This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Basketball series.
Saturday brings a wild day in the NBA with 12 games on the schedule, 11 of which make up the main evening slate on Yahoo. With so many options to sift through, let's get right down to business and highlight some players to target and avoid while creating your entry.
GUARDS
Bradley Beal, WAS vs. MIL ($40): Beal is coming off of a monster month of January where he posted a 30.9 percent usage rate, high highest of any month this season. With his well-rounded stat lines, Beal has scored at least 41.8 Yahoo points in eight of his last 10 games. He should have plenty of opportunities to be productive again Saturday since both the Wizards and the Bucks are inside the top-nine in the league in pace of play. The last time these two teams met, Beal scored a whopping 58.5 Yahoo points.
Tim Frazier, NO at SA ($10): The Pelicans won't be receiving any reinforcements for their backcourt Saturday with Elfrid Payton (ankle) and E'Twaun Moore (rest) both ruled out. Frazier has been productive with them on the sidelines the last two games, scoring 29.9 and 25.6 Yahoo points, respectively. Even though he didn't start either contest, the fact that the Pelicans play at the fifth-fastest pace (103.1 possessions per game) leaves Frazier with plenty of upside at the minimum price.
Guard to Avoid
Brandon Ingram, LAL at GS ($26)): Luckily for the Lakers, LeBron James was able to return from his groin injury to lead them to victory over the Clippers on Thursday. While that's great news for the team, James' return is not good for Ingram's fantasy value. He played 44 minutes Thursday, but finished with just 27.8 Yahoo points. He's only averaged 21.5 Yahoo points in two previous meetings with the Warriors this year, so he might be someone to avoid for their rematch.
FORWARDS
Cedi Osman, CLE vs. DAL ($19): Osman has cranked up his game lately with at least 33.6 Yahoo points in each of his last four contests. His big uptick in production can mostly be attributed to his offensive numbers. He's averaging 12.7 points per game for the season, but he averaged 24.3 points during that four-game stretch. With the Mavericks extremely thin right now due to their trade with the Knicks, Osman could once again thrive against their backups.
Darius Miller, NO at SA ($14): The Pelicans' backcourt won't be their only area of weakness Saturday with Anthony Davis (finger), Nikola Mirotic (calf) and Julius Randle (ankle) all expected to remain sidelined. Miller has started three of their last four games due to all of the injuries and averaged 33.1 Yahoo points in those contests. At this reasonable price tag, he makes for an excellent option in tournament play.
Forward to Avoid
Kent Bazemore, ATL at PHO ($19): The Hawks are as healthy as they've been in a while. That's not exactly good news in DFS considering Bazemore, Kevin Huerter, DeAndre' Bembry and Taurean Prince are all fighting for minutes at shooting guard and small forward. Bazemore hasn't played more than 19 minutes in either game since returning from injury and likely won't have a huge role again Saturday.
CENTERS
Nikola Vucevic, ORL vs. BKN ($39): Vucevic was named to his first All-Star team on Thursday and it was certainly a well-deserved selection. He's having by far the best season of his career with averages of 20.6 points, 12 rebounds, 3.8 assists, one steal and 1.1 blocks per contest. His chances of keeping things rolling are excellent Saturday considering he'll face a Nets team that has allowed the third-most Yahoo points per game (48.7) to opposing centers. The last time he faced them, Vucevic dominated with 59.3 Yahoo points.
Dwight Powell, DAL at CLE ($12): It doesn't look like the Mavericks are going to have any of the players that they acquired from the Knicks in uniform for this game. Even if they did, Powell should still receive added playing time with DeAndre Jordan no longer on the roster. He didn't start against the Pistons on Thursday, but he still scored 26.5 Yahoo points in 24 minutes. With the Cavaliers still missing Tristan Thompson (foot) and Kevin Love (toe), Powell makes a lot of sense at just over the minimum price.
Center to Avoid
Willie Cauley-Stein, SAC vs. PHI ($20): Cauley-Stein doesn't exactly come into this game firing on all cylinders with 22.2 Yahoo points or fewer in four of his last six games. This might appear to be a good matchup since the Kings and Sixers are both inside the top-seven in pace of play, but facing Joel Embiid is no easy task. It wouldn't be surprising to see Cauley-Stein in foul trouble early in the game, making him a risk that's probably not worth taking considering how many other viable options there are for this 11-game slate.
