Which players should you build around and which players should you fade in DFS as we tip off Tuesday night's NBA action? Our experts have the answers.
Today's panel includes ESPN Fantasy's Kyle Soppe and Joe Kaiser, plus DFS expert Renee Miller.
Players to build around
Joe Kaiser -- Chris Paul, LA Clippers
If the Clippers have any chance of beating the Utah Jazz without Blake Griffin, it's going to be because their star point guard goes off. We know Paul is capable of doing just that, as he showed in Sunday's road game with 27 points, 9 rebounds, 12 assists and 1 steal. Combining Paul with Westbrook and going cheap at the other spots on your roster could be the approach to take on Tuesday.
Kyle Soppe -- Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder, and James Harden, Houston Rockets
I suggested that you push all of your chips into the middle on BOTH of these stars on Friday, and I'm doubling down today. I say that not as an ego boost, but rather as a way to show you that doing this isn't crazy -- at all. In fact, I'm not sure that it is insane to add Marc Gasol and give yourself a DFS Big 3 tonight (I currently have all three rostered on both FanDuel and DraftKings with value picks around them). I'm not worried about nagging injuries to Westbrook or Harden, as the fact that this game opened with a projected point total that was 27 points higher than the other two games on tonight's slate is all the comfort I need. By most metrics, Harden hasn't played well this series ... the man is averaging 33 points, 6 rebounds, and nearly 8 dimes per game. He continues to attack the rim (14 free throws per game), and given that the Rockets have yet to score fewer than 113 points in this series, I'll take my chances on his counting stats. As for Westbrook, you may have heard that the team isn't very good with him off the court. With their season on the line, his production ceiling will break all projection models, making him a reasonable play, even at this price point.
Renee Miller -- Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies
There's a good chance Westbrook or Harden post as many fantasy points as the entire Grizzlies team tonight, so I'm not forgetting about those guys when I make this pick. However, to build around Gasol is to build smartly tonight. This game isn't particularly appealing, owning the lowest point total of the three and offering the slowest pace/best defense combination on the slate. But, center is a tough position to fill tonight and Gasol's reasonable salary, high usage and consistent fantasy lines appeal to me. The way he gets there may vary from extremely high scoring to double-digit rebounds, but he always offers a few assists, and any steals and blocks are icing on the cake. Gasol is just cheap enough to fill the center slot and allow you one other top star player without forcing a regret-filled lineup.
Players to fade
Joe Kaiser -- Steven Adams, Oklahoma City Thunder
Adams' big showing in Game 4 led to more than 35 DFS points and is sure to give him a bump in ownership heading into Tuesday, but he hadn't reached 35 DFS points in any of the previous 14 games. He also didn't reach 25 DFS points in 11 of those games. Don't let recency bias cloud your perception of Adams, who needs to reach 25 DFS points to reach his salary value on both sites tonight.
Kyle Soppe -- Mike Conley, Memphis Grizzlies
Conley can lead the Grizz to an upset victory and a 3-2 series lead, but I'm not banking on it. He is coming off of his best game of 2017 (35 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists), but the Grizzlies are now going back to San Antonio and Memphis is a 10-point underdog with an implied point total of 88. Conley has been largely responsible for the Grizzlies sweeping their home games (59 points on 55.6 percent shooting and 3.4 assists per turnover), so would it surprise you to see him get the Kawhi Leonard treatment more in this game? The Spurs' brass has forgotten more basketball than I'll ever know, but if I can connect the dots between Memphis success and Conley production, I'm sure they can, and given that they have arguably the best defender in basketball, it's not hard to imagine San Antonio forcing anyone besides Conley to beat them. For the difference in price, give me George Hill or either Spurs PG tonight over Conley.
Renee Miller -- DeAndre Jordan, LA Clippers, and Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
I expect Gobert to still be somewhat limited in Game 5 tonight, which is why he appears here, but even a little bit of Gobert is enough to scare me off of Jordan. We saw Jordan's production decline pretty significantly (about four rebounds and three points fewer in Game 4 than Games 1-3) with just 24 minutes of Gobert Sunday night. These two are the most expensive centers on both sites, and while there aren't a ton of options at this position, I think you're better off saving with Gasol (see above).
