This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We're cruising through the point in the postseason where contests are spread over two days. Thursday's tilt is Game 2 of the Western Conference finals where Dwight Howard (knee) is questionable. Friday's major injury to keep an eye on is Atlanta's DeMarre Carroll, who suffered a gruesome looking knee injury in Game 1 and is undergoing an MRI on Thursday to determine its severity. With that in mind, let's take a look at the value plays for Thursday and Friday.
Thursday-Friday Value Plays
Point Guard
Dennis Schroder, ATL, $4,400: For someone whose name kind of rhymes with shooter, Schroder had a rough go of it from the field in Game 1 on Wednesday, going 2-for-10 over 19 minutes. It was the continuation of a not-so-encouraging stretch where he's gone 8-for-34 from the field over the last three games. Despite the ugly shooting numbers, Schroder has topped 20 FanDuel points in five of his last six outings. He posts consistent assist and steal numbers, and it's hard to imagine a 43 percent shooter from the regular season continuing to shoot under 25 percent from the floor much longer. Obviously, Schroder is a step below the top-three point guard options at this point, but he's worth a look if you aren't rolling with some combination of those top three. Matthew Dellavedova may be a trendier pick after his big night in Cleveland's closeout game over Chicago, but he didn't even reach 20 FD points and has only done so once in the last 10 games.
Shooting Guard
Kent Bazemore, ATL, $2,000: At the time I'm writing this, we don't know know whether Atlanta's DeMarre Carroll is going to be able to play Friday after suffering a knee injury in Game 1 that was tough to watch. If Carroll is held out for Game 2, Bazemore becomes the next man up for Atlanta. Bazemore played a big role in keeping Atlanta in the game late on Wednesday and could be in line for big minutes Friday. In 10 starts during the regular season, Bazemore averaged 21.4 FD points. That's great value if he can match that output Friday should DeMarre Carroll be forced into a spectator's role.
J.R Smith, CLE, $4,800: Smith had one of those games Wednesday where most of the time, everyone knew his shots were going in, no matter how ridiculous or ill-advised. His 28-point performance will probably lead to a high ownership rate in most contests, but Smith has shown he can put up big enough numbers to where he's worth having at one of your shooting guard spots. Smith's rebounding has helped bolster his FD points output over the last two games as he's pulled down eight boards in each of those contests. Atlanta is probably going to roll out a different defensive strategy to slow down Smith on the outside, but that doesn't mean it'll be enough to keep him from draining a few treys.
Small Forward
Harrison Barnes, GSW, $4,300: Barnes isn't a flashy play, but he's quietly been getting it done this postseason. He has scored in double figures in eight of his last 10 games and is shooting at a 50 percent clip overall this postseason. Barnes isn't a focal point of Golden State's offense, but he does have a solid enough role carved out to where he can produce solid FanDuel numbers for well under $5K.
Other Suggestion: Trevor Ariza, HOU, $6,300
Power Forward
Josh Smith, HOU, $6,000: Smith went for 35.9 FD points in Game 1 when he stuffed the stat sheet with seven boards, five assists, and three blocks to go with 17 points. With Dwight Howard's status uncertain ahead of Thursday's game, Houston may be forced to use a smaller lineup and rely on Smith, Terrence Jones, and Clint Capela up front. Smith has the highest upside offensively of those three and should be able to reach value on his salary for Thursday.
Other Suggestion: Tristan Thompson, CLE, $5,400
Center
Timofey Mozgov, CLE, $4,800: Mozgov is the only center that fits the bill for this article in terms of being a cheaper option that can actually produce. Golden State's Andrew Bogut is hard to trust at this point from a FanDuel perspective and actually has a higher salary than Mozgov. Against Atlanta on Wednesday, Mozgov went for a double-double in 24 minutes on the floor. With Dwight Howard being a question mark heading into Thursday, the crop at center is rather thin. If you aren't looking to shell out $7,900 for Al Horford for the Thursday-Friday contest, Mozgov is your next best bet (assuming Howard is out or limited).
