This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
Wednesday-Thursday Value Plays
Point Guard
Stephen Curry, $10,100: If you're going to pay up for a superstar, it's hard to argue against Curry. He no longer has to worry about the defensive-minded Grizzlies and doesn't have Patrick Beverly (wrist) guarding him either. Instead, he'll get a nice matchup against Jason Terry and should put up around 20 shots Thursday night. Curry is a very safe option and should pick up a few more assists with Klay Thompson drawing an easier matchup for this series.
Jason Terry, $3,300: With only a two-game slate, it's important to find value in cheap players who offer consistent value. While Dennis Schroeder ($4,400) looks tempting considering his success in the playoffs, saving 25 percent of Schroder's cost and going with Terry looks like the better option. This series with the Warriors should be full of fantasy goodness, and while Terry is well past his prime, he's still capable of knocking down the open three. Before Game 7's dud against the Clippers, Terry had over 18 fantasy points in four straight games.
Shooting Guard
James Harden, $9,900: The key to these two-game slates is figuring out which studs to roster and which other positions have players at cheaper prices that still have upside. The two Cavaliers guards – J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert – are capable of a big game but also carry a low floor. Rostering Harden should have you penciling around 40 fantasy points, and the opportunity is there for more. He's $1,800 less than LeBron James, and using this roster allows you to get the two best scorers that are playing in the game with the highest over/under total.
Klay Thompson, $7,100: It's tough to take an honest look at Thompson's numbers from the last series and think they have a ton of predictive value for this series against the Rockets. His price is severely depressed after facing Tony Allen, and James Harden doesn't come with the same intensity on defense. There's a good chance Thompson has a game during the series where he goes off for 35-plus points, and after Curry, he's the second-best scorer for the Warriors. Again, look for Thompson to rebound from his muted second round given that he's in a much, much better matchup.
Small Forward
DeMarre Carroll, $6,800: Here's the spot where it looks like you can pass on the top option (LeBron James $11,700) and take the two mid-tier options. Carroll has put his hip pointer injury in the past, scoring 40.5 and 36 fantasy points in each of his last two games. He's also a solid defender and could be a nuisance to James throughout the series, keeping Carroll on the floor. If there's a red flag here, it's the risk that he gets into foul trouble with James driving to the basket. Still, there's too much upside with Carroll, and James would have to roughly double the fantasy points of Carroll to make value.
Trevor Ariza, $6,100: If you believe in following the minutes to find fantasy production, look no further than Ariza. He's been a workhorse averaging almost 40 minutes per game during the playoffs and has parlayed that playing time into fantasy success. He's averaged 34.2 fantasy points over his last four contests and should be right around that number for this series as well. Again, going with Carroll and Ariza makes a lot of sense even if it means passing on the world's best player.
Power Forward
Tristan Thompson, $5,400: If there's a position to punt in these two games, it appears that power forward is the best option. Thompson has been thrust into a bigger role with the Kevin Love injury and is logging heavy minutes. He's played fewer than 35 minutes only once over his last six games and has a double-double in three of his last four. Thompson remains one of the better offensive rebounders in the game, and the presence of Timofey Mozgov means he'll have a better matchup against Paul Millsap, as opposed to Al Horford.
Mike Muscala, $2,000: This might be a head-scratcher but listen to the reasoning here. Using a minimum-priced Muscala and Jason Terry ($3,300) allows you to have the critical pieces of the higher game. Those players include Curry, Harden, Thompson, Ariza and (Spoiler alert!) Dwight Howard. That's doing a couple of good strategies. First, it's providing a solid floor given there could easily be 30 or more points scored in the West Coast game. Second, there's the chance that this game gets pushed to overtime and you have exposure to at least five more minutes of fantasy goodness. That also means there's potentially a very high ceiling as well with this lineup. Muscala isn't going to play a ton of minutes, but at this price, he needs 8-12 fantasy points to make value. He's scored that in each of his last four games. Even if he comes up with a dud, having potentially the top-3 fantasy producers of the two-games slate or three out of four, four out of six should put this lineup over the edge, rather than settling for two mediocre options.
Center
Dwight Howard, $9,000: It's tempting to go with Al Horford for $1,100 less, but with Howard's minutes ramped up during the playoffs, it's too tough to pass on Howard. He's regularly playing all the minutes he can handle and has had some big fantasy nights over the last few weeks. Howard has scored over 50 fantasy points in four of his last 10 games and has at least 39 fantasy points in four more of those. Again, it's nice to have both Harden, Howard, Curry, and Thompson all in the same lineup.
