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 André Snellings and Kyle Soppe, and DFS experts Renee Miller and Jim McCormick.
Players to build around
Kyle Soppe -- Evan Fournier, Orlando Magic
Calling this slate an underwhelming one is a bit of an understatement, so building a winner is going to be a bit different than your typical night with eight games. Fournier is averaging a career-best 18 points per game this season thanks in large part to increased touches from 16-plus feet (he's shooting 42.5 percent on such shots this season, up from 36.2 percent last season) and the increased confidence on the offensive end is worth investing in against the fastest moving team in the NBA. The Lakers have coughed up at least 113 points in nine of their last 11 road games, and while the Magic have lost 11 of 13 games, they are not struggling to put points on the board (106.5 PPG over that stretch), making Fournier a bargain at this price. He's not the most exciting of players, but this isn't an exciting slate and he figures to be a difference maker in this good spot.
André Snellings -- Dwight Howard, Charlotte Hornets
Howard was in this space five days ago, the last time that he faced the Hawks. The reasoning today is the same as then, that a) he's playing dominant basketball with a long streak of double-digit rebound games, b) that the Hawks are weak against opposing center, allowing the most fantasy points in the NBA to the position, and c) Howard has that little bit of extra motivation against his former team. When they played last week, Howard scored 18 points (4-7 FG, 10-14 FT) with 15 rebounds, 7 blocks, 3 assists and a steal in 34 minutes of action.
Renee Miller -- Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies
Gasol was one of the first to show us that Indiana is a good frontcourt matchup this season. He scored 35 points with 13 rebounds and five blocks the first time he played the Pacers. Is there concern that he's wearing down, playing so many minutes for such a bad team? I guess so, but he's double-doubled in each of the last two games for a total of 20 double-doubles this season, same as he had three years ago in a full season (81 games played) and had his first triple-double of the year last Friday night. He's continued to build on his three-point breakout season last year, and is tied with his career high (84 percent) free throw shooting. His eight blocks in the last two games tell me that his energy is fine, and I expect a strong showing from Gasol tonight.
Jim McCormick -- Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns
Booker has been a fantasy force since returning from an injury just after Christmas; he's averaged 18.9 shots and 25.2 PPG with a robust 33.8 usage rate during this 15-game sample. The Mavericks, meanwhile, have yielded 49.9 fantasy points per game on FanDuel to shooting guards during the past 10 games, a rate that ranks 23rd in the NBA over his span. With reasonable pricing relative to his elite opportunity rates, Booker is a solid building block set with a sweet home matchup tonight.
Players to fade
Kyle Soppe -- Tim Hardaway Jr., New York Knicks
Hardaway Jr. is a bucket getter that is capable of putting a big number on the board any night, but this isn't the spot I'm willing to roll the dice on. He struggled to display any level of fantasy consistency in October, a month in which more than half of his shots came from distance, and guess what he's doing in January after missing all of December? According to our Player Rater, 41.6 percent of his fantasy value comes from scoring, and I'm simply not comfortable counting on a jump shooter against the top defense in terms of 3FG% against (33.3 percent) but also overall efficiency. He is priced in the same tier as my building block in Fournier ... it's not even close who I believe the better play is in all DFS formats.
André Snellings -- Kristaps Porzingis, New York Knicks
Porzingis is a near max-priced player in DFS, but he has been only "solid" instead of star level in his last several games, averaging "only" 18.8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 assist during the previous four games leading into Tuesday. He scored 28 on Tuesday, but only managed 5 rebounds and has now gone eight straight games without grabbing double-digit rebounds. The Celtics aren't especially intimidating as a low-post defense, but they've had Porzingis' number so far this season, as he's averaged only 6.5 points (12.0 FG%, 63.6 FT%) with 5 rebounds and 0.5 assists over 27.5 minutes during his two meetings with the Celtics this season.
Renee Miller -- Josh Richardson, Miami Heat
Richardson gets a top small forward matchup with the Cavaliers tonight, and has been playing heavy minutes, but I'm scared off for a couple reasons. One is that the injury to Kevin Love is going to open up minutes at the forward position for better defenders (e.g. Jae Crowder). The other reason is that the Cavaliers got pretty embarrassed by a Detroit Pistons team playing nearly all backups last night. I think that LeBron James (revenge game) and company come out strong tonight. It feels like a pivotal game for Cleveland, and Miami topped 95 points just once in the last two weeks. The upside for Richardson isn't there tonight.
Jim McCormick -- Elfrid Payton, Orlando Magic
With a price on DraftKings that demands around 36 fantasy points to meet value, it's disconcerting to find Payton has tallied as many fantasy points just twice in the past six games. Inefficient as a scorer and with just 16 total assists over his past four outings, I'd much rather take on discounted shares of Mario Hezonja as a way to get involved in this inviting matchup with the Lakers.
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