This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Basketball series.
The NBA tips off the week with 11 games on the schedule Monday. That leaves us with plenty of options to choose from on Yahoo, so let's try to narrow down the field by discussing some players to consider, as well as a few to potentially avoid.
GUARDS
Paul George, LAC at NO ($43): George has been stellar with Kawhi Leonard (foot) out, scoring at least 50.1 Yahoo points in seven of his last eight games. It's helped that he's played some bad defensive teams during that stretch, including the Timberwolves, Trail Blazers and Rockets. He has another favorable matchup here against the Pelicans, who have the fourth-worst defensive rating in the league.
Tyrese Haliburton, SAC vs. DAL ($19): The Kings are without their best player right now with De'Aaron Fox in the league's health and safety protocols. Haliburton started and played 37 minutes in his place Sunday, scoring 41.6 Yahoo points along the way. With all of the playing time that he can handle likely coming his way until Fox can return, Haliburton could provide significant value.
Guard to Avoid
Ricky Rubio, MIN vs. UTA ($16): The good news is that Rubio has remained in the starting five, despite the return of D'Angelo Russell. However, he's only averaged 25 minutes across 11 games since Russell returned. That has resulted in lackluster averages of 8.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists during that stretch. This is a tough matchup against great defensive team in the Jazz, who held Rubio to 9.2 Yahoo points Saturday,
FORWARDS
Zion Williamson, NO vs. LAC ($45): It's not difficult to make a case for deploying Williamson in DFS whenever the Pelicans are on the slate. He's had a spectacular sophomore campaign, averaging 43.2 Yahoo points per game. The big difference in his numbers has been an increase in playing time since he is averaging five more minutes per game than he did as a rookie.
Kevin Huerter, ATL at DET ($18): The Hawks are playing shorthanded right now with Trae Young (ankle) and De'Andre Hunter (knee) out. They also just took the floor Sunday, so don't be surprised if Danilo Gallinari sits out this contest for rest. Huerter has scored at least 27.9 Yahoo points in six straight games, so his expected heavy-dose of playing time should leave him with a reasonably high floor.
Forward to Avoid
Kyle Kuzma, LAL at ORL ($22): The Lakers are starting to get healthy up front, which is not a good thing for Kuzma's fantasy value. He's scored 24.9 Yahoo points or fewer in four of his last five games, averaging just 13.0 points and 3.6 rebounds during that stretch. Even in this matchup against a bad Magic team, Kuzma might not carry a ton of upside.
CENTERS
Bam Adebayo, MIA vs. CHI ($34): These two teams also met Saturday and Adebayo thrived with 47.2 Yahoo points. That should come as little surprise given that the Bulls have allowed the second-most Yahoo points per game to opposing centers. Given his reasonable salary, it's difficult to resist adding Adebayo based on this matchup.
Daniel Gafford, WAS vs. SA ($13): Robin Lopez appeared to have suffered a knee injury towards the end of Sunday's game against the Cavaliers, and if that's the case, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him sit out this second game of a back-to-back set. Gafford has already scored at least 29.6 Yahoo points in four of the last six games, so if he gains any added minutes, he could end up providing tremendous value.
Center to Avoid
Montrezl Harrell, LAL at ORL ($16): As bad as things have been for Kuzma lately, it's been even worse for Harrell. He didn't even take the floor against the Mavericks on Saturday, continuing a recent trend of decreased minutes. Across the last eight games that he has played, he's only averaged 8.3 points and 5.9 rebounds. With Gafford checking in at a cheaper salary, and potentially having a much larger role, taking a chance on Harrell would seem unnecessary.
