid another blowout situation, Hayward could put forth another juicy stat line.
Saddiq Bey, DET at MIL ($11): The Pistons already don't have much depth on their roster and they could really be tested in this game. They just played Sunday, so that means both Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose could sit out this second game of a back-to-back set. The last time they both sat out, Bey started and scored 30.9 Yahoo points against the Celtics. To complicate matters for the Pistons, Josh Jackson left Sunday's game with an ankle injury, so he might not play in this contest, either. At near the minimum salary, Bey could be a steal if Rose, Griffin and Jackson all sit out.
Forward to Avoid
Jimmy Butler, MIA vs. OKC ($33): After missing back-to-back games with an injury, Butler returned to the floor Friday against the Mavericks. However, he only played 27 minutes, going 0-for-6 from the field in the process. The Heat should be able to win this game in convincing fashion, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see Butler log limited minutes, which makes him too risky of an option.
CENTERS
Clint Capela, ATL vs. NY ($22): This might be one of your last opportunities to add Capela to your lineup at such a reasonable salary. After sitting out the first two games of the season, Capela was on a minutes limit when he did finally take the floor. Those restrictions seem to be gone now, though, with him logging at least 30 minutes in both of the last two games. In those contests, he scored 33.2 and 47.2 Yahoo points, respectively.
Bobby Portis, MIL vs. DET ($15): Portis may have found himself in an ideal situation with the Bucks. He's never been shy about taking shots and he's now being asked to be one of the offensive leaders of their second unit. He's responded by averaging 10.8 points and 7.7 rebounds across 23 minutes a night. Don't be surprised if plays even more in this contest if the Bucks race out to an early lead and rest their starters more in the second half.
Center to Avoid
Brook Lopez, MIL vs. DET ($16): Lopez doesn't normally rack up a lot of rebounds, so if he's going to provide value, he needs to be hitting three-pointers and blocking shots. With averages of 1.3 three-pointers and 1.2 blocks through six games, he's disappointed by scoring 17.4 Yahoo points or fewer five times. Add in the potential for a blowout to limit his playing time here and there's not much upside that comes with adding him to your lineup.
