This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
Despite there being only three games on the schedule for Wednesday's playoff slate, there's still plenty of options to sort through at all levels of the price scale. The following list should provide a handful of players to consider building your lineup around:
GUARDS:
Victor Oladipo, IND at CLE ($9,800): Oladipo was unguardable in Game 1 against the Cavaliers, going off for 32 points, six rebounds, four assists, four steals and one block across 37 minutes. That was good enough for 56.2 FanDuel points, which is slightly more than fantasy owners would need to hit value at his current price. With the Pacers likely relying on Oladipo for the bulk of their offense once again Wednesday, he figures to see heavy usage and is once again on the radar as one of the top guard options for Wednesday's slate.
Ricky Rubio, UTA at OKC ($7,200): Rubio put together a very strong effort in Game 1, finishing with a well-rounded line of 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists, four steals and a block across 31 minutes. The more important thing was that he took a whopping 18 shot attempts, so he clearly tried to take on a bigger scoring load than what we've been used to. With Donovan Mitchell dealing with a foot injury and currently questionable to play, Rubio could be tasked with added usage and additional field goal attempts once again, giving him some strong upside for Wednesday's Game 2.
J.R. Smith, CLE vs. IND ($3,600): Smith surprisingly played 29 minutes in Sunday's brutal Game 1 loss for the Cavaliers, finishing with 15 points, two rebounds and an assist. While he added two turnovers and finished with just 16.9 FanDuel points, his near-minimum price heading into Wednesday puts him into consideration for one of the more intriguing cheap options. The Cavaliers are expected to change up their lineup a bit after struggling in the opener, which puts Smith into consideration for a bigger role, even potentially rejoining the starting five. For that reason, his $3,600 price is just too good for me to pass up.
FORWARDS:
LeBron James, CLE vs. IND ($12,100): After the Cavaliers were absolutely dominated in Game 1, the pressure is going to be on James to lead this team to victory. With plenty of incentive to put it all on his own shoulders considering the struggles of his supporting cast, James should be put on triple-double alert once again. Even in Sunday's loss, James still put together a line of 24 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists, one steal and one block across 44 minutes, which was good enough for 57.0 FanDuel points. He's my favorite top-tier option over James Harden ($12,200) and Russell Westbrook ($12,100) and I'm planning on building the bulk of my lineups around James.
Paul George, OKC vs. UTA ($8,000): George has been dominating offensively over his last few games and the Jazz didn't have an answer for him in Game 1, as he posted 36 points, seven rebounds and a steal across 38 minutes. Despite posting 54.8 and 43.4 FanDuel points in his last two games, respectively, George's price hasn't changed much, so I don't feel like I'm overpaying here. If you can afford to pay up for him alongside both James and Oladipo, go ahead and get him in lineups with confidence.
Larry Nance, CLE vs. IND ($4,300): While Nance is certainly a risky pick and likely only an option in tournament settings, I still think he has some upside at this price. The biggest thing he has going for him is that he logged 30 minutes in Game 1, so the playing time should be there for Nance once again Wednesday. With that sort of workload, Nance usually can push for potential double-double type numbers, though he did only come up with 10 points, five rebounds and two steals in Game 1. Still, the potential reward here has me considering taking a risk and slotting Nance into my lineups.
CENTERS:
Clint Capela, HOU vs. MIN ($8,200): I'm not a huge fan of paying up for Karl-Anthony Towns ($10,000) with guys like James, Oladipo and George on my radar, so Capela instantly becomes my favorite pick at the center position. He had no problem carving up the Timberwolves in Game 1, finishing with 24 points, 12 rebounds, one assist, one steal and three blocks across 34 minutes, and there's no reason to think he can't put up another big double-double against a Minnesota defense that gave up the fifth most FanDuel points to centers on the season.
Myles Turner, IND at CLE ($5,500): Understandably, some DFS owners aren't going to be able to pay up for Capela either, which brings Turner into consideration. He's been excessively unreliable for much of the season, but he did put together an impressive line in the playoff opener Sunday. In Game 1, Turner recorded 16 points, eight rebounds, two assists and a block across 34 minutes, which was good enough for 30.6 Fanduel points. Considering how successful the Pacers were in that contest, they'll likely try and keep Turner heavily involved, which is why he should be considered at a price of just $5,500.
