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Daily fantasy basketball: Expert picks and fades for Friday

Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell is a popular breakout candidate in season-long leagues, but should you use him Friday in DFS? Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

We have eight games on tap Friday evening, which means there are plenty of players from which to choose. Our expert are here to give their recommendations on who to build around and who to skip in DFS.

Players to build around

Al Zeidenfeld -- George Hill, Utah Jazz: Until his price comes up to match his new/expanded role with the Jazz, Hill will be a great source of value in daily fantasy. Tonight's matchup against the Lakers will provide plenty of opportunity for Hill to both score and create. Plus, his price allows for some freedom to put at least one extra All-Star on your roster today.

Jim McCormick -- Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors: We still saw the same valuable volume from Curry in the opening loss to the Spurs, as he lofted 10 3-pointers and 18 shots overall in the loss. With some uncertainty as to this ceiling with Kevin Durant in tow, Curry's price has deflated to reasonable levels, especially on DraftKings. The Pelicans worked at an awesome pace in their first game and currently lead the league in possessions per 48 at this point. With a choice matchup against Tim Frazier and a patchwork Pelicans backcourt, plus these positive pace ingredients, affordable early shares of Curry prove inviting.

Renee Miller -- Jeff Teague, Indiana Pacers: One of the questions I ask myself when selecting a building block is what is the cheapest source of a double-double? There are a few candidates tonight (Tobias Harris, Thaddeus Young, George Hill, Enes Kanter come to mind), but Teague looks great with his new team and gets one of the best guard matchups in the league with the Pacers. Indiana is favored in what Vegas has as a fast-paced 214.5-point game total, and Teague is reasonably enough priced to fit two to three of your favorite studs around.

Players to fade

Al Zeidenfeld -- Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers: This feels like a season to treat Kyrie like the tides, and right now it's high tide and dangerous to get in the water. Coming off a very good game in the Cavs' season opener, scoring 29 real life points in just 29 minutes in a nationally televised game, daily fantasy players are more likely to flock to Irving tonight. His fantasy production is mostly reliant on scoring, as he just doesn't chip in consistently enough in the other categories to qualify as the chalk at an inflated price. I'll find better spots to play Irving as the days and weeks roll on, but tonight isn't the night for me.

Jim McCormick -- D'Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers: I love season-long shares of Russell, but for this meeting with a deliberately low-pace opponent in the Jazz, I'm taking the discount on his teammate Jordan Clarkson or pivoting to point guards in better spots like the Pacers' Teague in a matchup with the up-tempo Nets. There will be nights when building around Russell is clearly attractive -- this isn't one of those slates.

Renee Miller -- Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors: I prefer to give you an elite player who isn't making his way into my lineups, rather than a guy you wouldn't be considering anyway in this space. Durant is great, fantastic, the man, on the Warriors for Pete's sake, but not for me tonight. Dollar for dollar, I'm using LeBron James at SF, and given the plethora of big men and Russell Westbrook out there, I can't justify spending up for two small forwards.