Which players should you build around in DFS basketball contests tonight, and who belongs on the fantasy bench? Our experts weigh in with their picks and fades.
Players to build around
Joe Kaiser -- Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic
Golden State needed a late lift from Draymond Green to eke out a narrow win at home over Philadelphia on Tuesday, and the Warriors are struggling mightily on both sides of the ball right now. Not only are shots not falling, but their defense is as porous as it's been in several years. Enter Vucevic, a big man who can score in many ways. Expect the Magic center to come up big in this game both as a scorer and rebounder.
Renee Miller -- Joe Ingles, Utah Jazz
The Jazz are shorthanded on the road in Cleveland tonight, with Rodney Hood and Derrick Favors very likely to miss the game. The increased pace and poor overall defensive ranking of the Cavs bodes well for George Hill and Gordon Hayward as well, but Ingles is a great way to start thinking value tonight. Playing 26-28 minutes the last few games, Ingles is a versatile player who should be able to take advantage of Cleveland's soft wing defense (they're a top-five matchup for shooting guards and small forwards in terms of fantasy points allowed per game). Moreover, Ingles has made seven of nine 3-pointers attempted over the last two games.
Kyle Soppe -- Marreese Speights, LA Clippers
You have to love it when value presents itself well ahead of time, and that is the case with "Mo Buckets" as neither DeAndre Jordan or Blake Griffin made the trip to Denver for tonight's game. That means that the Clippers have nearly 66 minutes to replace, and given Speights' fantasy-friendly role (0.44 shots per minute this season, just a tick behind Jimmy Butler's rate), any minutes spike makes him a must play. His scoring alone should allow him to achieve value tonight, so the fact that he has grabbed at least six rebounds in three of the four games this month in which he has played at least 15 minutes is simply icing on the cake. For what it's worth, the significant spike in playing time for Speights also benefits the Nuggets and makes Nikola Jokic the top expensive play on my board.
Players to fade
Joe Kaiser -- Aaron Gordon, Orlando Magic
If there's one player on the Magic who I'm avoiding tonight, it's Gordon, who will be matched up against Draymond Green. While the Warriors are having a hard time stopping anyone defensively, Green is the one defender you can always rely on in Golden State. Gordon isn't the scorer that others like Vucevic, Evan Fournier and Terrence Ross are. Gordon will have to earn everything he gets tonight, and I don't think he'll score enough to reach his salary value.
Jim McCormick -- Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
There's no one I absolutely won't use tonight, which is unusual even for a smaller slate like this one. The matchups for some of the big men aren't great, but I think their prices make up for it. While there is plenty of value tonight, there are also ample expensive players I want some exposure to at each position. So, if I prioritize those, I guess it's Irving that I'm least inclined to figure out a way to get in lineups tonight. The matchup with Utah isn't great, as the Jazz play at the slowest pace in the league and rank third in both defensive efficiency and rebounding rate. They also don't turn the ball over a ton, and Irving is competing with a red-hot LeBron James on both ends of the court. With a slower-than-normal pace, there will be fewer possessions to go around and it's likely that Irving won't return much on your investment tonight.
Kyle Soppe -- Paul Millsap, Atlanta Hawks
With no shortage of injuries or inactives in the frontcourt on this six-game slate, Millsap may seem like a reasonable value... don't make that mistake. The Grizzlies allow the fewest paint points per game, and when you combine that with the fact that Millsap is struggling in a big way to get easy buckets (shooting a career-low 53.2 percent from inside of eight feet while a career-low 40.2 percent of his usage is coming from in close), I just don't see any upside here. The Hawks' big has just four double-doubles since the beginning of February and I'm not of the train of thought that those struggles right themselves against an elite defense that slows pace.
