As part of ESPN Fantasy's efforts to provide daily fantasy gamers intel on whom to target in DFS, our fantasy basketball experts are here to show you which players they are building their teams around and which sleepers they are taking fliers on. Today's panel features picks from Joe Kaiser, Renee Miller, Jungkyu Lee, Cynthia Frelund and Dailyfantasybootcamp.com's Al Zeidenfeld.
Building block
Joe Kaiser: Karl-Anthony Towns, C, Minnesota Timberwolves
Nobody has been able to slow down the No. 1 overall pick from last summer’s draft, so the chances of Memphis’ banged-up frontcourt doing so are slim and none. He enters Wednesday with 21.8 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1 SPG and 1.6 BPG over his past five games and should be able to put up big numbers against JaMychal Green, Ryan Hollins and the rest of the Grizzlies' fill-in frontcourt players.
Renee Miller: Kemba Walker, PG, Charlotte Hornets
People probably will see his price and skip right on past Walker tonight, as the perception of him is of a midrange player at best. That's a mistake for a few reasons. He's a lot cheaper than Stephen Curry or Russell Westbrook, who are both in difficult matchups and/or potential blowouts tonight. Walker has been so much better at home over his career (15.8 PPG, 4.9 APG on the road, 18.7 PPG, 5.9 APG at home, according to statmuse), a trend that continues this year as he averages over five fantasy points more in Charlotte than anywhere else. Add that to the fact that the Hornets play the Orlando Magic tonight, a team that has given up the most fantasy points to opposing point guards over the past five games (and has been a top-10 matchup all season) and you have a winner to build around tonight.
Jungkyu Lee: Andre Drummond, C, Detroit Pistons
Drummond is the best rebounder in the league going against the second-worst rebounding team in the league in the Atlanta Hawks, so I like Drummond to get rebounds in bunches tonight. In two games against the Hawks, he has averaged 21.5 points and 15.5 rebounds per game. Although Atlanta has been the second-best defensive team in the league (98.6 points allowed per 100 possessions) this season, I think Drummond provides a safe floor and an upside for an elite production tonight.
Cynthia Frelund: Brandon Jennings, PG, Orlando Magic
If he starts, Jennings is in great spot to be considered a low-cost roster option. Elfrid Payton and C.J. Watson are both questionable, meaning there’s an opportunity for Jennings to surpass his season-long per-game averages of 16.7 minutes, 6.4 points and 3.7 assists (he scored 12 points and dished out 11 assists in 27 minutes vs. Denver on Tuesday). Even with the Hornets being in the top half of the league against guards, at under $4,000 across daily fantasy sites, keep Jennings in mind.
Dailyfantasybootcamp's Al Zeidenfeld: DeMarcus Cousins, PF/C, Sacramento Kings
Sometimes DFS is as simple as this: Are the Kings playing the Pelicans? Is Cousins playing? If the answer to both questions is yes, then you need to find a way to fit Cousins into your lineups. In their past seven meetings, Boogie has not scored less than 51.5 DraftKings points vs. the Pelicans, and he has topped 75 fantasy points three times in the same span. Yes, this is the third game in four nights for the Kings, and yes they're on the second night of a back-to-back with travel, BUT the travel was from Los Angeles to Sacramento, and the Kings are at home tonight. Banking on 50 fantasy points with 75-point upside is fine by me even with the scheduling trepidation likely to give some people pause. Basically, Cousins is the top-rated player in my projections, is very much worth the risk and is the first player I'm slotting into lineups tonight.
Sleeper pick
Joe Kaiser: Jrue Holiday, PG, New Orleans Pelicans
Holiday will be under-owned on a night when Westbrook, Curry, Chris Paul, John Wall, Walker, Rajon Rondo and Isaiah Thomas are other high-profile options at point guard. That makes him all the more valuable as he faces a Sacramento team that allows more points per game than any team in the league and is on the second of a back-to-back. In three games against the Kings this season, Holiday has averaged 17 points, 4 rebounds, 9.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game.
Renee Miller: Dwight Howard, C, Houston Rockets
With many folks likely to invest in Cousins in his sweet matchup with New Orleans tonight, I fully expect Howard and his poor image to be overlooked tonight. However, with the Rockets-Clippers game sitting with an attractive total (215) and Houston being just a small, three-point favorite at home, he's in an interesting spot. The Clippers have been a generous matchup for opposing centers all season long, and Howard is averaging 26 points and 20 rebounds against them in three previous meetings this season. That's a full 20 fantasy points higher than his season average, and another night like those would really help vault your lineups up the standings at his modest price.
Jungkyu Lee: J.J. Redick, SG, Los Angeles Clippers
There are a lot of potential high-scoring matchups tonight according to Vegas, and many top-end players will have great matchups. Consequently, the ability to find low to mid-salary players who can exploit their matchup can put you over the top. I like Redick's matchup against the Rockets tonight, who give up the third-most 3-pointers per game in the league and rank in the bottom third in opponent 3-point percentage. I like Redick to surpass his salary with relative ease tonight.
Cynthia Frelund: Drummond
Between his almost $8,000 price tag, lower-cost centers being great picks (DeAndre Jordan on DraftKings and Jared Sullinger on both sites if Kelly Olynyk sits) and some recent inconsistent play (at Dallas, good; at Washington, not so good), Drummond rates as a GPP-only play for me tonight. The Hawks rate in the bottom third of the league against centers, and part of what causes this low overall rating comes from a low rebounding rate (No. 29 in rebounding rate), so Drummond should be able to grab a lot of offensive rebounds, turning them into real and fantasy points.
Dailyfantasybootcamp's Al Zeidenfeld: Walker
One of the hottest players in the league in March, Walker has averaged 48 DraftKings points per game this month, up from his season average of 39.3. He has also been markedly better at home on the season, scoring 5.3 more fantasy points per contest at The Hive. Noting all of that, he's my sleeper today, because with the increase in production, his salary has also come up along with it, and combined with the other options at point guard today, I feel Walker is going to be overlooked by far too many people. He's the fifth-rated point guard in my projections today, but I'd guess there will be 10 other point guards who will be higher-owned, and from a tournament portfolio exposure perspective, grabbing a player who should score 45 fantasy points that most of the competition is simply passive over can lead you to the top of the leaderboard.