This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Basketball series.
Two teams will be facing elimination Wednesday. That should lead to a couple of exciting games. To add even more fun to the evening, let's try to win some cash on Yahoo. Here are some players to consider for your entries, as well as a few to potentially avoid.
GUARDS
Jalen Brunson, NY vs. MIA ($32): Despite the Knicks being on the brink of elimination, Brunson has had a great series. He has logged at least 38 minutes in each of the four games, averaging 26.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game. Look for the Knicks to rely heavily on their star point guard to give them a chance of forcing a Game 6.
Kyle Lowry, MIA at NY ($13): After averaging just 21 minutes over the five games against the Bucks, Lowry has averaged 28 minutes across the first four games against the Knicks. He has made the most of his expanded role, scoring at least 24.8 Yahoo points in each game. With the Heat's lack of depth not improving anytime soon, Lowry should remain one of their top contributors off the bench.
Guard to Avoid
Austin Reaves, LAL at GS ($21): Reaves had his best scoring output of the series in Game 4, scoring 21 points on 7-for-15 shooting from the field. Still, he is only shooting 37.2 percent in the series. He has also averaged just 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists, so if he's not consistently scoring, he's difficult to justify at this salary.
FORWARDS
Jimmy Butler, MIA at NY ($44): There have been no limitations on Butler after he sat out Game 2 with an ankle injury. He has played at least 36 minutes in each of the last two games, scoring 41.3 and 58.2 Yahoo points, respectively. Not only is he shooting 48.1 percent from the field in this series, but he has attempted at least nine free throws in each contest. That's noteworthy because he has shot 84.2 percent from the charity stripe during his career. With so few viable scoring options around him, Butler will continue to have a heavy workload.
Max Strus, MIA at NY ($11): Strus is only someone to consider in tournament play if you're looking to load up on stars. He has been inconsistent, which is not surprising since most of his contributions come from the scoring department. However, he has scored at least 28.6 Yahoo points in the last two games. If he can get hot from behind the arc, he can provide value.
Forward to Avoid
Julius Randle, NY vs. MIA ($30): Randle has been careless with the ball, racking up 13 turnovers across the three games he has played in this series. He is also shooting just 22.2 percent from behind the arc. With how inconsistent his shooting has been and how well the Heat can play defensively, Randle becomes very risky at this salary.
CENTERS
Anthony Davis, LAL at GS ($51): Davis has shown that his dud in Game 2 was an outlier performance. In each of the other three games, he has scored at least 50.0 Yahoo points. He is shooting 58.9 percent from the field in the series while averaging a whopping 14.5 rebounds. As good as Draymond Green can be defensively, he gives up a lot of size to Davis. With the Western Conference Finals in sight, Davis has one of the highest upsides for any player in this slate.
Draymond Green, GS vs. LAL ($24): The Warriors will at least have the home crowd behind them as they try to force a Game 6. Green did not play well in Game 3, but he has scored at least 31.5 Yahoo points in each of the other three games. He is a player that thrives on the energy of the home crowd and generally steps up in critical games, so expect him to produce one of his juicy all-around stat lines.
Center to Avoid
Kevon Looney, GS vs. LAL ($19): Looney has disappeared in this series. He dominated in the previous round against the Kings and scored 44.1 Yahoo points in Game 1 against the Lakers. However, he has barely been involved after an illness limited his role in Game 2. He logged just 12 minutes in that game and has played just 27 minutes in the two games since. While he's a great rebounder, he's just not getting enough minutes at the moment to make a difference.
