This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Basketball series.
We get an eight-game slate Sunday, and that's larger than usual. That makes for a ton of great value plays and some fun matchups. Only five of the 16 teams playing are over .500, which should provide even more value. Players on bad teams are typically priced lower, helping smart DFS players find bargains. Better stil, most injured players have already been ruled out. We will use some of these situations to our benefit to build an optimal lineup.
GUARD
Robert Covington, PHI at MEM ($21) - Covington is more of a small forward than a shooting guard, but we'll take advantage of that here. He is coming off his best game of the season Friday against the Rockets, totaling 28 points, seven rebounds, five assists and eight steals for a ridiculous 61 fantasy points. Covington has scored at least 30 fantasy points in his last four games while playing at least 32 minutes in each. The $21 price tag is so low because he's had an injury-riddled season, but he's completely healthy now and playing a full complement of minutes. This is a tough matchup against a stingy Memphis defense, but the price and opportunity are too good to pass up.
D'Angelo Russell, LAL vs. IND ($17) - Russell hasn't been a great producer this season, but he's priced criminally low on Yahoo. At $17, Russell costs just eight percent of your budget, an equivalent to a minimum price. The rookie has played much better lately after a rough start to the season. He is averaging 11.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.3 combined blocks and steals per game his last seven games. That's an average of 25 fantasy points a game, an absolute steal for a $17 player. He averages about 30 minutes and should see 30-plus in what should be an up-tempo game.
Guard to Avoid:
Mike Conley, MEM vs. PHI ($29) - This is a risky suggestion, but Conley likely will be highly owned in a great matchup. Staying away from highly owned players with a limited upside is the way to go in a GPP if you want to win it all. Conley is a great player, but his upside is extremely limited. Not only are the Grizzlies one of the worst offenses in the NBA, they're one of the slowest. Conley has scored more than 35 fantasy points only three times this season and has recorded double-digit assists just once. Conley might have a hard time cracking 30-plus minutes if the Grizzlies run away with this game.
FORWARD
Luis Scola, TOR vs. PHX ($18) - Scola will be on my team until he surpasses $20. Since an injury to starting center Jonas Valanciunas, Scola has played big minutes. In four games entering Saturday, Scola has averaged 17 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. His per-36 minute numbers are impressive as well, as he is averaging 16 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists and one steal per game. That's near 30 fantasy points a game. Scola is close to approaching 36 minutes with the lack of frontcourt depth in Toronto and should continue to surpass his price value.
Jeff Green, MEM vs. PHI ($19) - Green was re-inserted into the starting five little more than a week ago and has performed admirably. Over his last eight games, Green is averaging 14.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists and one steal in 32 minutes a game, becoming one of the go-to scorers on the Memphis offense. This is the matchup of matchups as well, as the Sixers rank 29th in the league by allowing 22 points a game to small forwards.
Forward to Avoid:
Kobe Bryant, LAL vs. IND ($27) - I don't like to pick on Bryant, but he's simply a bad player now. Sunday, he has a date with Paul George and that'll be a nightmare on both ends of the floor. Kobe is also coming off one of the worst games of his career, in which he shot 1-for-14 for four points. The game before that he shot just 6-for-22 and his field-goal percentage is approaching an atrocious 30 percent this season. What's even worse is that he doesn't provide the rebounds and assists that he did when his legs were actually working.
CENTER
Ian Mahinmi, IND at LAL ($16) - It's rare to see a starting center so cheap, but we get that here with Mahimi. In his last six games, he is averaging 7.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.5 steals and one block a game. That's nearly 27 fantasy points a game, which is a ridiculous return on investment for a $16 player. Jordan Hill has been stealing minutes from him, but he appears unlikely to play after missing Friday's game. That increases Mahimi's already great value to a new extreme. The matchup is the icing on the cake, though, as the Lakers rank last in fantasy points allowed per game to centers. The Lakers allow 22.3 points, 17.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.5 blocks per game to opposing centers.
Bismack Biyombo, TOR vs. PHX ($10), Alex Len, PHX at TOR ($10) - These two are in almost identical situations, as both are replacing injured starters and both are minimally priced. Biyombo and Len have both shown great rebounding and blocking abilities throughout their careers and should get plenty of run Sunday. Biyombo is filling in for Jonas Valanciunas, while Len is filling in for Tyson Chandler. There are almost no centers on these rosters besides these two, so both should approach 30-plus minutes. Both have double-double potential.
Center to Avoid:
Karl-Anthony Towns, MIN at LAC ($32) - Most handed Towns the Rookie of the Year award after his ridiculous start, but regression has hit him hard. Over his last three games, Towns has not surpassed 20 fantasy points, and in some great matchups. In fact, he played the Sacramento Kings, Philadelphia 76ers and the Atlanta Hawks, three of the worst teams in the NBA against big men. Sunday, he has faces defensive-stopper DeAndre Jordan, and the rough stretch likely will continue. Using a player in a rut is a bad idea, but it becomes even worse when it's against an elite defender. The price is simply too high as well, as he's priced ahead of Marc Gasol and Nikola Vucevic, who are far superior options.
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