This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
Thursday's two-game slate features a pair of potential closeout games with the Cavaliers and Clippers positioned to advance to the conference finals with a win. On the injury front, it looks like the top three point guards in Thursday's player pool will be in action, but Derrick Rose (shoulder/wrist) and Kyrie Irving (foot/knee) are both banged up, and Chris Paul is just getting past a hamstring injury. Chicago is expected to get Pau Gasol (hamstring) back into the lineup for Game 6, which limits the value of players like Taj Gibson and Nikola Mirotic. Let's take a look at who you can use to round out your lineup.
Thursday's Value Plays
Point Guard
Jason Terry, HOU, $3,300: Terry went for 26.7 FanDuel points on Tuesday, his second straight game over 20 FD points. The output from Tuesday put Terry at around 8 FD points/$1K spent, an excellent return for a price that was below minimum during the regular season. The top of Thursday's point guard crop makes it tough to justify not spending high on one of those elite options, but it's worth noting that Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, and Kyrie Irving are either battling through injuries or just got done battling an injury. If you're looking to save at one of your point guard spots, Terry is the best option on Thursday thanks to his role and consistent play.
Shooting Guard
Jimmy Butler, CHI $7,900: $7,900 is a pretty high salary for a player in this article, but Butler's recent performance should have his salary north of $8K. His heavy minutes is a bit concerning in terms of fatigue over a long series, but with Derrick Rose (shoulder) and Pau Gasol (hamstring) not playing at full strength, Butler should be in line for another high-scoring outing Thursday.
Iman Shumpert, CLE, $4,800: Shumpert is dealing with some lingering soreness related to the groin injury he suffered in Game 2, although it's unlikely to keep him out of the starting lineup Thursday. He's had three games over 25 FD points the series. If you buy into home/away splits in a playoff series, it's easy to point out that Shumpert's two subpar games came in Chicago. He had uncharacteristically poor shooting performances in those games as he was a combined 4-for-17 (23.5%) in Games 3 and 4. Compare that number to 50 percent shooting in the other three games and make of it what you will. Shumpert should have a better offensive output in Game 6 than he did in Games 3 and 4 and is a cheaper option than Los Angeles' Jamal Crawford ($5,500) and J.J Redick ($5,000).
Small Forward
Trevor Ariza, HOU, $6,300: Ariza reached the 20-points plateau Tuesday for the first time this postseason, totalling 22 points on 67 percent shooting. He added his usual solid contributions with eight boards and three steals to finish with an excellent 41.1 FD points. It wasn't a fluke either; Ariza had 35.1 FD points in Game 4 and topped 30 FD points in the first two games of the series. The Clippers present a good matchup for Ariza as they have to focus most of their attention on stopping James Harden and Dwight Howard. Even if Ariza doesn't match his scoring from Tuesday, he still adds enough across the board to be a solid option in Game 6.
Mike Dunleavy, CHI, $4,500: Dunleavy is shooting 51 percent from the field and 45 percent from deep thus far in Chicago's series against Cleveland. He's also averaging 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game in the series, both of which are better than his regular season numbers. His shot volume (7.8 FGA) in the series is slightly concerning as that number could come down Thursday with Pau Gasol returning to the lineup. Still, Dunleavy is shooting at a solid enough clip to make an impact in the scoring column and should be able to sustain his counting stat output Thursday.
Power Forward
Josh Smith, HOU, $5,800: Smith moved into the starting lineup for Game 5 and had a series-best 23.4 FD points performance. He's expected to be in the starting lineup again Thursday, which should give him enough time on the floor to reach value on a sub-$6K price tag. Smith has had struggles on the offensive end throughout the series, failing to reach double figures in any of the five games. One positive is that he finally shot over 50 percent from the floor as the starter Tuesday as opposed to his 27.2-percent clip in the first four games. Smith is a somewhat risky play given his one good game versus four subpar outings in this series, but his expected spot in the starting lineup raises Smith's floor to where he should have a solid performance Thursday.
Tristan Thompson, CLE, $5,400: Thompson posted his second double-double of the series Tuesday with 12 points and 10 rebounds. He added a pair of blocks to finish with 26 FD points. Pau Gasol's expected return probably limits Thompson's ceiling as far as scoring is concerned (scored nine points in first two games, averaged over 11 in the next three). Still, Thompson is an excellent rebounder, especially on the offensive end, and is a viable value option at power forward on Thursday.
Center
Timofey Mozgov, CLE, $4,800: Mozgov was a non-factor in Game 5 with just one point and six rebounds, finishing with 7.2 FD points in 23 minutes. That lackluster outing may scare some daily games players away from using Mozgov on Thursday, but he did average 24.2 FD points through the first four games of the series. That average was bolstered by 33.3 and 27.4 FD point outings in Games 3 and 4, both of which came in Chicago. For under $5K, Mozgov remains a solid option Thursday that should bounce back from his 0-for-7 shooting performance from Game 5.
