This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Basketball series.
The NBA returns from its annual Election Night layoff with a massive 12-game slate, giving us an abundant player pool to work with for DFS purposes. Fortunately, we have potential value to be found for each position on both the high and low end of the salary scale, making for a fun night of roster construction.
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
Jalen Brunson, NYK at ATL ($45): Brunson has opened the season in strong form, but his last two games have reminded us why he's worthy of a spot in the upper echelon of the guard pool each time he takes the floor. The veteran has scored 48.7 and 46.6 Yahoo points in his last two games, draining 50.0% of his 46 shots during that span, including an elite 66.7% of his 3-point attempts. He's in prime position to continue thriving Wednesday, considering the Hawks are allowing 48.8 Yahoo points per game to point guards, along with the second-highest offensive efficiency rating (32.9) and league-high 47.1% 3-point shooting to the position.
Jalen Suggs, ORL at IND ($23): Suggs' salary stands out for a player who's already eclipsed 45 Yahoo points on four occasions in the new season, including a season-high 57.1 Yahoo points against the Cavaliers three games ago. Suggs is
The NBA returns from its annual Election Night layoff with a massive 12-game slate, giving us an abundant player pool to work with for DFS purposes. Fortunately, we have potential value to be found for each position on both the high and low end of the salary scale, making for a fun night of roster construction.
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
Jalen Brunson, NYK at ATL ($45): Brunson has opened the season in strong form, but his last two games have reminded us why he's worthy of a spot in the upper echelon of the guard pool each time he takes the floor. The veteran has scored 48.7 and 46.6 Yahoo points in his last two games, draining 50.0% of his 46 shots during that span, including an elite 66.7% of his 3-point attempts. He's in prime position to continue thriving Wednesday, considering the Hawks are allowing 48.8 Yahoo points per game to point guards, along with the second-highest offensive efficiency rating (32.9) and league-high 47.1% 3-point shooting to the position.
Jalen Suggs, ORL at IND ($23): Suggs' salary stands out for a player who's already eclipsed 45 Yahoo points on four occasions in the new season, including a season-high 57.1 Yahoo points against the Cavaliers three games ago. Suggs is averaging a career-high 13.3 shot attempts per game as well and has twice taken as many as 13 attempts from behind the arc in a game thus far. Wednesday, he does battle with a Pacers squad that's allowing the eighth-highest offensive efficiency rating to point guards (28.3), along with the fourth-most points per game (28.4) and 50.7 Yahoo points per contest to ones.
ALSO CONSIDER: Ja Morant, MEM vs. LAL ($43); Chris Paul, SAN at HOU ($22)
Guard to Avoid
Fred VanVleet, HOU vs. SAN ($36): VanVleet is the first of three talented Avoid suggestions that seem to be carrying a salary a bit too high for their overall production thus far. The veteran has scored 28.1 Yahoo points or less on three occasions, and while he's contributed between 31.8 and 37.9 Yahoo points on his four other games, he carries a bit too much volatility for a player requiring that high of an investment. A big reason for the inconsistency has been abysmal efficiency, as VanVleet is shooting only 33.0% and is now facing a Spurs team allowing only 39.9% shooting to point guards.
Forwards
Jayson Tatum, BOS vs. GSW ($51): Tatum is going to consume a sizable chunk of your cap, but he could well be worth the investment Wednesday as he once again takes the floor without Jaylen Brown (hip). Tatum already boasts a massive 35.7% usage rate and averages over 60 Yahoo points per 36 minutes without Brown on the floor this season, and he comes in averaging 51.2 Yahoo points per contest. Tatum has gotten to that point by averaging between 53.7 and 61.6 Yahoo points in three of his last four games, a stretch during which he's taken a whopping 12.5 attempts from distance per contest. The opposing Warriors have allowed the fourth-most made 3s per game to PFs (3.1) and second-most total rebounds per road game (57.3), brightening Tatum's prospects further.
Norman Powell, LAC vs. PHI ($21): Much like Suggs, Powell is another player carrying a salary in the low $20s that has the ability to deliver a handsome return on investment. The veteran wing has taken on a much bigger offensive role this season with Kawhi Leonard (knee) sidelined and Paul George now in Philadelphia, shooting 50.8%, including a blistering 45.0% from 3-point range. Powell is also taking a career-high 17.7 shot attempts per contest, leading to a career-best 24.9 points per game. On the fantasy front, he's averaging 33.3 Yahoo points per game and is facing a Sixers squad allowing 49.4% shooting to two-guards, including 46.5% from behind the arc.
ALSO CONSIDER: Jalen Johnson, ATL vs. NYK ($35)
Forward to Avoid
Miles Bridges, CHA vs. DET ($36): Bridges' play has been a disappointment overall from a fantasy perspective, as he's shooting just 36.4%, including 23.8% from behind the arc. The veteran is averaging only 26.3 Yahoo points per game as well, scoring over 30 just twice. While Bridges has the talent to emerge on any given night, his present body of work would point toward his lofty salary being invested elsewhere on your roster.
Centers
Domantas Sabonis, SAC vs. TOR ($51): Sabonis already put up 56 Yahoo points against the Raptors two games ago on the strength of 17-point, 20-rebound, 10-assist triple-double, which represents a formidable start to his case for a roster spot Wednesday. Toronto is also now allowing the fourth-highest offensive efficiency rating to centers (38.4) and a league-high 71.3 Yahoo points per contest to the position, while Sabonis is riding a six-game streak with at least a double-double and is posting the second-highest 3-point shooting percentage of his career (50.0%).
Zach Edey, MEM vs. LAL ($22): Edey ran into some foul trouble over his first handful of pro starts, but the rookie has hit his stride since. Edey has scored between 24.6 and 50.9 Yahoo points in his last three contests, the latter total coming via a spectacular 25-point, 12-rebound double-double that also included four blocks against the Nets on Monday. Edey's massive 7-foot-4 dimensions should continue to facilitate a path to success Wednesday against a Lakers team that's surrendered 54.3 Yahoo points per game to centers, along with the fifth-highest offensive efficiency rating to the position (36.6).
ALSO CONSIDER: Bam Adebayo, MIA at PHO ($39)
Center to Avoid
Clint Capela, ATL vs. NYK ($27): Capela may be nearing the end of the line as far as his first-unit days are concerned, as he's opened the season by scoring in single digits in five of his first eight games and putting up only 20.9 Yahoo points per game. Capela's 6.5 rebounds per game are also his lowest average since the 2015-16 season, and he's averaging under 1.0 block per game for the first time since his 2014-15 campaign. The Knicks also rank in the top 10 in offensive efficiency rating allowed to centers (29.8) and are conceding the second-fewest rebounds per game to the position (11.7), further dimming the outlook for Capela, who's averaging the second-fewest minutes (22.3/G) of his career.
