This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Basketball series.
We're set for a nine-game slate Wednesday that features a couple of marquee matchups and several scenarios where players have a strong chance of outperforming current salaries due to short-term expanded roles.
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
Luka Doncic, DAL vs. GSW ($60): Sometimes the player carrying the highest salary of the slate happens to be worth every penny, and such is the case with Doncic on Wednesday. The otherworldly point guard has flashed a floor of 60 Yahoo points of late, scoring over that amount in eight straight games. That sample includes tallies of 75 and 84.8 Yahoo points, and he also recorded 74.3 against the Suns two games before the start of that stretch. Moreover, Doncic racked up 65.6 Yahoo points against the Warriors last time he saw them Dec. 30, and Golden State remains short-handed in the backcourt with Stephen Curry (ankle) still out Wednesday.
Chris Paul, GSW at DAL ($21): Speaking of Curry, his replacement, Paul, has delivered some very impressive returns in his stead during the first two games of his absence. The veteran guard has collected 37.3 and 43.8 Yahoo points in those contests, and he's shooting 52.8%, including 40.0% from 3-point range, during his last three games overall. The Mavs could well facilitate another
We're set for a nine-game slate Wednesday that features a couple of marquee matchups and several scenarios where players have a strong chance of outperforming current salaries due to short-term expanded roles.
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
Luka Doncic, DAL vs. GSW ($60): Sometimes the player carrying the highest salary of the slate happens to be worth every penny, and such is the case with Doncic on Wednesday. The otherworldly point guard has flashed a floor of 60 Yahoo points of late, scoring over that amount in eight straight games. That sample includes tallies of 75 and 84.8 Yahoo points, and he also recorded 74.3 against the Suns two games before the start of that stretch. Moreover, Doncic racked up 65.6 Yahoo points against the Warriors last time he saw them Dec. 30, and Golden State remains short-handed in the backcourt with Stephen Curry (ankle) still out Wednesday.
Chris Paul, GSW at DAL ($21): Speaking of Curry, his replacement, Paul, has delivered some very impressive returns in his stead during the first two games of his absence. The veteran guard has collected 37.3 and 43.8 Yahoo points in those contests, and he's shooting 52.8%, including 40.0% from 3-point range, during his last three games overall. The Mavs could well facilitate another breakout effort at a value salary, considering Dallas ranks No. 22 in offensive efficiency rating allowed to point guards (29.0) and is allowing 50.1 Yahoo points per contest to the position in the last 15 games.
ALSO CONSIDER: Cade Cunningham, DET vs. TOR ($35)
Guard to Avoid
Terry Rozier, MIA vs. DEN ($39): Rozier's salary is unusually elevated for a player who has rarely come close to delivering a fantasy point per dollar on the current figure since his arrival in Miami. The veteran did have one spike performance of 53.7 Yahoo points against the Mavs on Thursday, but he's otherwise been under 30 Yahoo points in three of his last five games and hasn't scored more than 37.7 in any other contest during his time thus far with the Heat. With a tough matchup against the defending champions on tap, there are better allocations for this amount of your salary cap Wednesday.
Forwards
Miles Bridges, CHA at MEM ($38): Bridges continues to be one of the few bright spots on a short-handed Hornets squad that's playing out the string on a non-contending season, most recently scoring 37.9 to 55.4 Yahoo points in his last three games. Bridges also has a pair of tallies of over 40 Yahoo points within the last six contests, justifying his current salary. The Grizzlies are even more injury-ravaged than Charlotte and could well be down Jaren Jackson (quadriceps) again Wednesday, and Memphis already checks in allowing 47.8% shooting, including 38.6% from 3-point range, to power forwards, along with a Western Conference-high 54.6 rebounds per home game overall.
Michael Porter Jr., DEN at MIA ($22): Porter could turn out to be one of the best fantasy-point-per-dollar plays of the night, if both his recent performances and his body of work against the Heat in the first meeting are any indication. The talented wing lit up Miami for 57.7 Yahoo points on Feb. 29 at Ball Arena on the strength of a 30-point, 11-rebound double-double, and he's gone on to score 29.4 to 48 Yahoo points in four of the subsequent five games as well. Porter is shooting 57.5% over the entirety of that span, and although the Heat is healthier this time around, they're still allowing 43.7 Yahoo points per contest to small forwards in the last seven games.
ALSO CONSIDER: Zion Williamson, NOP vs. CLE ($37)
Forward to Avoid
Franz Wagner, ORL vs. BKN ($35): Like Rozier, Wagner is another talented player who nevertheless isn't playing up to the level that warrants the type of salary he's carrying Wednesday. The young wing has scored 34.6 Yahoo points or fewer – putting him under the fantasy point per dollar threshold – in six of the last seven games. What's more, the most unremarkable part of that stretch has been the most recent, as Wagner has tallies of 27.6, 13.6, 20.8 and 25.8 Yahoo points in four of his last five games. While the matchup against the Nets certainly isn't prohibitive, you can likely do better with Wagner's salary.
Centers
Domantas Sabonis, SAC vs. LAL ($48): Sabonis was the call in this spot exactly one week ago as well in a road matchup at Crypto.com Arena. He's right back in play at the same salary at home Wednesday after hanging 61 Yahoo points on the Lakers across 38 minutes in that contest. Sabonis has scored 66.9 and 61 Yahoo points in two of the subsequent three games as well, and he hasn't been under 50.2 Yahoo points in any March contest. Having already proven his ability to thrive in the matchup and boasting one of the safest floors on the slate, Sabonis is worth the investment.
Kelly Olynyk, TOR at DET ($18): Olynyk is another player poised to potentially blow past his salary Wednesday as he continues filling the starting center role in place of Jakob Poeltl (finger). The floor-spacing veteran has been in impressive form during his ongoing four-game starting stint, posting 31.7 to 43.7 Yahoo points in three of those contests. Additionally, Olynyk posted 39.5 and 24.8 Yahoo points in the two games prior to that stretch, making him well worth the roster spot against a Pistons team ranked No. 25 in offensive efficiency rating allowed to centers (35.1) and surrendering 58.4 Yahoo points per game to the position in the last 15 contests.
ALSO CONSIDER: Deandre Ayton, POR vs. ATL ($24)
Center to Avoid
Andre Drummond, CHI at IND ($25): Drummond is yet another case of a player who has put together some eye-catching performances this season but is still carrying too high a salary for recent production. The veteran big man has certainly opened eyes with some vintage rebounding efforts and had two tallies of over 40 and one over 50 Yahoo points in February, but he's back in a bench role in March and has scored under 20 Yahoo points in five straight. Drummond has also played under 20 minutes in each of the last three contests, making him a bit risky at his salary.
