Which players should you build around and which players should you fade in DFS as we tip off Wednesday's NBA action? Our experts have the answers.
Today's panel includes ESPN Fantasy's Jim McCormick, Eric Karabell and Kyle Soppe.
Players to build around
Eric Karabell -- Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
The reason his exorbitant price -- which is actually exceeded by several others on this night -- seems more worth it today is because on an 11-game slate there are plenty of inexpensive options to fill out lineups, but also the Thunder could be without or with a compromised Carmelo Anthony and/or Steven Adams. That means a higher usage rate for a player probably longing to return to last year's craziness when he was doing just about everything. The Bulls are awful so the only risk here is that Westbrook scores his 45 points and triple-double in three quarters and gets removed.
Jim McCormick -- Dennis Schroder, Atlanta Hawks
This is likely not a shock to most hoops fans, but the Sacramento Kings are bad on defense this season. The Kings are 27th in defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) and specific to Schroder's case, have allowed the 11th-most fantasy points per game to point guards on FanDuel's scoring key. With Westbrookian offensive freedom -- he's 10th in the league in usage rate, a measure of team players consumed by an individual player -- Schroder is a high-floor option set with a savory matchup.
Kyle Soppe -- Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
Players like Davis are why DFS was created and I'm all in on him tonight. The Pelicans rely as heavily on their star players as any team in the league (Davis, DeMarcus Cousins, and Jrue Holiday all rank among the top five in minutes per game) and I'm thinking they exploit an average Raptors defense that is exhausted (on the second night of a back-to-back and this will be their ninth road game in 3.5 weeks). Davis has taken his game behind the 3-point line more this season, but it hasn't resulted in him attacking the basket any less, as his usage inside of eight feet is actually above his career average. You get a slight discount on Davis tonight due to his failure to reach value less than a week ago against these Raptors, but we are talking about a worn down team that is already the fourth most transition points per game ... take advantage!
Players to fade
Eric Karabell -- Lonzo Ball, Los Angeles Lakers
He followed up his first triple-double with his more normal line of missed shots and disappointment in a great matchup with the Suns and while a matchup against the 76ers might look good on paper, their point guard is really tall and doing a nice job defensively. Ben Simmons is really good. And backup point T.J. McConnell pays attention defensively. Ball's price rose quite a bit after the triple-double but he's still far too unreliable statistically to count on at this and I'd argue any price.
Jim McCormick -- Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves
The Spurs are fifth in the league in rebounding rate, have the fifth-best defensive rating and play at the fourth-slowest pace. The sum of these matchup metrics has me fading KAT, especially as similarly priced players such as Andre Drummond and Joel Embiid are in better matchups with similar, if not better, outcome spectrums.
Kyle Soppe -- Tyreke Evans, Memphis Grizzlies
On DraftKings, Evans' price has increased by 61 percent. Let that sink in. Sixty one percent. Yes, he has been ultra-impressive in his 13 games with the Grizz, but are we really confident that what he is doing is anywhere near sustainable? He is shooting nearly 46 percent from outside of 16 feet this season ... in a full season, he has never shot over 35 percent. Even with his efficient play, he ranks 39th in usage rate this season, something that makes me think that when inevitable regression takes place, his volume will not buoy his fantasy value. I'm not saying the regression monster takes over tonight (it might), but the risk/reward that comes with this price point is not worth your time.
