This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Basketball series.
It's always fun when two bad defenses play each other when each is on the second game of a back-to-back. This is the case as the Wizards play host to the 76ers. This could mean one of two things. Either both teams come out flat and there and both offenses struggle. Or John Wall comes out and punishes Philadelphia like he punished the Cavaliers on Sunday (21 points, seven rebounds, 13 assists). Actually both of these are possibilities, so unless you're inserting Wall into your lineup, stay away from anyone playing basketball in our nation's capital. The Rockets play the Bucks, the Thunder play the Kings and the Clippers play the Nets. Happy Monday.
GUARD
Darren Collison, SAC vs. OKC ($17) - With Rajon Rondo out Friday against the Clippers, Collison started and posted 18 points, five assists, three rebounds, two steals and three treys over nearly 38 minutes. That line was good for 32.6 fantasy points. There hasn't been word on whether Rondo will play Monday. But even if Rondo goes, Collison should get close to 30 minutes and is relatively cheap with a high ceiling in a game that is expected to be high scoring.
Dion Waiters, OKC at SAC ($11) - There aren't many elite options at shooting guard Monday outside of James Harden ($57) and Khris Middleton ($33), so going contrarian is a smart play in tournaments. The Thunder are coming off a tough overtime loss to Stephen Cur--I mean the Warriors, so expect them to come out and punish the Kings. If the game gets out of hand, Waiters should get more minutes and more scoring opportunities. There are more elite point guard options, so use Waiters' low salary to pay up for Chris Paul ($50), John Wall ($49) and Kyrie Irving ($36).
Guard to Avoid:
Ish Smith, PHI at WAS ($30) - January Ish Smith is gone and February Ish Smith went on a downward trajectory. The 76ers' lottery ticket failed to score more than five points in three of his last six games. He only scored more than 30 fantasy points in two of those contests. Teams are beginning to realize that Smith can't really shoot, making him one dimensional. Unless he gets four-plus steals and double-digit assists, Smith will have a tough time living up to that hefty salary. Philadelphia is also on the second game of a back-to-back.
FORWARD
LeBron James, CLE vs. IND ($55) - Coach Tyronn Lue gave James some rest Sunday against the Wizards. This cost the team but will ultimately be beneficial to LeBron, especially in fantasy. When James is on three-plus days rest he averages 27.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists. When he's on two days rest? 25.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game. James will be right between that with Saturday, Sunday and most of Monday to gear up for the Pacers at home. LeBron hasn't posted many triple doubles this season, but he's got as good a shot as ever to throw one up Monday.
Jabari Parker, MIL vs. HOU ($22) - How many times have the Rockets held an opponent to less than 100 points in the last 14 games? The answer is once, which means Houston is pretty horrible on defense. This subsequently leads to high fantasy point totals for opposing power forwards. In fact, the Rockets allow the most points to opposing PFs in Yahoo DFS this season. Parker qualifies as a power forward, and oh yeah, he's also posted at least 30 fantasy points in five of his last six games.
Forward to Avoid:
Paul George, IND at CLE ($43) - Assuming you read the passage about why you should play LeBron, you now know that George will have a rested James guarding him all game. And when James isn't in the game, Iman Shumpert will be draped all over George, as well. The last time these two teams met, George went 3-for-15 from the floor and 1-for-5 from distance and finished with 11 points. It's hard to say that he'll post a similar line again Monday, but chances are he won't provide much value.
CENTER
Rudy Gobert, UTA at BOS ($27) - The Celtics struggle against centers as tall and athletic as Gobert; they just got torched by Hassan Whiteside for 13 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocks. Boston allows 48.6 fantasy points per game to opposing centers, ninth worst in the league. The odds of Gobert posting a double-double are pretty high, and whenever he posts a boxscore like that he almost always has more fantasy points than his salary.
Center to Avoid:
Nikola Jokic, DEN vs. MEM ($19) - Jokic has struggled to stay out of foul trouble recently, which has really hurt his offensive numbers. Even if he were staying out of foul trouble, and even if his offensive numbers shot back up, Jokic would still be facing one of the toughest matchups for a center in the NBA: The Memphis Grizzlies. This should be a very ugly basketball game and extremely low scoring, so best to stay away.
