This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Basketball series.
Tuesday may have been the official start of the NBA season, but Wednesday is where the real action is at.
There are 11 games on the schedule, including several exciting matchups featuring some of the league's biggest names. One of those is the Suns playing host to the Nuggets, two teams that made deep playoff runs last season. We'll also get a look at the revamped Bulls, who will take on the Pistons.
Elsewhere, Kemba Walker will make his debut for the Knicks against his former team. As far games with the potential for plenty of points, we could see two of them when the Timberwolves host the Rockets and the Kings take on the Trail Blazers.
Let's try to help narrow down the field in DFS with the following players to consider and avoid.
GUARDS
Damian Lillard, POR vs. SAC ($): Lillard remains with the Blazers despite their general inability to make a deep run in the playoffs. If they don't turn things around soon, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him eventually request a trade. The problem is, they did very little to improve this offseason, leaving them with very limited depth. Their backup guards include Anfernee Simons, Ben McLemore and Dennis Smith Jr. With that underwhelming trio behind him, Lillard should play a ton, and could feast against a Kings team that had the worst defensive rating in the league last year.
Tyrese Maxey, PHI at NO ($10): The Ben Simmons saga took another strange turn Tuesday when he was suspended for the season opener. He reportedly has been lackadaisical during practice and even refused to participate in a defensive drill, which resulted in him being told to leave the floor. In his absence, Maxey is likely to garner a start. Across eight starts last season, he averaged 18.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists.
Guard to Avoid
Derrick Rose, NY vs. BOS ($27): After making a surprise playoff run last season, the Knicks were active over the summer. They were particularly aggressive at the guard position, adding Walker and Evan Fournier. A reduction in minutes is probably a good thing for Rose's health at this stage of his career, but it doesn't make him an appealing option in DFS, especially at this salary.
FORWARDS
OG Anunoby, TOR vs. WAS ($25): In what was a lost season for the Raptors, Anunoby showed that he could take his game to another level. He averaged 15.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.4 three-pointers, each of which was a career high. Now with Pascal Siakam (shoulder) out, Anunoby could be line for an even larger role out of the gate.
Scottie Barnes, TOR vs. WAS ($15): The upside of the Raptors' bad season is that they were given the fourth pick in the draft. They used it on Barnes, who could immediately step into a prominent role with Siakam out. He showed his versatility in the preseason, averaging 9.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks. At this cheap salary, he could be well worth the risk.
Forward to Avoid
Kevin Love, CLE at MEM ($19): You can say a lot of things about the Cavaliers, but you can't say that they don't have depth up front. With Love and Jarrett Allen already on the roster, they drafted Evan Mobley and acquired Lauri Markkanen in a sign-and-trade with the Bulls. The result will likely be a limited role off the bench for Love.
CENTERS
Karl-Anthony Towns, MIN vs. HOU ($): Towns can do it all. Although injuries limited him to 50 games, Towns put forth another stellar campaign last season with averages of 24.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.1 blocks and 2.4 three-pointers per game. In what could be a high-scoring game between two teams that ranked inside the bottom-four in the league in defensive rating last season, Towns could provide an incredibly high floor.
Isaiah Stewart, DET vs. CHI ($20): Now that Mason Plumlee is gone, Stewart is lined up to be the Pistons starting center. He thrived in that role last season, averaging 12.7 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.1 blocks across 14 games. The Bulls have a good offensive center in Nikola Vucevic, but he's not exactly known for his defense, so Stewart should at least threaten to record a double-double in this matchup.
Center to Avoid
Andre Drummond, PHI at NO ($18): It's been a rapid fall from grace for Drummond. Heading into last season, he averaged at least 15.0 points, 15.2 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.6 blocks in three straight seasons. However, he eventually lost playing time with the Cavaliers and later took on a limited role after being dealt to the Lakers. Now, he'll serve as Joel Embiid's backup. There will probably be times when he could provide value if Embiid is out, but with Embiid healthy for this game, there isn't a lot here to get excited about.
