This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
An unexpected twist of injuries have left some of the top fantasy options in the NBA Playoffs on the sidelines recently, vaulting a few interesting names into the mix for Sunday's DFS action. Look for point guard and power forward to be the two positions that become critical to success in your lineups.
Sunday Value Plays
Point Guard
Austin Rivers, LAC, $4,200: When focusing in on the second point guard slot, you'll have to decide if you want to pay up for two studs or roll the dice on Rivers one more time. Given the price tag ($9,800) and significant injury risk that Chris Paul carries, you're probably more likely to return value from Rivers than you are from CP3. Rivers has averaged 25 minutes per game in the second round series against the Rockets and only needs to provide around 20 points on FanDuel to be a profitable play. The savings you gain from using him will allow you to roll more studs into your lineups Sunday.
Shooting Guard
Jamal Crawford, LAC, $5,300: Crawford has been the model of fantasy consistency these few past games, scoring 30 FanDuel points or more in each of the Clippers' last three games. The bench gunner has provided sneaky all-around value on the court, grabbing five rebounds in two out the last three games and a whopping six steals in Game 2 against Houston. Look for Crawford to continue to have his way with Corey Brewer and to continue to play major minutes down the stretch in crunch time this Sunday.
Small Forward
Trevor Ariza, HOU, $6,200: If you throw out the 25-point blowout loss from Friday, Ariza has quietly provided solid value at the small forward spot, scoring 67 FD points in the first two games of this series, while posting a double-double at home in Game 2. With the total projected points for Sunday's game sitting at 217.5, there should be plenty of shots to go around and more than enough opportunity for Ariza to hit the 30-point threshold again Sunday.
Power Forward
Nicola Mirotic, CHI, $2,000: At the bare-minimum salary Sunday on FanDuel, this is easily my best pick for Sunday's action. With Pau Gasol (hamstring) likely to miss Game 4, Mirotic becomes an instant fantasy factor, as evidenced by his 24.6 FD points scored in 22 minutes in Game 3. Mirotic is problem for Cleveland, mainly because they have no answer for a 6-10 power forward who is as good from beyond the arc as he is driving and scoring inside. Look for Mirotic to make it rain against the Cavs and in your DFS lineups Sunday if Gasol is out.
Center
Joakim Noah, CHI, $5,500: Noah becomes the other main beneficiary if Gasol is absent from the lineup this Sunday. This baller-with-a-hair-bun routinely posted double-doubles in the regular season whenever Gasol missed time. While I still don't expect much scoring from Noah with Jimmy Butler and Rose on the floor, rostering Noah with Mirotic ensures that you have both big men covered in case either one has a big game. If you can't afford the two other bigs on the slate Sunday, look no further than Noah as your option at center Sunday.
