Yahoo DFS Basketball: Saturday Picks

Yahoo DFS Basketball: Saturday Picks

This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Basketball series.

Guards

Ben Simmons, PHI ($39) vs. NYK

Simmons comes at a premium, but few guards can match his level of all-around production. Simmons finished Wednesday's opener with 16 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, three blocks and two steals.

Fred VanVleet, TOR ($32) vs. SAN

This is a bit of a buy low after VanVleet struggled in the Raptors' disappointing opener, but he'll have a good chance to bounce back against San Antonio. He could face a difficult individual matchup in Dejounte Murray, but look for VanVleet to come out more aggressively after he hit just three of 12 shots Wednesday night.

Guard to Avoid

LaMelo Ball, CHA ($19) vs. OKC

The hype around the No. 3 overall pick is understandable, but he's considerably over-priced, especially when you look at the other options around this price point. Ball has the potential to be a high-level assists and rebounds producer down the road, but he struggled mightily in the opener and -- more concerningly -- played only 16 minutes.

Forwards

Gordon Hayward, CHA ($27) vs. OKC

Hayward is still dealing with a fractured finger on his shooting hand, but he didn't appear to be overly bothered by it in the opener. In 36 minutes, Hayward finished with 28 points, seven assists, four rebounds and one steal. That my be close to his ceiling, but Hayward gets another strong matchup against a Thunder team embarking on a rebuild.

Christian Wood, HOU ($30) vs. POR

There's some inherent risk here considering Wood played only one game in the preseason, but he'll be thrust into a major role right away with a few Rockets regulars -- including DeMarcus Cousins -- sidelined. In his lone preseason appearance, Wood finished with 27 points and 10 boards in just 24 minutes.

Forward to Avoid

Jerami Grant, DET ($19) vs. CLE

Grant's price actually jumped up by $1 after Wednesday's opener, in which he posted just 17.2 fantasy points in 31 minutes. The free agent acquisition is expected to step into a larger role, but based on what we've seen thus far -- preseason included -- Grant might not be ready to make that leap. He finished Wednesday's game with just nine points, three assists and one board against a poor opponent in the Timberwolves.

Centers

Nikola Vucevic, ORL ($38) vs. WAS

Vucevic was relatively quiet in the opener, but he still notched a 15-point, 11-board double-double, while adding a steal, a block and three assists. He goes up against perhaps the best matchup on the slate in Washington, with the game featuring an O/U of 231.5 -- the second-highest total of any game Saturday behind only Hawks-Grizzlies.

Center to Avoid

Larry Nance, CLE ($25) vs. DET

Nance's price jumps up a couple dollars after Wednesday night's explosion, but I'm not banking on a repeat. The Cavs do draw an appealing opponent in the Pistons, but with Kevin Love (calf) set to return from injury, Nance will likely step back into a reduced role. He can still be productive, but Nance's 49.1 FP on opening night were far from the norm.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Nick Whalen plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: nickwhalen2, DraftKings: wha1en.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nick Whalen
Now in his 10th year with the company, Nick is RotoWire's Senior Media Analyst, a position he took on after several years as the Head of Basketball Content. A multi-time FSGA and FSWA award winner, Nick co-hosts RotoWire's flagship show on Sirius XM Fantasy alongside Jeff Erickson, as well as The RotoWire NBA Show on Sirius XM NBA with Alex Barutha. He also co-hosts RotoWire's Football and Basketball podcasts. You can catch Nick's NBA and NFL analysis on VSiN and DraftKings, as well as RotoWire's various social and video channels. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @wha1en.
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