This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Basketball series.
The NBA tips off the week with seven games on the schedule Monday. Among the exciting matchups is the Sixers hosting the Pacers and the Pelicans taking on the Jazz. Let's try to add to the fun by hopefully winning some cash on Yahoo. Here are some players to consider for your entries, as well as a few to possibly avoid.
GUARDS
LaMelo Ball, CHA at POR ($37): Ball has been locked in offensively during the Hornets' current West Coast trip, scoring at least 20 points in all four games. That included matchups against the Jazz, Suns and Warriors, who all rank inside the top-five in the league in defensive rating. Now he'll face a Blazers team that has the third-worst defensive rating, so look for him to keep things rolling.
Malik Monk, CHA at POR ($12): Devonte' Graham (knee) has missed each of the last five games for the Hornets, which was thrust Monk into an expanded role. He responded by averaging 20.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists during that stretch. He can be risky given that most of his contributions come from the scoring column, but given the Blazers' aforementioned defensive shortcomings, his salary could end up making him a bargain.
Guard to Avoid
Eric Bledsoe, NO vs. UTA ($17): Bledsoe is coming off of one of his best games of the season after scoring 40.2 Yahoo points against the Spurs on Saturday. With that being said, he's played poorly, overall, with averages of 12.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists. A matchup against a Jazz team that has the third-best defensive rating is not an ideal situation to add him to your entry.
FORWARDS
Thaddeus Young, CHI vs. DEN ($23): The Bulls have shown significant improvement this season and Young has been a big part of their success. With injuries limiting they depth at both forwards spots, he's averaged 26 minutes across the last 16 games. That enabled him to produce juicy all-around averages of 13.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.4 steals. The Nuggets are thin up front with Paul Millsap (knee) and JaMychal Green (shoulder) out, so this is a matchup that Young could exploit.
P.J. Washington, CHA at POR ($20): Talk about an offensive explosion. Washington torched the Kings on Sunday, shooting 15-for-23 from the field on his way to 42 points. Not only that, but he chipped in nine rebounds, two steals and two blocks. He's only averaging 9.9 shot attempts per game for the season, so don't expect him to jack up shots like that on a regular basis. However, with the Hornets dealing with some key injuries, he could be primed for an expanded role again Monday.
Forward to Avoid
Joe Harris, BKN at SA ($16): Even with Kevin Durant (hamstring) out, Harris hasn't been very productive. He's scored 24.3 Yahoo points or fewer in four straight games and he hasn't topped 30 Yahoo points in a game since January. Facing a Spurs team that has the ninth-best defensive rating likely won't help matters.
CENTERS
Nikola Jokic, DEN at CHI ($55): How high is Jokic's floor in DFS? He only played 30 minutes in a blowout win over the Thunder on Saturday, yet he still recorded a triple-double. In fact, he scored 19 points on only 10 shot attempts. If you can squeeze his salary into your budget, he's as appealing as it gets.
Jarrett Allen, CLE at HOU ($37): The Rockets are in a free fall right now. With Christian Wood (ankle) out and DeMarcus Cousins gone, they have basically no size up front. That contributed to Allen scoring a whopping 61.6 Yahoo points against them last week. Expect them to have a difficult time slowing him down in the rematch, as well.
Center to Avoid
Kristaps Porzingis, DAL at ORL ($35): This is more about Allen's upside than it is about Porzingis, who only has a salary that is two dollars cheaper. With that being said, Porzingis only played 26 minutes Saturday in what was his first game back from injury. Part of that might have been because the Mavericks were up big in that game, but they could also win this contest against the short-handed Magic in convincing fashion, so Porzingis is no lock to log a lot of minutes.
