This article is part of our DraftKings NBA series.
This is when it gets good, guys! We're deep into the first round now and all of these games are critical. For Tuesday's slate, we get Orlando-Toronto, Brooklyn-Philadelphia, San Antonio-Denver and Oklahoma City-Portland all playing crucial Game 5s, with three of those series potentially set to come to an end.
With that in mind, this article will focus mostly on value plays. Obviously, it's imperative to get guys like Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Damian Lillard, Kawhi Leonard, Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid into your lineup as foundation pieces. Matching two or three of those studs with many of these value picks will be the optimal lineup construction.
GUARDS
Jamal Murray, DEN vs. SAN ($6,300): Inconsistency is the name of the game for Murray but he simply has too much upside to be priced this cheaply. He has at least 29 DK points in 11 of his last 13 games and it appears he's settled in and finally finding some rhythm. Murray struggled mightily in Game 3, finishing with just 11.25 DK points in 31 minutes, but he's gone for 28.5, 35.5 and 36.5 DK points in the other three games in this series, with Saturday's Game 4 representing his best and most consistent effort thus far.
Derrick White, SAN at DEN ($5,700): White has really broken out this series but season-long owners know that his confidence has been around for months. Looking back, White is averaging 29 DK points per game across his last 47 outings. He's been even better in this series, scoring at least 21 fantasy points in all four games while averaging 32 DK points per game, buoyed by a monster, 57.75 DK-point performance behind a career-best 36 points (15-21 FG) in Game 3.
Gary Harris, DEN vs. SAN ($5,100): Harris was a huge disappointment for season-long fantasy owners, but he appears to have re-captured his preseason stock in this postseason. Dating back to the end of the regular season, Harris is averaging 26 DK points per game over his last seven outings. That's north of 5X value at this dirt-cheap price tag and the fact that he's playing 35 minutes per game in this series gives him a relatively high floor. Harris didn't shoot the ball well in San Antonio -- combined 6-22 FG -- but he fared much better in Games 1 and 2, hitting 17 of his 28 field goal attempts. Look for Harris to get on track at home Tuesday, but be aware that he's an average-to-below-average contributor in the ancillary categories.
FORWARDS
Paul Millsap, DEN vs. SAN ($5,200): Millsap has typically been an $8,000 player throughout his career and while he's not playing at that level this season, this is still a surprisingly low price tag. Despite posting a 10-point dud in the most recent game, Millsap averaged 30 DK points per game in his previous 30 games. That may sound like nothing special, but it's great production from a player barely cracking $5,000. Of more concern, though, is the fact that Millsap took just 14 combined shots in Games 3 and 4, while grabbing just five total rebounds, with one block, one steal and no assists.
J.J. Redick, PHI vs. BRK ($4,800): Redick has at least 25 DK points in 12 of his last 17 games while averaging 25.4 fantasy points per game in that span. Not many players south of $5,000 can be penciled in for 30-to-35 minutes on most nights, and while Redick's production is heavily three-point-dependent, he wasn't shy about bombing away in Games 3 and 4, launching nine treys in each contest.
Al-Farouq Aminu, POR vs. OKC ($4,700): Aminu was one of the keys to the Trail Blazers massive Game 4 victory, hitting four threes and racking up 19 points to go with nine rebounds, a block, and a steal in 30 minutes of action. While he's unlikely to replicate that offensive performance, he should hang onto a 30-minute-plus role as the Blazers' premier three-and-D wing. Aminu jacked up 16 threes in the last two games alone, and he's topped 22 DK points in all four games of the series.
CENTERS
Jarrett Allen, BRK at PHI ($5,400): It's all about opportunity when it comes to Allen's value and his 32 minutes in Game 4 were an encouraging sign. Allen played only 10 minutes in Game 1 and followed up with 23 and 21 minutes, respectively, in Games 2 and 3. So while that workload may not be set in stone, Allen didn't give Kenny Atkinson much reason to second-guess himself, racking up 21 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and a pair of steals on his way to 40.0 DK points in Game 4. The second-year big man is a combined 14-of-16 at the line over the last two games, and he has some room to improve his production, having gone block-less in each of those contests. During the regular season, Allen ranked 10th in the league in blocks per game (1.5) and 11th in total blocks (120).
Jakob Poeltl, SAN at DEN ($4,100): Poeltl is not going to single-handedly win you any contests, but he makes for an appealing filler at this price tag. After logging 24 minutes in Game 1 and 20 in Game 2, Poeltl played 30 minutes in Games 3 and 4 and should again be a substantial part of the Spurs' plan to slow down Nikola Jokic. Poeltl has reached 20 DK points in each of the last three games, and he's coming off of an eight-point (3-5 FG), nine-rebound, two-assist, one-block performance in Game 4.
