This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
There are only two playoff games on Sunday, but they are both MASSIVE games with huge implications and lots of potentially great performances. At the same time, with it being such a sparse slate, there are positional considerations that lead to suggestions that aren't always on the menu. For example, there is little talent available at small forward and almost none at power forward, but you've got to start two of each position. On the flip side, point guard and center are relatively stacked. Let's take a closer look...
Chris Paul, LAC vs UTA ($10,400): This slot is a legitimate toss-up between Paul and John Wall, as both have the same price and a similar expected value. Paul got the call here because he's in a do-or-die Game 7, while Wall is just starting against his first new opponent in the last seven games. As such, Wall is a big of a mystery compared to Paul's known dominance against the Jazz since Blake Griffin went down (four straight games between 44.6 and 58.2 fantasy points).
Bradley Beal, WAS at BOS ($7900): Beal has been scorching from the field of late, allowing him to score between 27 and 32 points in four of his last five games, which translated to between 39.9 and 45.3 fantasy points in those four games. He faces strong Celtic 1-on-1 perimeter defenders Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart this round, but that duo relinquished some big games last series, including Dwyane Wade's monster near-50 fantasy point explosion in Game 5. If Beal is still hot, he should still be able to produce.
Gerald Green, BOS vs WAS ($2100): This is less a recommendation than a heads up to make sure you know that Green is an option. He has started the last four games for the Celtics, producing mixed fantasy results: 9.2, 25.4, 3.2 and 20.9 fantasy points respectively. He is a pure punt play, but with his extra min price that is only available in the postseason, he could be worth the risk of a disappear game for the sake of helping your line-up elsewhere.
Gordon Hayward, UTA at LAC ($8500): Hayward would have been in this spot by default, as he's the only impact player at either forward position on Sunday. But it helps that, in this case he's actually lived up to the billing of late. In the last three games that Hayward didn't have to leave early due to food poisoning, he has finished with: 55.8 fantasy points in 42 minutes, 45.6 fantasy points in 41 minutes, and 47.4 fantasy points in 42 minutes. The Jazz are clearly leaning on him, and Hayward has picked up the slack as the primary producer on the team going into a win-or-go-home Game 7.
Markieff Morris, WAS at BOS ($5900): Much like Hayward, Morris gets this position by default as there are no other power forward options with any reasonable expectation of impact numbers on Sunday. Morris spent most of the first round of the playoffs in foul trouble that held him to between 20 and 29 minutes with an associated 13.6 to 20.2 fantasy points. However, the exceptions were Games 1 and 6, in which he produced 40.4 fantasy points in 38 minutes and 35.1 fantasy points in 40 minutes. If the Celtics continue to start Gerald Green at power forward, this could be a further boon to the larger but still perimeter-comfortable Morris.
Jonas Jerebko, BOS vs WAS ($1600): Another Celtics super-punt play option, and perhaps the better one. Jerebko has done very little of late, scoring between 6.5 and 15.8 fantasy points in between 10 and 19 minutes over his last four games. However, on a day where there is VERY little expected production from the power forward slot, this actually isn't awful. In his last two games, Jerebko has scored 6.5 and 15.8 fantasy points…but the second-most expensive power forward has scored only 9.4 and 19.4 fantasy points in his last two games. And Jerebko is $4200 cheaper, making him a legitimate option to punt the position and invest elsewhere.
Al Horford, BOS vs WAS ($8300): Horford was the best, most consistent Celtics producer in the first round of the playoffs. He scored between 29.7 and 44.6 fantasy points in all six games, with four efforts over 37 fantasy points. Add in that he scored 39.3 fantasy points the last time that he saw the Wizards in late March, and he has a good chance to maintain his level into the second round.
DeAndre Jordan, LAC vs UTA ($7200):Rudy Gobert returned in Game 4 and suppressed Jordan's production, limiting him to 25.5, 32.9 and 29.1 fantasy points. However, Jordan's price has come way down from his peak before Gobert's return. Put that with a dearth of quality options, and Jordan is again worth consideration is a player likely to produce, even if not at the level usually associated with his price tag.
Kelly Olynyk, BOS vs WAS ($5000): Olynyk has scored between 16.2 and 21 fantasy points in his last three games, but did show the upside of back-to-back 26.3 and 27.3 fantasy point efforts in the first two games of the playoffs. He will be facing a new opponent on Sunday, but the last time he faced the Wizards in late March he produced 22.7 fantasy points as well.
