This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Basketball series.
This final month of the NBA season is going to be wild for DFS players. We say that because there are so many teams doing wacky things. Teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons are resting half of their rosters regularly, making it tough to know what to expect. While that's not a huge issue here, these game scripts could be. Denver and Utah enter as monster favorites, and blowout potential can definitely alter how some of these players could perform. With that in mind, let's get into it!
Guards
Mike Conley, UTA vs. MIN ($26)
Conley was rewarded with his first All-Star berth this year, and he's definitely earned it. The 33-year-old veteran is averaging 16.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. We love him today because he's the primary point guard with Donovan Mitchell (ankle) sidelined. Conley is posting a 24 percent usage rate with DM off the floor while averaging 1.2 Y! points per minute. That's on full display when you see that he's got a 37-point average across his last five fixtures. The matchup with Minnesota is majestic, too, with the T'Wolves surrendering the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing point guards this season.
Coby White, CHI at MIA ($19)
White is a talented young guard, and it's unfortunately taken an absence from Zach LaVine for the Bulls to realize it. With LaVine off the floor, White is posting a 26 percent usage rate while averaging 1.1 Yahoo points per minute. That increase in usage has led to the best stretch of his career, with White scoring at least 29 fantasy points in four of his last five games while providing a 33-point average in that span. Those are ridiculous totals from a sub-$20 player, and he should continue to get a heavy workload as long as LaVine remains out.
Guard to Avoid
Goran Dragic, MIA vs. CHI ($19)
It saddens me to put Dragic in this section, but he's been off recently. What's really killed him is that this roster is getting healthier, with Kendrick Nunn, Jimmy Butler, and Tyler Herro all taking away ball-handling duties from The Dragon. That was clear when he had just 6.2 Yahoo points on Friday, his worst performance of the year. He has some gems recently, but you can see that multiple of the aforementioned players sat those games out if you look a little deeper. We also don't like that this is the second half of a B2B set, which is bad news for a 33-year-old like Dragic.
Also, Avoid John Wall in the second half of a back-to-back set.
Forwards
Joe Ingles, UTA vs. MIN ($22)
Strangely, losing a guy like Mitchell can open up opportunities for two ball-handlers, but that's certainly the case with the Jazz. It has actually moved Ingles from a reserve role into the starting lineup, with Jingles averaging 32 Yahoo points per game in his 17 starts this season. That's really all you can ask for from a $22 player, and it's far from shocking when you see that it increases Ingles usage, minutes, shot attempts, and assisting. Not to mention, Minnesota ranks 26th in defensive efficiency if you needed any more incentive to use him.
Dorian Finney-Smith, DAL vs. LAL ($14)
Finney-Smith has been a sneaky asset for the Mavericks this season, and with Kristaps Porzingis entering this game with a questionable tag, he could be in for an even bigger role here. That's great news for a guy in the midst of a superb stretch, averaging 26.4 Y! points per game across 35 minutes a night in his last 13 games. Any $14 player playing 35 minutes is hard to fade, especially with a 26-point average. If KP is out, DFS is a near-lock for every lineup out there.
Forward to Avoid
Jerami Grant, DET at IND ($28)
Grant was in the midst of a breakout season before the Pistons decided he shouldn't be anymore. They went into full-on rebuild mode about a month ago, and it's totally screwed with Grant's role. The former Nugget has actually sat out six of the last nine games in total, playing limited minutes when he does suit up. That inconsistency has led to a serious drop-off in his statistics, averaging just 30 Yahoo points per game over his last 11 outings. That's not enough from a $28 player, especially with Grant entering this matchup with an injury designation. It's not like Indiana is an easy matchup either, ranked 14th in defensive efficiency ratings.
Centers
Nikola Jokic, DEN vs. HOU ($56)
This is by far the easiest play on the board. Jokic has been a fantasy beast all season long, leading the NBA with 55 Yahoo! points per game. What's more impressive is his floor, scoring at least 32 Y! points in every game this season. That would be a stellar average on its own, but it is absolutely ridiculous for that to be a floor. The matchup against Houston is awesome, too, with the Rockets ranked fifth in pace and 26th in total defense. In their two meetings this year, Joker is averaging 24 points, 14 rebounds, 12.5 assists, and 2.5 steals per game.
Andre Drummond, LAL at DAL ($25)
It's just weird to see Drummond sitting at $25. This guy was a $40 player at the beginning of the season and averaged 45 fantasy points per game in that role. While he has had some struggles since joining the Lakers, he showed on Friday that he could be that $40-player we saw earlier. In fact, he finished with 14 points, 19 rebounds, three assists, and three blocks en route to 50 Yahoo points. That was his second time scoring at least 48 fantasy points in his last three outings, and we didn't even mention that he posted that 50-point gem against this Dallas defense. The Mavericks really don't have any centers, and it should allow Drum to feast on the boards yet again.
Center to Avoid
Montrezl Harrell, LAL at DAL ($16)
We just mentioned Drummond as a value play, so that makes this one pretty obvious. Drummond has taken away a ton of minutes from Harrell, which is really scary since the other AD returned on Thursday as well. Anthony Davis and Drummond will hold Harrell into almost no playing time going forward, with Trez playing 20 or fewer minutes in five of his last six games while combining for just 30 minutes over his last two outings. That's a truly terrifying total, and it's only going to go down the more Davis gets his minutes up.
