This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Basketball series.
Tuesday brings an important Game 2 in the Eastern Conference and the kick-off of what should be an intriguing strength versus strength battle in the West between the Jazz and Warriors. With plenty of choices all across the pricing scale, here's a breakdown of how best the dollars might be spent:
GUARD
John Wall, WAS at BOS ($50):Stephen Curry ($47) and Isaiah Thomas ($45) are also excellent choices if you need to save a few dollars, but Wall is worth paying the few extra bucks for in a pivotal Game 2. Washington will be gunning to send the series back to D.C. deadlocked at 1-1 and are likely still smarting from blowing a 17-point first-quarter lead Sunday. Wall scored 47.3 fantasy points in Game 1, and has already scored over 50 twice and over 60 once this postseason. Additionally, the Celtics surrendered 48.5 fantasy points per game to point guards during the regular season.
Avery Bradley, BOS vs. CHI ($23): Bradley had 38.5 fantasy points in Game 1 on the strength of 18 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals. That was not only an extension of Bradley's postseason success – Sunday was his third straight game with more than 30 fantasy points and fourth overall in the playoffs – but of the caliber of production he generated against the Wizards during the regular season. He averaged 20.5 points (on 56.7 percent shooting), 6.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals in 36.0 minutes per game in two appearances versus Washington, while the Wizards the fourth-highest field-goal percentage (45.0) to shooting guards in the regular season.
Guard to Avoid
Klay Thompson, GS vs. UTA ($32): Odd as it may sound, there's a trio of avoid candidates on the Warriors, beginning with Thompson, who averaged a modest 13.5 points over 29.5 minutes per game in two appearances against the Jazz this season. Utah was by far the toughest defense against two-guards this season, allowing only 37.1 fantasy points per game to the position, including 30.6 over the final five. While Thompson will have his fair share of production, whether he can return sufficient value on his $32 price is seriously in question.
FORWARD
Gordon Hayward, UTA at GS ($39): While Kevin Durant ($48) is by no means an avoid candidate, it's not a lock that he can return solid enough value at his price considering he scored between 28.5 and 43.7 fantasy points in three games against the Jazz this season, and the fact that no team gave up fewer than Utah's 35.8 fantasy points per game to small forwards. Meanwhile, Hayward is $9 cheaper and will be in a much higher-paced contest than usual against a Warriors squad that surrendered the ninth-most fantasy points per game (46.3) to small forwards over the final five games of the regular season. He's also been running hot in the postseason, scoring between 39.1 and 56.6 fantasy points in the last four games in which he played a normal allotment of minutes.
Otto Porter, Jr. WAS at BOS ($21): Porter was excellent in the losing effort in Game 1, scoring 35.2 fantasy points thanks to a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double. That was an extension of his strong offensive play in the final three games of the first-round series versus the Hawks, when he scored between 24.3 and 31.5 fantasy points. He also thrived against Boston in the regular season, averaging 17.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game in four appearances. Finally, there's some doubt as to whether Markieff Morris (ankle) will play in Game 2 – he's guaranteed he'll be out there but coach Scott Brooks was more pessimistic – and Porter's usage would see a bump if his teammate can't play.
Forward to Avoid
Draymond Green, GS vs. UTA ($38): Green also had modest production against Utah this season, averaging 11.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.7 steals over 30.3 minutes per game in three starts. The Jazz were the best defense against power forwards during the regular season, limiting them to 39.7 fantasy points per game, including 32.4 over the final five of the regular season. As with Thompson, this designation has a lot to do with price, as Green sports a cost reflective of the impressive production he compiled over four games against the Trail Blazers, one of the weakest units against power forwards in the league.
CENTER
Al Horford, BOS vs. WAS ($29): The Wizards had little success slowing down Horford in the regular season, and that trend extended to Game 1 on Sunday. Horford averaged 18.0 points (on 62.9 percent shooting), 6.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.0 steals per game in three starts against Washington during the regular season, and he scored 47.3 fantasy points Sunday thanks to his 21 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. That marked his third game with more than 40.0 fantasy points in the postseason, and he's yet to score fewer than 30 in any of Boston's seven playoff games.
Marcin Gortat, WAS at BOS ($19):JaVale McGee ($11) and Kelly Olynyk ($11) are your options if you're punting this spot, but Gortat gets the call if you have a little cash to spend. He scored 41.6 fantasy points in Game 1 on Sunday with 16-point, 13-rebound double-double, and the Celtics allowed 48.8 fantasy points per game to centers during the regular season, including 50.9 fantasy points over the last 10 games. If Markieff Morris (ankle) misses Game 2, Gortat would see a bump in value as well, and he averaged over a fantasy point per minute without Morris in Game 1.
Center to Avoid
Zaza Pachulia, GS vs. UTA ($10): While we try to stay away from slapping the avoid label on a minimum-priced player, there's simply no other stay-away center candidate among those likely to be active other than Pachulia. He averaged a meager 4.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game against the Jazz during the regular season and his minutes rarely exceed 20, capping his overall upside. To top it off, a matchup against Rudy Gobert doesn't exactly facilitate fantasy production.
