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, Tom Carpenter, Jim McCormick, Cynthia Frelund and Dailyfantasybootcamp.com's Al Zeidenfeld.
Building block
Joe Kaiser: Jon Leuer, PF, Phoenix Suns
Leuer has back-to-back double-doubles, is playing a Kings team that allows more points per game than any team in the league, and on top of that he is priced below $5,000 on both DraftKings and FanDuel. As long as Tyson Chandler misses this game, you can count on big things from Leuer against the porous Kings defense.
Tom Carpenter: Hassan Whiteside, C, Miami Heat
The big fella faces a Magic squad that has given up the most points per game to centers on both DraftKings and FanDuel over the past three weeks. They also rank 25th in rebounding rate and 27th in defensive efficiency over that stretch, plus they will not have Nikola Vucevic back tonight. What more could you ask for?
Jim McCormick: Karl-Anthony Towns, C, Minnesota Timberwolves
Even as he's covered in chalk today, Towns is in the midst of a rich scoring stretch with 58 field goal attempts over the past three. The Wizards are 22nd in defending the restricted area and 25th in rebounding percentage, while healthy pace ingredients drive the slate's third-highest implied point total. With nearly identical per-36 splits to Tim Duncan's rookie campaign, this brilliant rookie season should only continue, as KAT is a foundation piece for cash lineups.
Cynthia Frelund: Jon Leuer, PF, Phoenix Suns
With Tyson Chandler already ruled out, Leuer should be at the top of your low-cost options list – especially for cash games. Not only do you get a huge minutes upgrade (his season mins/game average 19, the past two with Chandler out… 41 and 32 minutes), but also the Suns face the Kings who play at the fastest pace in the league and don’t forget that the Kings are the most generous to opposing power forwards by most measures.
Al Zeidenfeld -- Jon Leuer, PF, Phoenix Suns
It's late March and lottery teams are shutting key players down. As a result, bench players are being thrust into starting roles with massive minutes and usage increases. Jon Leuer fits this bill very well and has seen his minutes the past two games jump to 32 and 41, respectively. In those games Leuer has scored 36.25 and 44 fantasy points but on DraftKings his salary has only come up to $4,100 which equates to a value range of 24-26 points. As long as his starting role remains intact, this is a no-brainer and I like him slightly more than Salah Mejri who is also a tremendous value at $3,800 in a similar situation to Leuer on the Dallas Mavericks. These two values will open up enough room to be able to pick whatever superstars you deem best this evening.
Sleeper pick
Joe Kaiser: Salah Mejri, C, Dallas Mavericks
Still an unknown to the casual NBA fan, Mejri is playing good ball for the Mavs. In fact, he posted double-doubles and played right around 30 minutes in each of the last two games. Tonight, he will be tested by Golden State's up-tempo style and, perhaps, a good mix of "small ball" that could keep him off the floor. However, he's priced to buy on DraftKings and is below $5,000 on FanDuel as well, which makes him worth a flyer.
Tom Carpenter: Al Horford, C, Atlanta Hawks
The Bucks have been nearly as bad as the Magic at rebounding and limiting center production on DraftKings and FanDuel. Horford can post nice box scores when the matchup is right like it should be this evening. He also carries a relatively affordable contract on both sites, making him a respectable value play for the upside he brings.
Jim McCormick -- J.J. Barea, PG, Dallas Mavericks
This diminutive dynamo has averaged 33.2 fantasy points on DraftKings in 10 games with Deron Williams out this season, compared to 16.6 with him active in 56 games, per Rotoviz. Williams is ruled out tonight, as are Dirk Nowitzki and Chandler Parsons, which means heavy usage and offensive freedom are en route for Barea as the Mavericks are heavy dogs in a game with the night's highest implied point total.
Cynthia Frelund: Kyle Lowry, PG, Toronto Raptors
The Raptors head to Houston to face the Rockets in a game where 212 total points are projected (5th overall) but the spread is the closest on the night. Lowry is in that mid-upper $8,000 range and there are lots of point guards to consider tonight. Houston has been above-average at limiting point guards and Lowry had a sore elbow causing him to sit against the Celtics on Wednesday. He’s playing tonight and I think he plays his average minutes (39) and top his 10-game averages of 23.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists.
Al Zeidenfeld -- LaMarcus Aldridge, PF, San Antonio Spurs
With six of the games on tonight's slate having totals at or above 208 people should and will naturally gravitate to picking players from those games. It's the right thing to do, but it also opens up the opportunity for us to be contrarian with a great player in a game with a lower total who is missing some high usage teammates. Aldridge has been the rock of the Spurs offensively for a while now and that won't change this evening with Kahwi Leonard and Danny Green out of action tonight. LaMarcus has routinely hit for over 40 fantasy points, surpassing that number eight times in his last 12 games and should carry an extremely low percentage owned number this evening vs. the opposition at his position in tournaments.