Which players should you build around and which players should you fade in DFS as we tip off tonight's NBA action? Our experts have the answers.
Today's panel includes ESPN Fantasy's Jim McCormick and Kyle Soppe, as well as DFS expert Renee Miller.
Players to build around
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Which players should you build your daily fantasy basketball lineups around on Tuesday? Which ones should you avoid? Our experts have the answers.
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A trio of fantasy stars racked up triple-doubles on Monday night, and some under-the-radar players paid off big time for teams streaming their way to championships.
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Jim McCormick -- Josh Hart, Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers are likely to sit top prospects such as Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball for these final two games of the campaign. This leaves Hart with a relatively massive workload, as he's taken 30 shots and pulled down 15 rebounds the past two outings. Still found at an affordable rate across both DFS platforms, Hart offers a coveted level of cost certainty. On the high end, I'm pursuing shares of Philly's Ben Simmons, as he's a nightly triple-double threat and should consume a full workload in Atlanta tonight.
Renee Miller -- Robert Covington, Philadelphia 76ers
Forward is the difficult spot tonight. With nothing to play for, difficult matchups, slow pace, or injury question marks, there's not a lot to trust at the position. Motivation is no problem for Covington however, as the 76ers are in good position to get one step closer to clinching the three seed against Atlanta. In addition to the Hawks giving up the second most fantasy points in the league to opposing small forwards, Covington has been a valuable DFS commodity in all but one of his past 10 games. That one? Against Atlanta, of course. It should be known that I have major trust issues with Covington. Sometimes it feels like we're just on opposite pages: I always miss out on his monster games, and he always lets me down when I think he's infallible. However, I think the Philly momentum keeps him rolling tonight and I'd be shocked if he was shut out of the rebound category (or any category) again vs. the league's 26th-ranked rebounding and overall ninth-worst defensive team in a game that matters.
Kyle Soppe -- Josh Hart, Los Angeles Lakers
There is nothing like NBA experience to develop a player, so while the Lakers have nothing to play for from a standings perspective, they are trying to inspire confidence when it comes to the 2018-2019 campaign. Hart is averaging 33.6 minutes in April and has produced at least 27 DraftKings points in three of his past four games. The rookie came out of Villanova with an NBA-ready skill set, but he joined a Lakers team that didn't have a massive role to offer him as they tried to work in a new offense built around Lonzo Ball. That said, the team appears to be acknowledging that Hart is in their future plans and trying to get him as much exposure as possible as they play out the season. Mike D'Antoni is trying to keep his Rockets engaged, but with the No.1 seed locked up, I suspect that we only see that for a limited amount of time. He will likely take it easy on his stars and rely on his bench and you tell me what the bench players are going to try to do knowing that they play for an offensive-minded coach...yeah, score the basketball. I'm thinking that means some lackadaisical effort on the other end of the floor, thus allowing Hart to impress both the Lakers brass and DFS players in this spot.
Players to fade
Jim McCormick -- Victor Oladipo, Indiana Pacers
I'm not sure we should bank on Oladipo scoring a point-per-minute as he did on Sunday. The Pacers are making a deliberate effort to get their top players some rest given the team is likely locked into the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. Oladipo played just 21 minutes two games ago, thus I'm avoiding him given his pricing is still demanding an elite performance. In general, I'm focusing on players on teams with real incentive (Philly) or with nothing to lose by playing hard (Lakers).
Renee Miller -- Kemba Walker, Charlotte Hornets
Walker appears to already be living in the offseason, with a string of lackluster performances. One rebound per game in each of the past four games, along with one total steal and one total block and about half his normal scoring tells me he is phoning it in. Only one of those was a bonafide difficult matchup (Indiana), which he'll face again tonight. Allowing the third-fewest fantasy points to opposing point guards, Indiana is pretty well locked into the five seed in the East, and this should be a pretty ho-hum game from a fantasy perspective. Focus on the Utah or Philadelphia guards, who are in better positions with regard to matchup and motivation.
Kyle Soppe -- Victor Oladipo, Indiana Pacers
The Pacers have been a pleasant surprise this season and they are locked into the five-seed, so why would they do anything but take it easy on their star? Think about this: Oladipo ranks 16th in the league in usage rate and none of his teammates rank better than 96th. Safe to say that if this team is going to make any noise in the coming month, it will be on the back of VO. We've seen Indiana take some responsibility off his plate of late (48 minutes and just 24 shots over his past two games) and I expect that to continue in the regular season finale. This is a tough slate, as motivational spots are few and far between with teams battling for playoff positioning (not a right to qualify for the postseason), so you don't need to obsess in spending all of your budget. The same rules apply now that did early in the season: opportunity breeds production... the players getting said opportunities are just different now.
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