Which players should you build around and which players should you fade in DFS as we tip off Monday's NBA action? Our experts have the answers.
Players to build around
Kyle Soppe -- Ekpe Udoh, Utah Jazz
With 10 games on the docket tonight, I'm taking locking in Udoh to help afford a pair of stars to headline my lineup. With Rudy Gobert (knee) back on the shelf, Udoh's extended role (62 minutes over his past two games) is seemingly safe and given that amount of court time, his per minute production doesn't have to be anything above average to return value. The Rockets are allowing the sixth-most paint points per game this season, so is it unreasonable to think a double-double is in play tonight? Houston ranks below league average in defensive rebounding rate, so the rebounding floor should be reasonably high for Udoh given his role. Use Udoh as a way to get nice value from a punt play while you put your fantasy fate tonight in the hands of a pair of stars.
Renee Miller -- Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors
I expected Thompson to do bigger things with both Stephen Curry and Draymond Green out recently, which is still very possible. He's not here as a building block for his upside though; there are plenty of stars and bargains for that tonight. Thompson is the guy to build around because he'll provide exactly five to six times his value 99 percent of the time. This should be a fast and fantasy-friendly game with viable plays in all salary ranges.Thompson leads the pack in the high floor, high ceiling combo for the price.
Joe Kaiser -- Amir Johnson, Philadelphia 76ers
Johnson is bargain priced as he is set to start for Joel Embiid (rest) on Monday against the Bulls. While Johnson doesn't carry huge upside, he's a tremendous punt play at power forward (and center on DraftKings) who needs to be considered as there's a good chance he'll play around 20-25 minutes in this one. Dario Saric and Ben Simmons are two others to consider while Embiid is out. Robert Covington hasn't been shooting well enough for me to recommend.
Players to avoid
Kyle Soppe -- Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors
I expect this to not be the most popular of calls, as Thompson returns to the city where he grew up and has a greater role in a Warriors' offense due to the absence of Stephen Curry against a 10-17 Lakers squad. The narrative is nice and Thompson is as capable of putting on a scoring display as anyone in the league, but I'm differentiating myself from the field and not rostering him tonight. I'm guessing you're unaware that the Lakers rank as a top 10 defense in terms of efficiency (heck, I was until this morning) or that they've been great at taking away good looks from distance (opponents are shooting a 34.2 percent from 3-point land against them, the second-lowest rate in the NBA). I like listening to what the DFS industry is telling me, so the fact that Thompson's price tag has not flinched this month despite him shooting 58.8 percent from the field tells me that his lack of versatility limits his ceiling. I think good looks are tough to come by for tonight, thus making Thompson a risky investment on a full slate.
Renee Miller -- Chris Paul, Houston Rockets
While teammate James Harden hasn't struggled at all against the Jazz, most point guards do. Utah ranks last in fantasy points allowed to point guards. Paul probably isn't a popular fade, given how amazing he's been lately, but on this slate, I'd rather pay up for Kevin Durant, Harden, and/or Karl-Anthony Towns in the elite range. The contrarian attraction is there for Paul, but at least consider limiting exposure for tonight.
Joe Kaiser -- Pau Gasol, San Antonio Spurs
Don't even think about using Gasol in your lineups these days. In the three games since Kawhi Leonard returned to the Spurs' lineup, Gasol has averaged 18.3 minutes, 1.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.3 blocks per game. Yikes! Even if Gasol was minimum priced tonight against the Clippers, I wouldn't have him anywhere near my lineups.