This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Basketball series.
Thursday is the first day a two-day contest featuring a pair of Game 6s. The higher seeds lead 3-2 as the series return to the lower seeds' home court. Injuries are a major story in the Rockets-Spurs game, as both teams will be without major players, the Spurs' Tony Parker (quad) and the Rockets' Nene Hilario (groin), while Kawhi Leonard (ankle) is questionable. The Wizards and Celtics are mostly healthy, and the bulk of fantasy value will lie in determining which role players have the best games.
GUARD
John Wall, WAS vs. BOS ($51): I focused on James Harden in Wednesday's article, and while he's still my top expensive guard option, I'm writing about Wall to keep things interesting.With the exception of Wednesday's Game 5 shellacking, the Wizards have looked like the better team throughout this series, and that has been in large part because of Wall's continued excellence. Before Game 5, Wall had at least seven assists and 44 fantasy points in every game this postseason. Part of the reason his fantasy production dropped Wednesday was because he only tallied four assists – but he can only get assists if his teammates are making shots, and the Wizards shot 38.5 percent from the field, and 24.1 percent from behind the arc. Back home, his supporting cast should have an easier time finding the basket, and with more assists, Wall should be back into profitable production.
Patrick Beverley, HOU vs. SA ($19): With Nene out, only seven Rockets touched the floor. The shift forced them to spend more time in no-center lineups, leading to a big minutes boost for Beverley, Lou Williams and Eric Gordon. The latter two are also good options, but Beverley has made a bigger impact, both in real basketball and fantasy, this postseason. Beverley is the one most likely to stay on the floor in crunch time, and he's scored at least 25 fantasy points in four of the first five games of this series.
Other suggestions: James Harden, HOU vs. SA ($60); Marcus Smart, BOS at WAS ($16), Patty Mills, SA at HOU ($15); Terry Rozier, BOS at WAS ($10)
Guard to Avoid
Bradley Beal, WAS vs. BOS ($34): The Celtics tried moving Isaiah Thomas onto Beal in Game 4, and the move led to Beal catching fire, which in turn opened up the entire Wizards offense, dooming the Celtics to a pretty miserable loss. The Celtics learned their lesson, and changed things up in Game 5. Outside of Game 4, Beal has mostly struggled this series, and after seeing the ripple effect of allowing him to heat up, the Celtics are unlikely to cut him any slack Friday. If Beal isn't scoring 20 points, he has almost no chance of posting a fantasy profit, and he has been held to 14, 11 and 16 in Games 2, 3 and 5.
FORWARD
Markieff Morris, WAS vs. BOS ($21): First of all, expensive forwards are weak, and so my real answer is spend your money elsewhere. However, Morris' price is acceptable, so he is still a decent option if you're trying to spend some money here. I'm a subscriber to the "role players are better at home" theory, and Morris has shown that this postseason. His two best playoff games have been at home, and in this series his per-minute production at home has exceeded his road figure. At home in Game 4, he had a double-double and added five assists.
Kelly Oubre, WAS vs. BOS ($11): Oubre has been the most important bench player for the Wizards this series (granted, that compliment ranks on the level of "the aisle seat is better than the middle seat" due to their weak bench). When he isn't getting himself ejected/suspended, he's playing at least 20 minutes per night and scoring in double figures. He and Otto Porter (below) were the only Wizards to shoot above 50 percent from the floor in Game 5, and that despite acknowledging that the Celtics' crowd was impacting him.
Other suggestions: Jonathon Simmons, SA at HOU ($11); Otto Porter, WAS vs. BOS ($25)
Forward to Avoid
Kawhi Leonard, SAS at HOU ($50): Leonard is officially listed as questionable for Thursday's game but is generally expected to play. However, his ankle injury was significant enough that with the game on the line in a tied series, he remained on the bench at the end of regulation and throughout overtime in Game 5. Furthermore, Jonathan Simmons filled in well with Leonard sidelines, so even assuming Leonard plays, it is likely that Simmons will take extra mid-game minutes to lessen the burden on Leonard.
CENTER
Al Horford, BOS at WAS ($29): As with Wall and Harden, above, Capela is probably a better option, but I wrote about him yesterday and the reasoning hasn't changed. Horford has been the Celtics' quiet rock these playoffs (I've forgiven and forgotten about Game 2 against the Bulls, and would prefer you do the same, thank you), providing a stable foundation upon which the rest of the team can rely. He's anchoring his production with double-digit points and adding on heaps of rebounds and assists every night. His worst game this series, a 26.9-fantasy-point outing in Game 3, was still borderline profitable in 50-50 contests.
Other suggestions: Clint Capela, HOU vs. SA ($19)
Center to Avoid
Pau Gasol, SA at HOU ($17): I still don't have a better choice, though my knocks against Gasol feel a little petty. Coach Gregg Popovich seemed legitimately upset (or annoyed, or frustrated, or something negative) with Gasol on Tuesday, so there is some concern that Gasol will have a short leash Thursday. Additionally, while his play has been far from bad, it also was not particularly close to good Tuesday. If I had more guts, I'd replace that "Tuesday" with "this series," but he had a few good statistical outings mid-series that make me doubt what my eyes saw, particularly in Game 4.
