This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
Despite there being just two games on the schedule for Thursday's playoff slate, there's still some decisions to be made at all levels of the price scale. The following list should provide a handful of players to consider building your lineup around.
Guards:
Terry Rozier, BOS vs. PHI ($8,400): Rozier has been an absolute force throughout the playoffs thus far and has only gotten better of late. In Game 1 against the Sixers on Monday, Rozier went off for 29 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block, which was good enough for 54.6 FanDuel points. That was his second straight 50-FanDuel-point showing in a row, a two-game stretch where he's also shot 61.8 percent from the field and an absurd 70.6 percent from deep. If you're looking to ride the hot hand, Rozier is a guy that has to be considered.
Marcus Smart, BOS vs. PHI ($6,200): The Celtics are once again listing Jaylen Brown (hamstring) as doubtful, so Smart will remain in the starting five and should easily see 30-plus minutes. In Game 1 when he started, Smart posted nine points, nine assists, three rebounds and one steal across 32 minutes, which exemplifies his ability to rack up multi-category statistics. If he can start getting his shot to fall, to go along with his already solid stacking of the box score elsewhere, he should have every opportunity to hit value at this price. Smart shot just 3-of-12 from the field and 2-of-8 from deep in Game 1, so there's plenty of room for improvement.
Marco Belinelli, PHI at BOS ($4,200): Belinelli's numbers have been down a bit of late, as he's posted back-to-back games of 13.7 and 19.1 FanDuel points, respectively. However, that's largely due to his struggles with his shot, as he finished that two-game stretch with a 33.3 percent clip from the field and just 20 percent from deep. Belinelli is too good of a shooter to have that slump continue much longer, so I'm fully on board with taking a risk on him now that his price has dropped well over $1,000 due to his recent struggles. He's still getting up plenty of shots and is going to be heavily involved on offense, so there's plenty of upside as a value play in tournaments.
Forwards:
LeBron James, CLE at TOR ($13,500): James is getting to be absurdly high and I wouldn't blame DFS owners for fading him entirely as a result. That said, there are a few cheaper options, including the aforementioned Marco Belinelli, that could allow you to fit James in without having a huge problem finding quality options elsewhere. Since the start of the playoffs, James is averaging 62.4 FanDuel points, which includes two separate outings where he surpassed the 70-point mark. He's going to have the most FanDuel points of anyone on the slate, so it essentially depends on whether or not you're willing to pay up.
Kevin Love, CLE at TOR ($6,500): Love has been absolutely brutal throughout the playoffs thus far, surpassing 27.0 FanDuel points just once (Game 1 of the first round). While that's obviously concerning, Love's price has gotten so low that he's become an automatic play for me. He still has that monster double-double potential that we all know so well and if he can get hot from the floor, he has the upside to blow this price out of the water. Again, Love carries plenty of risk due to his poor play of late, but I'm willing to take a chance on him considering the upside.
Marcus Morris, BOS vs. PHI ($4,500): Morris is another sub-$5,000 player that I think could hit value fairly easily. Like mentioned in the Marcus Smart blurb, Jaylen Brown (hamstring) is expected to sit out once again, which opens up a fairly significant role for Morris off the bench. Morris logged 28 minutes in Game 1 and while he turned that into just 21.5 points, he did get off 12 field goal attempts. Morris loves to try and take the game over offensively whenever he's on the court, which is always what you're looking for in DFS. Due to his likely workload and his propensity to launch shots, Morris has some intrigue at just $4,500.
Centers:
Joel Embiid, PHI at BOS ($9,400): The Celtics couldn't stop Embiid in Game 1, as the All-Star big men went off for 31 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, and one steal across 35 minutes. That resulted in 54.1 FanDuel points, which upped his playoff average to 45.1. Embiid put up 21 shot attempts during that contest and it wouldn't be surprising if the Sixers once again fed him the ball in the post at a high rate. For that reason, Embiid has a very high ceiling and is easily the best center option for Thursday's slate.
Tristan Thompson, CLE at TOR ($4,500): Thompson could be another sneaky cheap option to consider in your lineup, which would help fit James in despite being so expensive. The Cavaliers are going to need Thompson to help stop Raptors' Jonas Valanciunas, as Kevin Love showed he can't handle him. For that reason, Thompson is going to see plenty of minutes once again after logging 26 and 35 minutes over the last two contests. During that two-game stretch, Thompson has tallied 28.4 and 31.5 FanDuel points, respectively, both of which would easily be surpassing value at his current price.
