This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Basketball series.
Tuesday's slate has only five games on tap, yet there are several elite players and appealing matchups to be had. The Lakers and Timberwolves face off in a game that could have some offensive fireworks, and the same could hold true for the Heat-Rockets matchup that should feature a great one-on-one battle between Dwyane Wade and James Harden. There are some interesting selections up and down the pricing scale, so without further adieu, here's our look at Tuesday Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball:
Guards
Ricky Rubio, MIN at LAL ($29): The player on the other side of this matchup, Jordan Clarkson ($23), isn't a bad option if you need to save a few dollars, but Rubio gets the call against him and the Lakers' league-worst defense versus point guards. L.A. surrenders a generous 48.15 fantasy points per game to the position, and Rubio may finally be hitting his stride. He's tallied between 20.4 and 45.2 fantasy points over his last five, including 39.8 against Damian Lillard and the Blazers on Sunday. This should be a fast-paced matchup in which Rubio finds his teammates early and often against a Lakers team ranked dead last in defensive efficiency (108.2).
Dwyane Wade, MIA at HOU ($30): Wade often rises to the occasion in marquee matchups such as Tuesday's, and comes in having played extremely well recently. He's tallied 44.9, 50.8, 47.3 and 36.8 fantasy points over his last four, respectively, and will be up against a bottom-10 Houston defense that surrenders
Tuesday's slate has only five games on tap, yet there are several elite players and appealing matchups to be had. The Lakers and Timberwolves face off in a game that could have some offensive fireworks, and the same could hold true for the Heat-Rockets matchup that should feature a great one-on-one battle between Dwyane Wade and James Harden. There are some interesting selections up and down the pricing scale, so without further adieu, here's our look at Tuesday Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball:
Guards
Ricky Rubio, MIN at LAL ($29): The player on the other side of this matchup, Jordan Clarkson ($23), isn't a bad option if you need to save a few dollars, but Rubio gets the call against him and the Lakers' league-worst defense versus point guards. L.A. surrenders a generous 48.15 fantasy points per game to the position, and Rubio may finally be hitting his stride. He's tallied between 20.4 and 45.2 fantasy points over his last five, including 39.8 against Damian Lillard and the Blazers on Sunday. This should be a fast-paced matchup in which Rubio finds his teammates early and often against a Lakers team ranked dead last in defensive efficiency (108.2).
Dwyane Wade, MIA at HOU ($30): Wade often rises to the occasion in marquee matchups such as Tuesday's, and comes in having played extremely well recently. He's tallied 44.9, 50.8, 47.3 and 36.8 fantasy points over his last four, respectively, and will be up against a bottom-10 Houston defense that surrenders 38.06 fantasy points per game to shooting guards. This should be an up-in-pace game for the Heat where Wade will have to remain aggressive for all four quarters. There's certainly a pair of appealing selections at two-guard in the upper pricing tier (James Harden and DeMar DeRozan), but Wade offers terrific value.
Guard to Avoid:
Damian Lillard, POR vs. MIL ($48): The cost and matchup make the undeniably proficient Lillard an avoid candidate, as Michael Carter-Williams and the Bucks have stymied their share of opposing point guards this season. Lillard's price is significantly elevated, and although his recent production has been solid, his current tag seems more like a carryover from his early-to-mid-January five-game stretch in which he tallied between 46.9 and 66.6 fantasy points.
Forwards
Luol Deng, MIA at HOU ($14):Carmelo Anthony ($41) makes for an excellent play if you're looking to spend up, particularly if Jae Crowder were to miss the Knicks-Celtics tilt with his bruised right shin. However, Deng offers terrific value at a price that's too good to ignore, particularly considering his matchup. Although Trevor Ariza has a reputation as a solid defender, the Rockets are surrendering the most fantasy points to opposing small forwards in the league this season (41.79). Deng has also been in a groove over the last five, tallying between 23.4 and 30.3 fantasy points in four of those contests.
Kristaps Porzingis, NY vs. BOS ($32): Porzingis gets the call at power forward on a short slate, despite the fact that he hasn't been at his most productive of late. While he's only tallied between 21.6 and 30.0 fantasy points over his last five, he steamrolled the Celtics in his two previous matchups to the tune of 38.4 and 45.7 fantasy points, respectively. The rookie's size will likely be too much once again for an already-weak Celtics frontcourt that surrenders the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing fours (46.73) on the season.
Forward to Avoid:
Terrence Jones, HOU vs. MIA ($13): Jones' playing time has been on a significant downward trend, and he's tallied single-digit fantasy point totals in four of his last five games as a result. The four-year pro has not received more than 17 minutes of floor time in any of those outings, even logging as few as six. Considering his declining usage and the matchup against a stout Heat frontcourt, Jones becomes an easy fade on Tuesday.
Centers
Karl-Anthony Towns, MIN at LAL ($30): The rookie gets the right matchup at the right time, and his price has still not caught up to his recent production. Towns has been superb over his last six, tallying between 31.3 and 63.4 fantasy points over that span. The low end of that range somewhat belies the extent of Towns' efficacy during that run, as he's posted 47.2, 46.1, 47.4 and 47.1 fantasy points in his last four games. His opposition Tuesday is likely to offer little resistance, as the Lakers check in as the third-most generous defense versus centers in terms of fantasy points allowed on the season (49.60).
Mason Plumlee, POR vs. MIL ($17): As we did last week, we're throwing in a couple of low-cost alternatives at center for those looking to spend up elsewhere. We start with Plumlee, who many will likely avoid after his 13.1 fantasy points against the Timberwolves on Sunday. However, he'd been between 21.3 and 39.9 fantasy points over the prior six, with the highest total in that range having come the game before his clunker. A matchup against the Bucks' vulnerable frontcourt on the back end of a back-to-back should be a cure for his recent ills, as Milwaukee yields a robust 47.83 fantasy points to opposing fives on the season.
Gorgui Dieng, MIN at LAL ($14):Dieng is still listed as a center but is teaming up with Towns in the Minnesota frontcourt at the moment at the four. His near-minimum price makes him a highly appealing option, and as with Towns, the matchup is the icing on the cake. The Lakers have surrendered a healthy 43.54 fantasy points to opposing power forwards on the season, along with a sixth-worst 1.66 blocks per game to the position, one of Dieng's specialties.
Center to Avoid
Jared Sullinger, BOS at NY ($20): Rostering Sullinger can sometimes be a bit of a wild rollercoaster ride, and Tuesday shapes up as a good night to sit one out. He received only 18 minutes against the Magic on Sunday, and sat out the final 18:24 of the game. This admittedly could be rendered an outlier as soon as Tuesday by coach Brad Stevens' unpredictable rotations, but Sullinger notably had not played under 21 minutes in the prior three games as well. He's also been a mixed bag against the Knicks in two previous meetings this year, managing a respectable 22.4 fantasy points in their most recent meeting on Jan. 12, but only mustering 8.2 back on Dec. 27.
