This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
With a relatively large eight-game slate on the schedule for Wednesday, there's plenty of options to sort through at all levels of the price scale. The following list should provide a handful of players to consider building your lineup around:
GUARDS:
Lou Williams, LAC at PHO ($7,800): The Clippers appear likely to be without starter Milos Teodosic on Wednesday, as he was forced to leave Tuesday's contest with a plantar fascia injury that costed him double-digit contests earlier this season. For that reason, Williams should see added usage and time on the ball, while potentially picking up the start alongside Austin Rivers in the backcourt. While Williams posted a clunker of 24.0 FanDuel points the last time out, he preceded that with 44.9 and 53.8, which is the production I expect Wednesday against a Suns squad that's already one of the worst defensive teams in the league, but will also be without their top two players, Devin Booker and T.J. Warren.
Isaiah Taylor, ATL at MIN ($3,500): The Hawks will be missing usual starting point guard Dennis Schroder (ankle) on Wednesday, as well as reserve guards Malcolm Delaney (ankle), Jaylen Morris (ankle) and Antonius Cleveland (ankle). As a result, Taylor has a good chance of picking up the start and seeing a 30-plus minute workload. Taylor logged an impressive 26 points, three assists, one rebound and one steal across 32 minutes Sunday, which was good enough for 32.7 FanDuel points. If he's even able to come close to that output, he'll easily hit value at a minimum price. If you're in need of a salary break, there are a couple of point guards that should allow you to do so.
Shabazz Napier, POR at MEM ($3,500):Damian Lillard left the team following Tuesday's contest to attend the birth of his child. For that reason, he'll be unable to play Wednesday, which means Napier is slated to pick up the start in his place. In eight previous starts this season, Napier has averaged a solid 16.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists across 34.5 minutes. That sort of workload and upside for a minimum salary is a no-brainer for DFS owner's Wednesday. While he'll definitely be highly owned, Napier appears to be a near must-play due to his price and upside.
FORWARDS:
LeBron James, CLE at CHA ($12,500): James had one of his worst showings of the season Tuesday against the Bucks, logging a total of just 29.7 FanDuel points. However, in the 10 games that preceded that contest, James had averaged 63.4 FanDuel points, which is the sort of production I'm expecting against the Hornets on Wednesday. In two prior games against the Hornets, James absolutely torched them, posting 71.7 and 56.2 FanDuel points, respectively. Because there are multiple intriguing minimum or near-minimum plays, DFS owners should have no problem fitting James into lineups.
Aaron Gordon, ORL vs. BKN ($8,000): Gordon has played in three games since returning from a concussion and put together his most complete outing Saturday against the Suns, posting 29 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, three steals and a block across 36 minutes. He saw a monster workload and didn't appear to be dealing with any lingering issues, which is encouraging for his overall production over the last few weeks of the season. Considering he's back to his normal self, a matchup against Brooklyn, who has given up the second most FanDuel points to power forwards on the season, is a prime opportunity to get him in lineups. Again, with multiple cheap options available, there should be room to fit in multiple big contracts across your lineups.
Evan Turner, POR at MEM ($3,600):Larry Nance ($5,500) is also a good mid-to-cheap option here with Kevin Love (concussion) sitting out, but Turner's near minimum price is too intriguing to pass up. He drew the start Tuesday in place of the injured Maurice Harkless (knee), posting 24.2 FanDuel points across a whopping 36 minutes. While that's nothing overly impressive, the Trail Blazers are set to be without both Harkless and superstar Damian Lillard (personal), which should mean even more usage for Turner. Considering his price, playing time and overall upside, it'll be hard to leave Turner out of lineups Wednesday.
CENTERS:
Joel Embiid, PHI vs. NYK ($10,200): The center slot is one of the few positions on Wednesday's slate where there aren't many cheap options to consider. As a result, I'm planning on paying up, with Embiid representing my top choice overall. His overall production hasn't been anything to get too excited about of late, averaging a meager 37.9 FanDuel points over his last four games. However, a matchup with the Knicks should give him every opportunity for a bounce-back performance, as they have given up the 11th most FanDuel points to centers on the campaign. The Sixers are currently fighting for a potential three-seed in the East, so Embiid should continue to see big minutes and take the lead in pushing for one of those top spots.
DeAndre Jordan, LAC at PHO ($7,900): If you can't afford to pay up for Embiid or Karl-Anthony Towns ($10,800), Jordan makes for a solid mid-tier option. He's heading into a matchup with the defensively weak Suns, who are expected to be without both Tyson Chandler (neck) and Alex Len (knee). The Suns have already given up the fifth most FanDuel points to centers on the season, so with a lack of depth, it's only going to benefit Jordan more. While his production has been lacking of late, this sort of favorable matchup will give him every opportunity to hit 40-plus FanDuel points on the night.
