Which players should you build around and which players should you fade for the Monday-Tuesday NBA DFS contests? Our experts have the answers.
Today's panel includes ESPN Fantasy's Kyle Soppe, Joe Kaiser and Tom Carpenter.
Players to build around
Joe Kaiser -- Clint Capela, Houston Rockets
With Nene Hilario out for the rest of the playoffs, Capela will likely have to play more minutes, and that means more opportunity in DFS. Already, Capela has played at least 25 minutes in all four games against the Spurs -- averaging 26.8 MPG in the series -- and his 13.5 PPG, 10 RPG, 1.8 APG and 2.8 BPG are beyond what most would have expected against the league's top defense. If he can build on those numbers with a bigger role, we're talking about a terrific value as long as his salary remains below $7,000.
Kyle Soppe -- Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
Of the two games, you almost have to build around this one due to the well-defined superstar roles, so for me, it's Leonard versus James Harden. Both are obviously great players who are capable of producing video game numbers across the board, but give me the best player on the home team. Consider this: Harden has attempted at least 10 free throws in just one road game this postseason (he has done so in four of five home games) while Leonard is attempting 9.8 freebies at home in the playoffs (7.2 on the road). Leonard has shot 63.5 percent from the field at home this postseason, and while I'll never say that the home teams gets the benefit of the doubt from the officials, I'm not writing these trends off as something that won't continue. If the Spurs star can produce what he averaged in the two San Antonio games earlier this series (27.5 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists), you will be fine -- and there is triple-double upside to be had here.
Jim McCormick -- Patrick Beverley, Houston Rockets
I championed Beverley in redraft competitions this season thanks to his awesome steal production and career-best rebounding rate. He continues to prove larcenous on defense and helpful on the glass, and with at least five 3-point attempts in each game against the Spurs, he's developed a reasonable projection for 25 fantasy points. I'm also fully into shares of Rudy Gobert, as he's fully back to his bankable best with at least 36 minutes and 41 fantasy points in each of his past two games.
Players to fade
Joe Kaiser -- Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors
Thompson needs to score a lot of points in order to be a big factor in DFS, and so far he is averaging just 11.7 PPG while shooting 37.1 percent in the Utah series. His shooting in the playoffs has been way below what we've come to expect out of him -- 38.2 percent in seven games -- and with the Jazz on the ropes after falling behind 0-3 in the series, it's more likely that the Warriors will depend on Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and/or Draymond Green to put them away in Game 4. Thompson is a bad value on DraftKings and very overpriced on FanDuel.
Kyle Soppe -- Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors
The Warriors don't need this game, and even if they did, the sheer volume of ways for them to hurt you makes any one individual player tough to justify paying top dollar for. Yes, he was great on Saturday, but he took nearly as many shots in Game 3 as he did in Games 1-2 combined. That's great if you had him this weekend, but how can you count on that? If you're paying up at the SF position, there is no reason to not go with the high usage of Leonard. If you're paying down, why not spend 50-60 percent of the draft capital and go with a player like Andre Iguodala (28.3 minutes per game in this series) or Trevor Ariza (36.3 MPG and 8.3 rebounds-plus-assists this series)?
Jim McCormick -- LaMarcus Aldridge, San Antonio Spurs
It's nice to note he's lofted at least 13 shots in three straight, but Aldridge has netted just nine free throw attempts and 26 boards across four games against Houston, so I'm fading what has become a variant fantasy pattern. I'd rather take the savings on Trevor Ariza or spend up for Draymond Green at power forward instead of deploying Aldridge over this two-day playoff slate.
