This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Basketball series.
Monday brings three games in the NBA, with two teams having an opportunity to advance to the second round of the playoffs. First, the Celtics will be looking to pull off a sweep of the Nets, who will once again be without Ben Simmons. The 76ers will then try to eliminate the Raptors in a series that is dealing with significant injuries on both sides.
Finally, the night will be capped off by a matchup between the Jazz and Mavericks, who are tied up at two games a piece in their series.
Let's discuss which players to consider for your Yahoo lineups, as well as a few to possibly avoid.
GUARDS
Jaylen Brown, BOS at BKN ($33): Brown has been as consistent as it gets in the scoring department. He's scored either 22 or 23 points in all three games of this series, which is right on par with his season average of 23.6 points per game. He's not just scoring, either, providing 4.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 3.0 steals per game versus the Nets. With his high usage rate and heavy dose of playing time, he has an excellent opportunity to remain productive.
Gary Trent Jr., TOR at PHI ($20): It appears that Trent is past an illness that plagued him earlier in the series. He's scored exactly 24 points in back-to-back games, attempting a total of 39 shots from the field during that stretch. While his contributions in terms of rebounds and assists are usually lacking, he does have four steals over the last two games after averaging a career-high 1.7 of them during the regular season. At this reasonable salary, his scoring and defensive contributions could lead him to provide value.
Guard to Avoid
Mike Conley Jr., UTA at DAL ($20): It's been a rough series for Conley. Although he scored 21 points in Game 3, he's scored a combined 19 points across the other three games. He shot 0-for-7 from the field in Game 2, and 2-for-8 in Game 4. With that type of inconsistency, he's awfully risky.
FORWARDS
Jayson Tatum, BOS at BKN ($44): Tatum has been a usage rate monster in this series. Not only has he attempted 21.0 shots per game, but he's also averaged 8.7 free-throw attempts. Coming off of scoring 66.0 Yahoo points in Game 3, Tatum has one of the highest ceilings of any player included in this slate.
Bojan Bogdanovic, UTA at DAL ($19): Bogdanovic had his first off night of the series when he scored 12 points in Game 4. Prior to that, he had scored at least 24 points in three straight games. The Jazz badly need his three-point shooting and scoring prowess, so look for him to have plenty of opportunities to bounce back as they try to take a 3-2 series lead.
Forward to Avoid
Al Horford, BOS at BKN ($23): Horford began this series by scoring 43.0 and 35.2 Yahoo points, respectively. He logged at least 32 minutes in both games, taking on added playing time with Robert Williams III out. Williams was able to return in Game 3, though, which contributed to Horford scoring just 16.1 Yahoo points over 28 minutes. As long as Williams is healthy, Horford's role should be reduced.
CENTERS
Pascal Siakam, TOR at PHI ($40): The Raptors are still alive in this series because of Siakam, who scored 34 points in Game 4. He was 10-for-19 from the field and 13-for-15 from the charity stripe over 44 minutes. With him being one of the Raptors leaders in usage rate, and logging at least 40 minutes in all four games of the series, expect him to have a high floor.
Nicolas Claxton, BKN vs. BOS ($15): The Nets would probably be better off not playing Andre Drummond in this series. The good news is, he has been giving up a few minutes to Claxton, who has played at least 21 minutes in all three games. His production hasn't been off the charts, but he did score at least 22.8 Yahoo points each time.
Center to Avoid
Robert Williams III, BOS at BKN ($23): Getting Williams back is huge for the Celtics. They are already a great defensive team, and having him return to anchor their defensive effort in the middle will make them extremely difficult to beat. The problem is, he only logged 16 minutes off the bench in his first game back from a knee injury Saturday. Don't be surprised if he logs limited minutes in Game 4, as well.
