This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Basketball series.
We have a second straight expansive slate Wednesday night, as there are eight games on the docket following Tuesday's rare 10-game ledger of In-Season Tournament contests. That means another robust player pool to work with, one that has value at either end of the salary scale and plenty in the middle as well.
As customary, we'll highlight multiple advantageous positional matchups to exploit at each position for your Yahoo Fantasy lineups, as well as a good trio of candidates that may be best to steer clear of due to a combination of circumstances/salary.
Guards
Anthony Edwards, MIN at PHO ($40): Edwards had a relatively quiet game by his standards Tuesday against the Warriors, but even that resulted in 34.8 Yahoo points. He's averaging a crisp 44.4 for the season, has eclipsed 50 Yahoo points in three of his last five games, and is boasting career-best efficiency with a 48.3% success rate from the field. Wednesday, he faces a Suns team ranked No. 19 in offensive efficiency rating allowed to two-guards and also allowing the fourth-most assists (6.3) to the position. Meanwhile, Edwards is facilitating at a career-best clip this season, recording 5.3 dimes per contest.
Zach LaVine, CHI vs. ORL ($30): DeMar DeRozan will miss Wednesday's game due to personal reasons, which tees up a night of especially high usage for LaVine. The veteran wing is already averaging a solid 33.3 Yahoo points per game, and he's eclipsed 40 in two of his last three games. LaVine sees a +2.9% usage differential to a stellar 30.7% with DeRozan off the floor, and he's averaging an impressive 35.5 Yahoo points per 36 minutes in that scenario as well.
ALSO CONSIDER: De'Aaron Fox, SAC at LAL ($38)
Guard to Avoid
Bradley Beal, PHO vs. MIN ($29): Beal is still dealing with some back issues, and although he's expected to play Wednesday, he's facing a Timberwolves team that's allowed a league-low 18.5 offensive efficiency rating to point guards, along with the sixth-fewest Yahoo points (44.5) per game to the position. Devin Booker is also expected to be available Wednesday after overcoming his calf injury, which could certainly lead to a hit to Beal's usage. As it is, Beal has averaged a relatively modest 29.2 Yahoo points in the three games he's suited up for thus far (all without Booker).
Forwards
Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL at TOR ($49): Giannis' production has been a bit less spectacular in some games than what we've come to expect, but the ultra-talented superstar, who's listed as probable due to a calf issue, has started to hit his typically stellar stride. Antetokounmpo has scored over 60 Yahoo points in three of his last five games, and although he produced only 23.8 against Toronto in the first meeting this season, that came in a 27-minute span and preceded his recent breakout efforts. The Raps have been about middle of the pack defending power forwards, but Antetokounmpo is usually matchup-proof anyhow and produced tallies of 52.9 and 60.7 Yahoo points in two games against Toronto last season while facing many of the same defenders he'll see again Wednesday.
Keegan Murray, SAC at LAL ($21): Murray appears well on his way to a dynamic sophomore NBA campaign, checking into Wednesday with new career bests of 15.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.4 steals. Making it all the more remarkable is the fact Murray is actually scuffling considerably shooting-wise, as he's drained just 39.1% of his attempts thus far. Nevertheless, he's showing signs of reverting to the much more efficient player he was as a rookie, shooting 56.1% over his last two games. Murray has scored 29.9 to 47.7 Yahoo points in his last three games overall – excellent returns at his current salary – and it's worth noting he put up 42.1 Yahoo points against the Lakers the first time he saw them this season.
ALSO CONSIDER: Scottie Barnes, TOR vs. MIL ($38)
Forward to Avoid
Khris Middleton, MIL at TOR ($21): Middleton still doesn't quite look like himself early this season, although he's stabilized somewhat recently by scoring 22.5 to 28.8 Yahoo points in his last five games. While he's probably safe from a cash game perspective, he's playing minutes in the low 20s at most, which makes him much riskier than in past seasons. There are several other players priced just above or below him that are likely to have more opportunity, beginning with the Kings' Murray.
Centers
Joel Embiid, PHI vs. BOS ($53): This may be somewhat of an obvious suggestion, but on a night where quality centers in favorable scenarios aren't actually as plentiful as the slate size might suggest, Embiid stands out even more than usual. The matchup-proof big man put up his second straight 66 Yahoo-point tally against the Pacers on Tuesday and is now averaging 60.2 Yahoo points per contest for the season. I do have some concern about the second night of the back-to-back and third game in four nights, but it's still early in the season and Embiid's upside against a Celtics squad he lit up for 54 Yahoo points in 37 minutes in the first meeting this season is hard to ignore.
Daniel Gafford, WAS vs. DAL ($18): Gafford could be one of the best value options on the slate Wednesday, as he'll enter averaging an impressive-for-his-salary 26.1 Yahoo points per contest and having scored 38.3 and 39.3 Yahoo points in two of his last three games. The young big has undeniably thrown in his share of sub 20-Yahoo-point tallies as well, but he's been over 28 on four occasions overall, giving him more than enough upside to roll with at his salary against a Mavs team that's allowing the eighth-highest offensive efficiency rating to centers (34.3), along with the fourth-most Yahoo points per game to the position (58.6).
ALSO CONSIDER: Nikola Vucevic, CHI vs. ORL ($32)
Center to Avoid
Domantas Sabonis, SAC at LAL ($41): Sabonis is typically a fine play, but it's prudent to be selective about when to deploy him given his elevated salaries. The Lakers present a tough matchup for him Wednesday, as Los Angeles is allowing the eighth-lowest offensive efficiency rating to centers (29.7) with A.D. patrolling the paint down low. Sabonis was held to 37.5 Yahoo points in the first meeting with the Lakers this season, and with De'Aaron Fox also back on the floor for Sacramento, this may not be the best spot to get the most bang for your buck from the big man.
