The NBA has one of its rare off days Thursday due to Thanksgiving, so we’re treated to the annual Turkey Day Eve extravaganza Wednesday. This year, that consists of 14 games, affording us a massive player pool to have fun with while building lineups.
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
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC vs. CHI ($51): SGA requires $6 less of an investment than Luka Doncic (listed as an alternative option below) but is actually averaging 53.3 Yahoo points per game to Luka’s 52.6. The talented guard boasts a quartet of 60+ Yahoo point tallies in the last seven games, and he just put up 37.6 in only 23 minutes against the Blazers on Sunday. Gilgeous-Alexander is also one of the few stars Wednesday that’s coming in with some rest, as many are on their third game in four nights. Even with the Bulls doing a solid job overall on point guards this season, SGA is essentially matchup-proof and a very viable play on his home floor.
Russell Westbrook, LAC at SAN ($25): Westbrook has transitioned to a complementary option fairly effectively, as he’ll check in averaging 32.1 Yahoo points per game on averages of 13.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.8 steals per contest. The perennial All-Star put up 30.4 Yahoo points in just 25 minutes against this same Spurs team Monday night, and even if he continues to come off the bench Wednesday, he should have plenty of opportunity against a San Antonio squad allowing a league-high 51.1 offensive efficiency rating to second-unit players and 48.1 Yahoo points per game to point guards.
ALSO CONSIDER: Luka Doncic, DAL at LAL ($57)
Guard to Avoid
Tyrese Maxey, PHI at MIN ($40): It admittedly requires some resolve to leave Maxey out of lineups Wednesday given how well he’s played, but there’s a case to be made that while he could still turn out a solid performance, he may stop short of justifying his salary. The Timberwolves have been lights out defending point guards all season, allowing a league-low 19.5 offensive efficiency rating to the position while surrendering minuscule 37.4 percent shooting to the position. Maxey is on the second night of a back-to-back and third game in four nights as well, and driving to the basket against Minnesota is also quite the uphill battle with Rudy Gobert patrolling the paint.
Forwards
LeBron James, LAL vs. DAL ($45): LeBron is one of those aforementioned big names playing a third game in four nights Wednesday, but the King logged just 24 minutes in Tuesday’s blowout win over the Jazz. That should leave him feeling reasonably refreshed for Wednesday’s showdown against the Mavericks and in position to potentially offer a return in the neighborhood of the 57.5 to 65.5 Yahoo points he’d scored in three games prior to Tuesday. Dallas checks in ranked No. 22 in offensive efficiency rating allowed to small forwards (24.1), and James should have a significant uptick in minutes against a Mavs team that’s also yielding 50.1 percent shooting on the road.
Dillon Brooks, HOU vs. MEM ($17): The “revenge game” concept seems perfectly suited to Brooks’ personality, and he gets such an opportunity Wednesday when he faces his former Grizzlies squad for the first time. The aggressive wing’s salary is very eye-catching for this scenario, and he comes into the contest having scored 38.2 and 22.8 Yahoo points in his last two games. Brooks’ fantasy production has been volatile early this season, but with seven games of over 20 Yahoo points overall and the depleted Grizzlies allowing 47.5 percent shooting and 42.5 Yahoo points per contest to small forwards, he’s worth taking a shot on at his salary.
ALSO CONSIDER: Jaylen Brown, BOS vs. MIL ($28); Santi Aldama, MEM at HOU ($20)
Forward to Avoid
Khris Middleton, MIL at BOS ($21): Middleton continues to see his minutes carefully managed, as he’s yet to play above 23 in any game this season. The veteran wing therefore always runs the risk of delivering a sub-optimal return if he’s having an off night, which is especially an issue if he does it at any salary above the teens like the one he currently sports. The Celtics are also far from the easiest matchup and come into the night with a No. 2 rating in offensive efficiency allowed to small forwards (15.9), allowing just 39.2 percent shooting to the position.
Centers
Domantas Sabonis, SAC at NOP ($41): Sabonis turned in a disappointing 29 Yahoo points in this same matchup Monday, but that actually came in just 30 minutes of floor time. Previously, Sabonis had been providing production befitting an even higher salary, as he’d scored over 50 Yahoo points in six straight, including one tally over 60. The versatile big is riding a streak of four straight double-doubles as well, and the Pelicans check in ranked No. 24 in offensive efficiency rating allowed to centers (35.2) while also giving up 58.8 Yahoo points per game to the position.
Jusuf Nurkic, PHO vs. GSW ($22): Nurkic was impressive against his old Trail Blazers squad Tuesday, scoring 44.4 Yahoo points in just 29 minutes, his second straight tally over 40. The surge has pushed Nurkic’s season average to 33 Yahoo points per game, an excellent return on his current salary. The Warriors ceded 37.7 Yahoo points across 28 minutes to Nurkic on Opening Night this season, and Golden State holds a sub-standard No. 20 ranking in offensive efficiency rating allowed to centers (33.3) and is surrendering the sixth-most Yahoo points per game (58.2) to the position while tying with the Mavs for second-most points per contest surrendered to fives (26.1)
ALSO CONSIDER: Anthony Davis, LAL vs. DAL ($51)
Center to Avoid
Zach Collins, SAN vs. LAC ($25): Collins had a tough go of it in this same matchup Monday, scoring just 18.6 Yahoo points in 28 minutes. Ivica Zubac has given plenty of centers a difficult time down low, and Collins’ salary remains elevated for Wednesday’s rematch. With Los Angeles allowing the sixth-lowest offensive efficiency rating to centers (29.0) and fourth-fewest Yahoo points per game to the position, Collins could certainly have a hard time justifying his salary again.