This article is part of our DraftKings NBA series.
Team Analysis
Defense to avoid: Utah Jazz, at DEN. The Jazz are a strong defense overall (seventh in NBA in team defensive rating), and they are elite at limiting production to three different positions (ranking third against opposing point guards, fifth against shooting guards and sixth against power forwards) according to DraftKings rankings. They're only average against opposing centers (15th), but Nuggets center Jusuf Nurkic has been struggling of late which makes it unlikely he can take advantage of the opportunity.
Offense to Use: Oklahoma City Thunder, vs IND. The Thunder face a Pacers defense that is in the bottom half of the NBA against opposing point guards (24th), small forwards (21st), power forwards (29th) and centers (16th).
Teams on Back-to-Backs:
First game: Pacers, Raptors
Second game: Bulls, Jazz
Russell Westbrook, OKC vs IND ($12,000): Westbrook is the highest-priced player on the board, but he also has by-far the highest scoring potential of anyone playing Sunday. Westbrook is averaging 62 fantasy points per game this season, and he's surpassed that average in three of his last five games. Facing a Pacers defense that is 24th in the NBA at limiting production to opposing point guards, he's a good bet to explode (as always).
Jeff Teague, IND at OKC ($6700): Teague is overshadowed by his opposite number at point guard on Sunday, but he's been playing very well in his own right. Over the last six games, Teague is averaging 19.2 points, 6.2 assists, 3.7 boards, 1.3
Team Analysis
Defense to avoid: Utah Jazz, at DEN. The Jazz are a strong defense overall (seventh in NBA in team defensive rating), and they are elite at limiting production to three different positions (ranking third against opposing point guards, fifth against shooting guards and sixth against power forwards) according to DraftKings rankings. They're only average against opposing centers (15th), but Nuggets center Jusuf Nurkic has been struggling of late which makes it unlikely he can take advantage of the opportunity.
Offense to Use: Oklahoma City Thunder, vs IND. The Thunder face a Pacers defense that is in the bottom half of the NBA against opposing point guards (24th), small forwards (21st), power forwards (29th) and centers (16th).
Teams on Back-to-Backs:
First game: Pacers, Raptors
Second game: Bulls, Jazz
Russell Westbrook, OKC vs IND ($12,000): Westbrook is the highest-priced player on the board, but he also has by-far the highest scoring potential of anyone playing Sunday. Westbrook is averaging 62 fantasy points per game this season, and he's surpassed that average in three of his last five games. Facing a Pacers defense that is 24th in the NBA at limiting production to opposing point guards, he's a good bet to explode (as always).
Jeff Teague, IND at OKC ($6700): Teague is overshadowed by his opposite number at point guard on Sunday, but he's been playing very well in his own right. Over the last six games, Teague is averaging 19.2 points, 6.2 assists, 3.7 boards, 1.3 steals, 1.0 treys and 1.0 blocks per game.
Lou Williams, LAL vs CHI ($5200): Williams is a metronome of value. Outside of a disastrous outing against the Nets last week, Williams has scored at least 27.5 fantasy points in eight straight games. In his last outing he scored 24 points with three boards, three assists, two steals and two treys against the Spurs.
Jimmy Butler, CHI at LAL ($8700): Butler has been in an absolute zone of late, averaging 28.6 points, 8.0 boards, 5.8 assists, 2.8 steals and 1.8 treys over his last five games. The Lakers are solid but not elite against opposing wings, so Butler should be able to get his if he keeps playing like he has been.
Kenneth Faried, DEN vs UTA ($5800): Faried has a tough opponent on Sunday, as the Jazz are strong against opposing power forwards, but he has been playing well enough that he still makes a solid value play. Faried has been a force on the boards this week, averaging 13.3 rebounds, 15.0 points, and 4.7 combined steals/blocks over his last three games as the most productive member of the Nuggets front line.
Andre Roberson, OKC vs IND ($4100): Roberson has scored between 22.25 and 31.75 fantasy points in four of his last five games. He has been producing solidly in the defensive categories, which gives him a solid floor even when he's not scoring well. The Pacers are weak against opposing wings, which should also give him a chance to produce well.
DeMarcus Cousins, SAC vs TOR ($10,400): Cousins has been in the zone of late, averaging 30.6 points with 10.4 boards, 4.8 assists, 1.8 treys and 2.8 combined steals and blocks over his last five games. There really aren't any other centers in his class going Sunday.
Rudy Gobert, UTA at DEN ($6300): Gobert entered Saturday playing well, averaging 10.8 points with 10.8 boards, 2.4 blocks and 1.0 steals over the previous five games. Then, on Saturday he upped those numbers for 12 points, 14 boards, four blocks and two steals against the Rockets. The Nuggets don't have any bigs that should be capable of stopping him from playing his game again Sunday.
Robin Lopez, CHI at LAL ($5000): Lopez entered Saturday having averaged 12.3 points, 11.3 boards and 1.5 blocks over his previous four games. The Lakers are beatable in the middle, ranking 20th in the NBA against opposing power forwards and 17th against opposing centers according to DraftKings rankings.
