Which players should you build around and which players should you fade in DFS as we tip off Tuesday's NBA action? Our experts have the answers.
Players to build around
Andre Snellings: Austin Rivers, Los Angeles Clippers
Rivers has averaged 37 points, 4.5 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 combined steals/blocks in his past two games. It's hard to expect that level of scoring to continue, but he remains a primary scorer for the Clippers in their current iteration, and on Tuesday he faces a Sacramento Kings defense that has allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing point guards over their past five games.
Joe Kaiser: Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies face the Suns in Phoenix for the second time in five days, and the first time went very well for Gasol. Efficiency aside -- he was 6-of-19 -- the big man filled the box score with 13 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. Expect a similarly strong effort from Gasol in this one against the 28th-ranked Suns' defense.
Renee Miller: Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons
There are several good PF/C plays tonight, and Drummond is the most expensive of them. I'm willing to build around the Pistons' big man partly because I think he'll end with the most fantasy points in the league's top DvP matchup for centers with Indiana, and partly because I think many people will go just a little (or a lot) cheaper at the position, with someone like Marc Gasol or DeAndre Jordan or one of the value plays from Orlando or Miami. In three games with the Pacers this season, Drummond is averaging 16 points, 16 rebounds and over 2 blocks per game. His floor/ceiling combo makes him the perfect player to work with tonight.
Kyle Soppe: Drummond, Pistons
I typically stay away from limited players, but when the numbers point in a positive direction for a player with a floor like this, I can't help myself. Drummond has pulled down at least 13 rebounds in four of his past five games (blocking 10 shots over that stretch) and now gets a team that ranks among the 10 worst in rebounding rate. The Pacers rank 26th in terms of preventing paint points, so you're looking at an increased ceiling and 20-20 potential ... he's worth the price of admission tonight.
Players to avoid
Snellings: Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
Leonard is a fantasy monster when healthy, but he's still working his way back after his quad injury kept him out the first two months of the season. His DFS price has dropped slightly, but he's still priced as a strong impact player when as yet he hasn't shown that he's worth that. His Tuesday opponent, the Brooklyn Nets, are very beatable, but Leonard has yet to play more than 20 minutes in a game yet this season, which limits his upside.
Miller: Milos Teodosic, Los Angeles Clippers
When he debuted earlier in December, Teodosic was a candidate for big minutes and big production with injuries plaguing the Clippers this season. However, his stat lines are a lot lower than we'd like to see given his salary ($5,900 FD, $4,600 DK) -- he's yet to touch 30 fantasy points thanks to inconsistencies across the board. Maybe it's just that he hasn't found a rhythm yet, what with sitting out a game here and a game there; maybe it's that Austin Rivers is on fire right now, scoring all the points (85 total points in the last three games). Whatever the case, I'm fading Teodosic until he picks up the production and/or sees a significant salary decrease, particularly in a tough matchup with George Hill.
Kaiser: DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors
DeRozan always has a chance to fill it up and come through with a big scoring night, but Wesley Matthews can slow down elite scorers -- which he showed recently against Golden State's Klay Thompson -- and the Mavs are the fourth-slowest paced team in the NBA. Unless DeRozan scores 30-plus tonight, he's going to have a difficult time reaching his salary value. Keep in mind, though, that he's averaging 30.8 PPG in his last five games, so this is going against the grain.
Soppe: DeRozan, Raptors
DeRozan is the straw that stirs the Raptors' drink and I very much believe he can be the key factor on a threat in the Eastern Conference, but the recent 3-point binge (20 attempts over his last three games after attempting just 12 for the month of December prior to this outburst) along with facing the fourth-slowest paced opponent in basketball has me leery of paying top dollar. Double-D is lethal from the midrange, but there is a reason he rarely ventures behind the 3-point line ... he's a 28.6 percent career shooter. DeRozan isn't the type of player to take over a game in multiple ways, so when I have any doubt about his ability to put 25 points on the board, I can't pick him.
