This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Basketball series.
Sunday's NBA slate consists of nine games beginning at 1:00 PM Eastern time. While the playoff contenders have separated themselves from the pretenders by this point in the season, the most valuable fantasy situations often arise where you'd least expect them. Read on to see which players are primed to perform well in this slate and which should be avoided.
GUARD
Trey Burke, NY at WAS ($11): Burke's averaging 24.5 fantasy points over his past six appearances while coming up short of 20.0 only once. A Knicks team with nothing to play for is going to continue giving the young guard plenty of run, and his minutes climbed even further to 31 Friday against the Timberwolves with struggling alternative Emmanuel Mudiay falling out of favor and seeing the floor for just five. Burke responded with 15 points, nine assists and 33.9 fantasy points in that one, and the affordable point guard is primed for further success against a Wizards team that's allowing 49.7 fantasy points per contest to the position over the past five games -- seventh-most in the league.
Donovan Mitchell, UTA vs. GS ($31): Mitchell's quickly progressed into the focal point of Utah's offense, but the rookie has been more than up to the task. Over his past five contests, Mitchell's averaging a whopping 27.2 PPG and 44.7 fantasy points in over 39 minutes per game. With Utah clinging for dear life to the eighth seed in a bloodbath of a Western Conference, Mitchell should once again take on a heavy scoring load against a beat-up Warriors club.
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GUARD TO AVOID
Damian Lillard, POR at OKC ($44): Nobody's been stingier against point guards this season than the Thunder, who are allowing a league-low 28.9 fantasy points per game to the position. Lillard exceeded that mark with 34.7 fantasy points the last time these teams met March 3, but that performance was well below his season average of 42.9 and it represents his second-lowest output in the past 13 games. The chances of a repeat performance are too high to trust him at $44 in this rematch.
FORWARD
Thaddeus Young, IND vs. MIA ($20): Young's consistently outperformed his $20 valuation lately, scoring at least 33.0 fantasy points in four of his last six games. His ability to approach 20 points, grab double-digit rebounds or swipe a handful of steals on any given night allows Young to return value even when certain facets of his game aren't working, and the veteran power forward's season average of over 32 minutes per game ensures that he gets ample opportunities to stuff the stat sheet on most nights.
Taurean Prince, ATL at HOU ($28): The Rockets will almost certainly come out on top in this one, but that doesn't mean Prince won't have a nice game on a personal level. Small forwards have torched Houston for 38.4 fantasy points per game -- third-most in the league. Considering Prince has eclipsed that mark five times in the past seven games while also twice topping 50.0 in that stretch, he certainly has the skills to capitalize on this favorable matchup. The second year man's youth also prompts Atlanta to use him even when games get out of hand, which is why Prince has played at least 31 minutes in six of his past seven games.
FORWARD TO AVOID
LeBron James, CLE at BKN ($58): James beating up on the inferior Nets seems like a recipe for success, but there are too many risk factors to feel comfortable dropping $58 on him here. Brooklyn's surprisingly excelled at defending small forwards, as the Nets' 31.6 fantasy points allowed to the position per game are fewest in the league. Even if LeBron's able to buck that trend, there's also the possibility that Cleveland gets up big and holds him below his usual allotment of minutes, which just happened in his underwhelming 49.7 fantasy point performance Friday against the Suns.
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CENTER
Greg Monroe, BOS at SAC ($11): Monroe's starting to find his groove with the Celtics, having averaged 31.3 fantasy points over his past five appearances while showing great consistency by finishing between 30.0 and 35.0 in all but one of those games. His physical style will be called upon against a Kings team that doesn't lack powerful big men, so Monroe makes for a terrific lineup filler for owners looking to spend big at other positions. For the season, only the Nets have allowed more fantasy points to centers than Sacramento's 37.9 per game.
John Henson, MIL vs. SA ($11): Henson got some extra looks with Giannis Antetokounmpo (ankle) unavailable against the Bulls on Friday and came up with his first double-double since Feb. 4. Considering that was Henson's sixth performance of at least 25.4 fantasy points in the past seven games, he should perform well relative to his paltry price here regardless of the Greek Freak's status. At $11, Henson's all reward with negligible risk. Those with more money to spend should give heavy consideration to the man lining up opposite Henson, as San Antonio's LaMarcus Aldridge ($39) has been tearing it up lately as well.
CENTER TO AVOID
Enes Kanter, NY at WAS ($26): Kanter's playing time has fluctuated recently with the Knicks often opting to give less heralded options a chance to strut their stuff, which is why he's only exceeded 30.0 fantasy points once in the past six games. Bucking that trend will be difficult against a Wizards team that's allowing the fourth-fewest fantasy points per game to centers this season (31.6).
