This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Basketball series.
Following the conclusion of the Group Play stage of the In-Season Tournament on Tuesday, the NBA serves up a seven-game menu Wednesday night. There are quite a few big names sporting injury designations of varying severity, but there are still more than enough options at each position and salary point with 14 teams in action.
As customary, we'll highlight multiple advantageous positional matchups to exploit at each position for your Yahoo Fantasy lineups, as well as a good trio of candidates that may be best to steer clear of due to a combination of circumstances/salary.
Guards
Devin Booker, PHO at TOR ($44): Booker's most recent accomplishment in the early stages of what looks like another standout season was his sinking of the Knicks with a clutch three-pointer Sunday evening at Madison Square Garden. The prolific scorer has plenty on his plate at the moment with Kevin Durant (foot) dealing with injury and uncertain for Wednesday, and with new backcourt mate Bradley Beal (back) still sidelined. Booker is averaging 50.2 Yahoo points per game – arguably making his salary a bit of a potential value – and he could well overdeliver Wednesday after posting 62.0 and 54.5 Yahoo points in his last two games while serving as the primary ballhandler.
Austin Reaves, LAL at DET ($21): Reaves had a bit of a clunker in a tough matchup against the 76ers on Monday in a blowout loss for the Lakers, but he'd scored 31.2 to 40 Yahoo points in his previous four games, offering a glimpse at the considerable upside he brings at his salary. Reaves is averaging 28.2 Yahoo points per game overall, and he draws a solid matchup against a Pistons team surrendering the sixth-most points per game to shooting guards (23.5), along with 47.0% shooting, including 37.7% from behind the arc, to second-unit players.
ALSO CONSIDER: Cole Anthony, ORL vs. WAS ($20)
Guard to Avoid
Brandon Ingram, NOP vs. PHI ($36): Ingram naturally has an attractive ceiling, but there are a couple of factors that make him a bit less appealing Wednesday. One is the fact CJ McCollum (lung/chest) is apparently on track to make his return to the floor, which will lower Ingram's overall usage to an extent. Additionally, Ingram's salary is a bit elevated for a player whose Yahoo point tallies have been in the 30s and 20s more often than they've been in the 40s thus far this season. The 76ers are also a tough matchup for two-guards with De'Anthony Melton's defense, surrendering just 42.8 percent shooting to the position, along with the fourth-fewest Yahoo points per game (38.7).
Forwards
Scottie Barnes, TOR vs. PHO ($37): Barnes is boasting career-best numbers across the board except for his overall shooting percentage, but he is draining a career-high 38.0 percent of his 3-point attempts. The versatile forward is averaging 44.7 Yahoo points per game, and he checks into Wednesday's interconference clash having scored 42 to 49.4 Yahoo points in three of his last four games alone. Barnes has a sizable hand in every aspect of the Raptors' possessions, with his usage rate sitting at a rock-solid 24% and his rebounding, assist, steal and block percentages all in the upper tiers of the league.The Suns could also well be down Durant again Wednesday as well, which would brighten Barnes' overall prospects further and given him an opportunity to deliver a return well beyond his current salary.
John Collins, UTA at MEM ($22): Lauri Markkanen will sit out both Wednesday's and Thursday's games with a hamstring injury, a development that should give Collins a nice usage boost. The veteran big has been rejuvenated in his first season in the desert, and he comes into Wednesday averaging 28.8 Yahoo points per contest despite having underwhelmed in his most recent pair of contests with totals of 19.8 and 14.6. Collins sees a team-high +4.3% usage rate bump when Markkanen is off the floor, and the Grizzlies come in having allowed the third-highest offensive efficiency rating to power forwards (29.9), along with 48.9 Yahoo points per game to the position.
ALSO CONSIDER: Jabari Smith Jr., HOU at DEN ($20)
Forward to Avoid
Tobias Harris, PHI at NOP ($26): Like Ingram, Harris is a solid veteran that nevertheless can underwhelm at times relative to salary. With both Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid healthy, Harris is a clear third wheel in the offense, and he'll come in having scored just 13 to 28 Yahoo points in four of his last five games, a stretch during which he's shooting 40.3%, including 19% from 3-point range. Herbert Jones' defense can also make life miserable for opposing small forwards when facing the Pelicans, making Harris an Avoid candidate Wednesday.
Centers
Joel Embiid, PHI at NOP ($55): Embiid will cost a pretty penny to roster, but needless to say, his ceiling and the matchup both warrant him consideration Wednesday. The dominant big man is clocking 60.4 Yahoo points per game for the season, and he's recorded 61.9 to 72.7 Yahoo points in his last four games. Embiid has actually been at 64.8 Yahoo points or more in seven of 16 games, an astounding statistic that puts his salary into more proper context. The Pelicans could coax one of those elite performances out of him as well, considering New Orleans is allowing the 10th-highest offensive efficiency rating to centers (34.0), along with 56.9 Yahoo points per game to fives.
Jusuf Nurkic, PHO at TOR ($21): Nurkic has been perpetually undervalued from a salary standpoint this season, something that we'll look to capitalize on yet again Wednesday. The big man has been a steady force in his first year in Phoenix, averaging 32.5 Yahoo points per game while posting his best assist (3.9), steals (1.2) and blocks (1.3) since the 2019-20 season. Nurkic has scored 37 to 44.4 Yahoo points in four of his last five games, making his salary Wednesday all the more eye-catching. With Durant potentially out again Wednesday as well, Nurkic could deliver another handsome return on investment versus a Raptors team allowing 56.4 Yahoo points per game to centers,along with the fifth-most assists per game to the position (4.98).
ALSO CONSIDER: Alperen Sengun, HOU at DEN ($36)
Center to Avoid
Marvin Bagley, DET vs. LAL ($15): Bagley was notably left out of the rotation altogether by head coach Monty Williams on Monday against the Wizards, even though he'd been reasonably productive in recent prior games. With no indication of what Williams, who publicly expressed frustration with his team in recent days for a lack of fight, will do Wednesday – and Bagley in a bench role anyhow – he can be left out of lineups for the moment.
