This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Basketball series.
Saturday's lone game is combined with the three Sunday playoff games to form one Yahoo daily contest. The Western Conference is on to the semifinals while the Eastern Conference finishes the first round with a pair of Game 7s. Golden State's Stephen Curry is still out with a knee injury, making a number of his teammates good values this weekend.
GUARD
Tony Parker, SA vs. OKC ($19) - Parker wasn't asked to do much in the first-round sweep of the Grizzlies, playing about 22 minutes a game. That should change in a tough conference semifinals matchup against the Thunder. In the Spurs' penultimate regular-season game, Parker played 37 minutes in an overtime victory against the Thunder that foreshadowed a playoff matchup. He took 14 shots, scored 20 points and contributed his usual assists and steals. Expect that version of Parker to show up in Game 1.
Klay Thompson, GS vs. POR ($39) - Thompson has stepped up with Stephen Curry out, averaging 23.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.4 steals in 34 minutes per game in Golden State's five-game first-round series. He'll be the go-to guy in Game 1 against the Trail Blazers at a price that is not prohibitive.
Guard to Avoid:
Russell Westbrook, OKC at SA ($54) - Westbook likely will have a big game against the Spurs in Game 1, but not big enough to justify his hefty price, which is the most expensive on the board for the four-game slate. Plenty of guards can fill the scoresheet at a cheaper price.
FORWARD
Luol Deng, MIA vs. CHA ($26) - Draymond Green ($46) and LaMarcus Aldridge ($34) might be better bets at power forward to have big games, but Deng isn't far behind and at $26 provides significant savings. Deng has averaged 19.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.0 threes in the series in 35 minutes per game. He should live up to at least that in Game 7.
Paul George, IND at TOR ($46) - George has dominated the first-round series against the Raptors, averaging 27.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 2.3 threes and 1.8 steals in 38 minutes a game. Expect nothing less in Game 7, easily justifying his price.
Forward to Avoid:
DeMar DeRozan, TOR vs. IND ($35) - DeRozan is too risky at such a high price. Twice in the series against the Pacers he's been held to eight points, including Game 6 when he shot 3 of 13 from the field, and another game he had only 10 points. He hasn't added many rebounds either, averaging 3.3 per game. Yes, he can go off, as he did in Game 5 with 34 points, but he's just as likely to turn in a clunker.
CENTER
Mason Plumlee, POR at GS ($21) - Plumlee's not a scorer, but he makes up for it with rebounds and assists. In the last five games of the first-round series against the Clippers, he averaged 14.8 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game with six blocks and six steals in that span. Golden State's combination of Andrew Bogut, Festus Ezeli, and Draymond Green can occasionally cause problems for centers, but since the Warriors favor an up-tempo style, Plumlee still should be able to offset any decline in efficiency by capitalizing on the Blazers' expected increase in possessions.
Center to Avoid:
Jonas Valanciunas, TOR at IND ($26) - Valanciunas has had two big games and four so-so games against the Pacers in the first round. The prudent move is to save a few bucks and go with a similar, or better, center.
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