Which players are poised for a big night in fantasy basketball, and which should be left on the DFS bench? Our experts weigh in with their top picks and players to avoid for Thursday's slate.
Players to build around
Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota Timberwolves
Even as he's likely the chalk among wings tonight, Wiggins is an intriguing building block given that the Los Angeles Lakers have yielded 46.9 fantasy points per game to small forwards over the past 10 games on FanDuel. He ranks second in the league in points per touch among players averaging at least 20 minutes, while averaging 19.6 shots per game over the past 15 starts. With both efficiency and volume on his side, Wiggins offers an entirely affordable path to 40 fantasy points tonight. -- Jim McCormick
Wiggins has played the Lakers twice this season, and in those games he has averaged 41.5 points a game. Hello?! Just last Friday he put up 36 points against the Lakers on the road, making 14-of-28 shots. Wiggins is a reasonably priced alternative to LeBron James and/or Jimmy Butler at small forward on Thursday, and this is a matchup you should take advantage of. -- Joe Kaiser
Gorgui Dieng, Minnesota Timberwolves
There's nothing that gets me more excited about a player than when his game environment, positional matchup and recent/historical production all point in one direction: up. The Lakers-Timberwolves game has the second-highest point total of the night, and while the Timberwolves are big favorites at home, we've seen the Lakers keep games like this competitive before. Dieng has been terrific in his last three games, one of which was against these Lakers, with double-digit points in each along with six total steals and seven blocks in that span. The Lakers are not only dead last in defensive efficiency, they've given up the most fantasy points to power forwards this season. Power forward is a nice position to save on tonight, and I haven't built a lineup without Dieng yet. -- Renee Miller
Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, Portland Trail Blazers
Since the beginning of February, both of Portland's high-scoring guards are averaging more than 36 minutes per game. As they continue to fend off the Nuggets for the No. 8 seed in the West, it is safe to say this game means more to the home team than it does to the defense-is-optional Rockets, who are all but locked in to the No. 3 spot. The wiseguys in Vegas project this game to see 228 points scored ... and that may be low given that games featuring Houston have seen an average of 229.7 points scored this month. Lillard is averaging his most 3s made in a month since December 2013, while McCollum is fresh off a game in which he attempted 24 shots from the field, his most in more than 11 weeks. This is going to be a fun one. ... Make sure you're heavily invested. -- Kyle Soppe
Players to fade
It's difficult to deny the incredible workload Ulis is earning of late, as he has topped 39 minutes in six of the past seven starts. Yet I'm fading him in tournaments given the rising price tag and this meeting with an elite defender in Chris Paul. The LA Clippers' stalwart guard leads point guards in defensive plus-minus on the season, thus I'm pivoting to McCollum or paying up for Paul instead. -- Jim McCormick
Jusuf Nurkic, Portland Trail Blazers
It's very difficult to fade someone who is playing as well as Nurkic, but this matchup against the offensive spacing and 3-point shooting of the Rockets could make it difficult for Portland to use a traditional big center like Nurkic for major minutes tonight. With Nurkic's salary on the rise, he's too risky to feel great about a spot in your lineup on Thursday. -- Joe Kaiser
Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns
Booker was a little rusty coming back after injuring his ankle earlier this month, and it wouldn't surprise me if that were the case again tonight. Of course, three games later he was scoring 70 real points, which is why I'm even bothering to include him as a fade tonight. The Clippers are one of the stingiest shooting guard defenses, rating in the bottom five in terms of fantasy points allowed per game to that position. I expect the Suns to be pretty severely outmatched tonight and find little upside with the high-priced Booker in this matchup. There are ways to go higher (McCollum) or lower (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope or one of the Houston guards) in terms of salary, whether you're playing in cash games or tournaments. -- Renee Miller
LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Who knows what will happen with Adam Silver and the "rest" debate, but it is worth noting that the Cavs are on the road tonight and play at home tomorrow. We are not going to get any reassurance that James will play a full complement of minutes tonight, so I'm simply not spending top dollar on him in this spot. If he does play, it's not like we are looking at an ideal matchup. The Bulls are a hungry team trying to sneak into the postseason, and Jimmy Butler is as tough a matchup for a player like James as there is in the league. Yes, James did drop 58 points in his two games against the Bulls this season, but he also had 13 turnovers in those two games and was held without a free throw attempt in one of them despite playing a season-high 45 minutes. It's a small slate, but there are stars in action, and I'd prefer five of them to James. -- Kyle Soppe
