We have a typical large Wednesday slate with 11 games on tap, giving us a ton of options across the salary cap. As usual, there are some players who are shaping up to be strong potential scoring values, while others who appear to have salaries that don’t match how they’ve performed so far.
As usual, 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 might be best avoided due to a combination of circumstances/salary.
Guardians
LaMelo BallCHA vs. TOR ($44): Ball got the new season off to a stellar start, averaging 50.4 Yahoo points per contest over his first four games. Ball has already flashed a ceiling north of 60 Yahoo points and is shooting a career-best 41.7 percent from three-point range on a whopping 12.0 attempts from behind the arc per contest in his first three games. Although Toronto made shooting difficult for point guards earlier this season, Ball’s usage and across-the-stat sheet make him a potential steal even at his elevated salary.
Jeremy SochanSA and OKC ($22): Sochan is a prime example of a player who has exceeded his salary so far, as the third-year pro opened the season averaging 34.3 Yahoo points per game while shooting a career-best 52.3 percent. The 2022 first-round pick also increased his aggressiveness offensively, taking a career-high 14.7 shot attempts per contest while also pulling down 9.0 rebounds per game. Given how integral he has been to the Spurs on both ends of the floor thus far, Sochan could deliver very strong value relative to a salary on Wednesday.
ALSO CONSIDER: Shai Gilgeous-AlexanderOKC vs. ON ($55); Dennis SchroderBKN at MEM ($23)
Guard to Avoid
Donovan MitchellCLE vs. LAL ($45): The issue here with Mitchell is mainly salary. The fact is, he just hasn’t lived up to it yet early this season. The standout guard has been at 37.9 Yahoo points or less in three of his first four games, posting solid numbers that aren’t necessarily at the level you’d want to see if investing this high at one position. The Lakers are also allowing an average 44.4 percent shooting to two-guards so far, and options under Mitchell in salary that could well out-produce him include Ball (listed above), Tyrese Maxey ($43) and Trae Young ($41).
Advances
Jaylen BrownBOS at IND ($37): Brown opened the season in typically reliable fashion, averaging 42.4 Yahoo points over his first four games while scoring no fewer than 34.9 Yahoo points in any contest. The star wing has achieved those numbers despite shooting just 40.7 percent so far, a number that is naturally bound to rise due to Brown’s work throughout his career. It’s also worth noting that the majority of his efficiency issues thus far have come from in front of the arc, as he’s drained 39.3 percent of his three-point attempts. Given the ultra-safe floor and expansive ceiling, Brown is a great way to not break the bank while still giving yourself a shot at an outstanding fantasy return.
Rui HachimuraLAL at CLE ($20): Hachimura far exceeded expectations in the early going, and he did so with the help of an elite 61.5 percent three-point shooting. That number will eventually drop by a significant amount, but for now, the veteran forward is riding a hot hand and is averaging 33.1 Yahoo points per contest, making his salary all the more eye-popping. Hachimura has also stepped up his rebounding, pulling down between seven and 10 boards in each of his last three games. Despite sharing the floor with plenty of high-usage options, Hachimura has found his way to a solid 14.3 shot attempts per contest in his starting role and could certainly deliver a strong return on investment again Wednesday.
ALSO CONSIDER: Paolo BancheroORL at CHI ($41)
Forward to Avoid
Deni AvdijaFROM at LAC ($31): Avdija has gotten off to an unremarkable start in her new Portland digs, averaging 9.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting a terrible 28.9 percent so far. He averaged 25.9 Yahoo points per game thanks to solid stats in non-scoring categories, but this is still too high a salary for a player in this deep shooting range. While Avdija will undoubtedly increase his numbers over time, there are better ways to allocate salary on Wednesday.
Centers
Chet HolmgrenSA vs. OKC ($38): Holmgren carries a salary $16 below that of Anthony Davis on the center player pool, yet he is averaging an elite 57.4 Yahoo points per game over his first three contests. The 7-foot-2 star has wasted no time getting the rebounds (13.0 per game) and blocks (4.0 blocks per game) in the early going, but he’s also averaging 23.7 points, 13.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals per contest. Holmgren has basically been countered, and despite the scary presence of Victor Wembanyama down low on Wednesday, the fact that Holmgren has been able to significantly exceed his current salary so far makes him very much worth a look.
Andrew DrummondPHI vs. THAT ($26): Drummond continues to hold down the starting center role during the season-opening absence of Joel Embiid (knee) and is doing so with plenty of success. The veteran is averaging 32.8 Yahoo points per game over his first three contests, and he came up just short of a point and a rebound in two different games to open the season with three consecutive double-doubles. The big man plays again Wednesday against his original team and comes in with two full days of rest after logging 37 minutes against the Pacers on Sunday.
ALSO CONSIDER: Anthony DavisLAL at CLE ($54)
Center for Avoidance
Jonas ValanciunasWAS vs. ATL ($27): Valanciunas has a salary commensurate with his production from previous years, as he has been under 20 Yahoo points in two straight and is averaging just 22.1 Yahoo points per contest so far on the season. The veteran big man scored a modest 19.8 Yahoo points in this same matchup against the Hawks on Monday, and since he’s still outpacing the 22 minutes he logged in that game, I’m not comfortable putting a salary anywhere near $30 for him.
