Yahoo DFS Basketball: Friday Picks

Yahoo DFS Basketball: Friday Picks

This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Basketball series.

The NBA has three playoffs games Friday, with the Wizards, Celtics and Jazz one win away from sending the Hawks, Bulls and Clippers home, respectively. In the latter case, the Jazz will be playing at home with the chance to advance. All three series have been competitive and have produced good individual value plays through five games, and that should continue Friday.

GUARD

Dennis Schroder, ATL vs. WAS ($34): Schroder has played like an elite guard during the postseason, scoring at least 38.0 fantasy points in four of five games, including a season-high 52.5 in Game 5. However, his price continues to lag, making him a great value given his expected production.

Dwyane Wade, CHI vs. BOS ($27): Wade finally made the logical transition in Game 5 to playing more point guard. With Rajon Rondo out, the Bulls have had to lean on bench players and hope they produce, which isn't a great prospect in the playoffs. In Game 5, Wade took on more distributing responsibilities, as evidenced by his eight assists that almost gave him a monster triple-double. The 50.2 fantasy points that he scored in that one may or may not be replicable, but if he continues to have more point guard duties it only helps his outlook.

Guard to Avoid

Isaiah Thomas, BOS at CHI ($45): The three highest priced guards are John Wall ($50), Chris Paul ($48) and Thomas ($45), with an $11 gap above any other guard. Wall is averaging just over 48 fantasy points per game in the playoffs and Paul just over 52, but Thomas is averaging fewer than 37, a pretty significant gap. Thomas could play well Friday, but for the amount of money he costs you could get a point guard with a much higher expected value.

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FORWARD

Gordon Hayward, UTA vs. LAC ($35): Hayward has scored 47.6 and 56.6 fantasy points in the last two complete games that he has played in, respectively, and on Friday he'll be leading the Jazz offense at home in what could be the series clincher.

Paul Millsap, ATL vs. WAS ($36): Millsap, like Hayward and Schroder, is playing at an elite level but is still not priced as such. He is averaging almost 45 fantasy points per game in his last four and is the only elite power forward on the list on Friday.

Forward to Avoid

Jae Crowder, BOS at CHI ($23): Crowder is priced like a secondary impact player, but he has yet to touch 30 fantasy points in any game this postseason. He has been close to that mark a couple of times, but he also has a couple of games in the teens. There are better options for the money.

CENTER

Al Horford, BOS at CHI ($27): Horford has been the most effective center among Friday's crop, averaging more than 43 fantasy points per game in his last three and scoring more than 30 in every game. However, his price is still low, just a few dollars more than Crowder and solidly less than both Rudy Gobert ($38) and DeAndre Jordan ($33).

Marcin Gortat, WAS at ATL ($19): Gortat has surpassed Robin Lopez as the lower-priced center option of choice. He has scored between 23.5 and 41.5 fantasy points in four of the five games of the series, and has matched up well with former teammate Dwight Howard all season.

Center to Avoid

DeAndre Jordan, LAC at UTA ($33): Jordan has had trouble with Rudy Gobert all season, which makes sense because Gobert has a good chance to be the defensive flayer of the year. In the two games that Gobert has been back, Jordan has averaged fewer than 30 fantasy points, and on Friday he'll have to face Gobert again, this time on the road.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andre' Snellings
Andre' Snellings is a Neural Engineer by day, and RotoWire's senior basketball columnist by night. He's a two-time winner of the Fantasy Basketball Writer of the Year award from the Fantasy Sports Writers Association.
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