This article is part of our DFS NBA series.
After a larger-than-usual slate Tuesday, we have a modest (by Wednesday standards) six-game ledger Wednesday. There are still plenty of appealing plays across all positions to choose from, including a trio of value options that could overdeliver on their very reasonable salaries.
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
Damian Lillard, MIL vs. ATL ($42): Lillard has enjoyed a couple of spike performances recently, having scored 60.6 and 56.0 Yahoo points three and two games ago, respectively. The star veteran is averaging 43.6 Yahoo points per contest overall for the season and should be in a spot conducive for one of his top-end efforts Wednesday, as the Hawks are allowing the sixth-highest offensive efficiency rating (27.7) to point guards, partly the byproduct of conceding 42.4% shooting from distance to the position. Atlanta is surrendering 51.4 Yahoo points per game to ones as well, and the sixth-most assists (28.7) per road game overall.
Payton Pritchard, BOS vs. DET ($20): Pritchard has taken a monumental step forward this season and is offering production worthy of a starter and a higher salary. Pritchard is now averaging 27.3 Yahoo points per contest after scoring 33.4 to 45 Yahoo points in his last four games, a stretch where he's shooting 54.8%, including 48.8% from 3-point range. The stellar sixth
After a larger-than-usual slate Tuesday, we have a modest (by Wednesday standards) six-game ledger Wednesday. There are still plenty of appealing plays across all positions to choose from, including a trio of value options that could overdeliver on their very reasonable salaries.
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
Damian Lillard, MIL vs. ATL ($42): Lillard has enjoyed a couple of spike performances recently, having scored 60.6 and 56.0 Yahoo points three and two games ago, respectively. The star veteran is averaging 43.6 Yahoo points per contest overall for the season and should be in a spot conducive for one of his top-end efforts Wednesday, as the Hawks are allowing the sixth-highest offensive efficiency rating (27.7) to point guards, partly the byproduct of conceding 42.4% shooting from distance to the position. Atlanta is surrendering 51.4 Yahoo points per game to ones as well, and the sixth-most assists (28.7) per road game overall.
Payton Pritchard, BOS vs. DET ($20): Pritchard has taken a monumental step forward this season and is offering production worthy of a starter and a higher salary. Pritchard is now averaging 27.3 Yahoo points per contest after scoring 33.4 to 45 Yahoo points in his last four games, a stretch where he's shooting 54.8%, including 48.8% from 3-point range. The stellar sixth man faces a Pistons team that's allowing 37.2% shooting from behind the arc to second-unit players, as well as 46.9 Yahoo points per game to PGs in the last seven contests. Pritchard has seen at least 26 minutes in each of the aforementioned four games as well, so he should have a robust amount of time to work with Wednesday.
ALSO CONSIDER: Dennis Schroder, BKN vs. ATL ($25); Dyson Daniels, ATL at MIL ($23)
Guard to Avoid
Terry Rozier, MIA vs. LAL ($33): Rozier continues to carry a salary that's much more commensurate to what he typically did in his Hornets days. The veteran guard has much less scoring responsibility in Miami, and he comes into Wednesday averaging just 22.7 Yahoo points per game. What's more, Rozier is now coming off the bench and just scored 8.1 Yahoo points across 22 minutes against the Celtics on Monday. That was Rozier's second tally below 10 Yahoo points within the last four games, and his sixth under 20 in the last eight contests. Given the investment required to roster him, there's certainly more prudent options way to allocate salary Wednesday.
Forwards
Franz Wagner, ORL at PHI ($40): Wagner has taken his game up several notches since Paolo Banchero went down with a multi-week oblique injury, scoring 43.6 Yahoo points or more in 12 of his last 15 games. The versatile forward has eclipsed 54 Yahoo points in five instances during that stretch as well, a testament to the upside he brings at his salary. Wednesday, Wagner faces a Sixers team allowing the sixth-highest offensive efficiency rating (25.5) and 48.5% shooting to small forwards, and that holds bottom-10 rankings in both rebounds (54.1) and assists (27.2) allowed per game.
Norman Powell, LAC vs. MIN ($23): Powell has been outstanding in his first two games back from a six-game absence due to a hamstring injury, shooting a blistering 62.5%, including 66.7% from 3-point range, in that span while compiling 31.5 and 39.3 Yahoo points. Those figures aren't necessarily outliers, either, considering Powell is averaging 32.7 Yahoo points for the season and boasts career bests in points (23.9), assists (2.4), overall shooting (50.5%) and 3-point shooting (50.7%). Then, the Timberwolves are allowing 47.4% shooting to small forwards, along with 42.4 Yahoo points per contest to the position in the last 15 games.
ALSO CONSIDER: Jaylen Brown, BOS vs. DET ($37)
Forward to Avoid
Jimmy Butler, MIA vs. LAL ($30): Butler is the second Heat player that might be prudent to stay away from Wednesday. The star veteran heads into the day sporting a questionable tag due to right knee soreness after already missing Monday's game against the Celtics, so even if he plays, he could be somewhat limited. Additionally, Butler is capable of delivering occasional duds despite his impressive ceiling, and with enough similarly talented options that don't have health concerns attached available, he can be considered a somewhat risky proposition.
Centers
Kristaps Porzingis, BOS vs. DET ($34): Porzingis has been progressively ramping up his minutes without issue after his delayed season debut following his recovery from knee surgery. The big man just played a season-high 32 minutes against the Cavaliers on Tuesday and scored 42.6 Yahoo points, then took the second leg of the back-to-back set off Monday. That leaves Porzingis, who's averaging 36.3 Yahoo points in his first three games, well-rested for a matchup against a Pistons team allowing 56 Yahoo points per game to centers in the last 15 contests, along with 45.2% 3-point shooting to the position, the latter figure particularly relevant considering the Celtics' propensity for long-range shooting and Porzingis' own floor-stretch prowess.
Moritz Wagner, ORL at PHI ($20): Wagner has found his niche off the bench for the Magic, as he'll enter Wednesday averaging a career-high 13.1 points and 5.1 rebounds across just 19.3 minutes per contest. The versatile veteran just posted a season-best 20-point, 12-rebound double-double against the Knicks on Tuesday that netted 43.9 Yahoo points, and he had five tallies of between 28.8 and 35.9 Yahoo points in five of his previous six games as well. Goga Bitadze could sit out another game Wednesday due to his ankle sprain, which could mean more minutes for Wagner against a Sixers team allowing the seventh-highest offensive efficiency rating to second-unit players (44.3), along with the seventh-most rebounds (16.5) in that split.
ALSO CONSIDER: Brook Lopez, MIL vs. ATL ($26)
Center to Avoid
Jalen Duren, DET at BOS ($27): It's difficult to pinpoint a center worth avoiding Wednesday, but Duren may fit the bill at his salary. The third-year pro has seen a big dip in scoring this season to 8.9 points per game (from 13.8 last season), and although he is providing a career-best 1.4 blocks per contest, he's still been under a Yahoo point per dollar on his current salary in 12 of 21 games. Four of those instances have come within the last seven games alone, and with Porzingis down low to contend with Wednesday, Duren could be headed for another night where his production doesn't quite live up to his salary.
