NBA Pulse: Wednesday, March 11

The NBA Pulse is constructed to give daily fantasy enthusiasts insight to the most popular picks in a game slate, assessing their viability along the way. In other words, this column is designed to gauge the daily fantasy world's opinion as a whole. We will then take it a step further, telling you when to “join the herd" and when to pivot elsewhere.

Buzz is calculated on a 1-10 scale by considering numerous daily fantasy media outlets picks and general conversation on forums/twitter.

POINT GUARD

No surprise here, as Russell Westbrook is the talk of the town once again. It's a little easier to fade him for an exuberant price tag on FanDuel, but I wouldn't feel overly confident in going that route. In addition, there appears to be enough value to work him in.

Aaron Brooks is one of those value plays, as people are buying into the generous matchup vs Philly. Dennis Schroder is a steady contributor for a similar pice – also in a great matchup (DEN), and seeing similar minutes (28+). Pivoting to the less popular play could pay dividends.

Ricky Rubio is a high upside play if you aren't reaching up for Westbrook. I don't think it's possible to fit them together and feel good about the rest of your team – unless more value opens up.

Ish Smith is receiving a moderate amount of buzz, mostly coming from speculation on Isaiah Canaan's status. Canaan is listed as questionable, and if he's ruled out, I would lean his way over Brooks or Schroder.

SHOOTING GUARD

I'm surprised to see Eric Bledsoe leading the way here. A lot of people are buying into the theory of an uptick with Brandon Knight out. While that certainly seems logical, let's remember this is Eric Bledsoe, and the range of outcomes is still pretty wide. In fact, he faced Minnesota last time without Knight, Thomas or Dragic (trade was pending) and had a pretty modest fantasy line. I'm reserving him more for tournaments – unless he fits nicely.

James Harden looks like a fantastic pivot off of Westbrook. He has excellent splits vs Portland this season, and the loss of Wesley Matthews only helps his cause. It's pretty safe to assume that he'll have a lower ownership % than Westbrook, yet he could realistically yield the same FP total. Food for thought.

JJ Redick's price has risen, but he's still an adequate value pick with Jamal Crawford ruled out. Most of the buzz is generated from FanDuel plays, serving as a nice SG2 where you have to roster two from the position.

Gary Neal is a risk/reward play in a fast-paced matchup, and Kyle Korver is the cash game pick for a little more dough. Giannis Antetokounmpo has seen a dramatic price increase, leaving him more for tournaments.

SMALL FORWARD

Many people are speculating Gerald Green to the starting role in Brandon Knight's stead. That's a plausible scenario, and he's worth the gamble for minimum salary – especially on a night like this, where value is crucial. However, I would feel much more comfortable if we confirmed him as a starter. As we all know, Phoenix can be very fluid with their rotations at times. UPDATE: Marcus Morris named starter, hurting Green's prospects greatly.

From here on out, small forward is essentially a mixed bag. Andrew Wiggins, Nic Batum, Khris Middleton, and Tobias Harris are all in the same price range…and they all project within the same FP total. I'm leaning towards Batum (more opportunities with Matthews out) and Wiggins (high-scoring game, breakneck pace) of that group, but I wouldn't criticize anyone for going in a different direction (Middleton especially in tournaments).

POWER FORWARD

Nikola Mirotic has been awesome for Chicago. With Taj Gibson sidelined once again, he looks like a great play against the weak 76ers defense. I'm not fading the popular pick here, especially for a friendly $5.7k on FanDuel.

Kenneth Faried and Paul Millsap will face off against each other tonight, and I'm leaning towards Faried at a cheaper price point. Millsap has the better draw on paper, but they have similar projections, and cutting cost is imperative for this slate.

Marvin Williams is more of a speculative option at best – probably more geared for tournaments. He'll see more minutes with Cody Zeller out, but he's a low FP/min producer that can't be trusted.

NOTE: I'm sure Marcus Morris will be receiving more buzz leading up to tipoff, now that he has been granted the starting gig in Phoenix. He's a fine near-minimum salary pick – potentially to pair with Mirotic/Faried on FanDuel.

CENTER

The Center position mirrors that of Small Forward tonight. There's a few adequate options, but they are all priced appropriately. Otherwise, you are getting into risk/reward territory when diving into the bargain bin.

People seem to be liking the security in Marc Gasol tonight, and I can't criticize that pick for cash games…especially in a great matchup vs Boston. However, I don't think there's any profit potential for tournaments.

Brook Lopez is a slightly cheaper alternative, going up against a beat-up Miami frontcourt. I'd lean towards him over Gasol in cash games due to the cheaper price point.

DeMarcus Cousins is generating a moderate amount of buzz, but if I'm spending big, it's either on Westbrook or Harden – which doesn't leave any room for DMC.

Alex Len is the risk/reward pick I was talking about. People will be bias against him tonight, because he had back-to-back horrific performances (that burned a high %). However, he looked healthy last game, the matchup is great, and the price is discounted. If he stays out of foul trouble (big “if", hence the risk/reward) and sees 30+ minutes, there's substantial profit potential. Great tournament pick.

Robin Lopez is the cash game spinoff from Len in my opinion. You won't gain much profit potential, as he seems capped in the 20-24 FP range.