This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
Friday night features a set of three playoff games. The Rockets lead the Mavericks 2-0, as do the Wizards over the Raptors. The Clippers and Spurs are knotted at a game apiece after an overtime victory by the Spurs on Wednesday night. The Wizards will look to take advantage of a gimpy Kyle Lowry once again. Lowry will play, but he's clearly not 100 percent, and the Wizards' strong backcourt will look to stretch their series lead to 3-0.
Friday Value Plays
Point Guard
J.J. Barea, DAL, $3,700: It's a very simple equation where Barea takes over starting point from Rondo, gets well over 30 minutes, and is well worth his near-minimum price tag. Barea is averaging about 20 fantasy points during the series despite seeing just 22 minutes of court time in the first game. He started 10 games this season and showcased his ability to run the point, picking up stats in every offensive category. His defensive skills are his biggest fault, but with Devin Harris limited by a toe injury, Barea should see lots of minutes and easily make value.
*If Tony Parker sits out, both Patty Mills ($3,700) and shooting guard Manu Ginobili ($4,100) warrant serious consideration.
Shooting Guard
Bradley Beal, WAS, $6,600: Beal has averaged over 20 field goal attempts in the first two games of the series. He shot poorly in Game 1 but knocked down over half of his shots in Game 2. Beal can also be relied on for relatively wide-spread production, and cumulatively, he is probably the safest play at this position on the night.
Monta Ellis, DAL, $6,400: In the absence of both Rondo and Parsons, Ellis will have an even higher usage rate than usual. He's a streaky shooter and shot just 8-of-23 in Game 2, but on the days Ellis is hitting his shots, he can put up 40 fantasy points easily. If his Mavericks are going to have a chance, they'll likely need one of those performances out of him.
Small Forward
Richard Jefferson, DAL, $3,500: Jefferson is obviously a risky play. Even with the starting role in Game 2, he still got just 23 minutes and seven FPTs, and that followed the just four minutes he played in Game 1. Jefferson has filed this role successfully in the past, though capping out around 30 FPTs. I can't call Jefferson a safe play, as its hard to predict how many minutes he'll actually get. Though, at least in some GPPs, Jefferson has the high upside that's worth buying a share or two of.
Otto Porter, WAS, $3,900: Despite coming off the bench, Porter has seen 34 and 35 minutes respectively in the first two games of the series. It may seem counter-intuitive to jump on Porter with Pierce just $400 more, but Pierce doesn't offer the peripheral stats Porter does. Porter will see just about the same amount of shots as Pierce, while also being a much better rebounder and collector of defensive stats.
Power Forward
Blake Griffin, LAC, $10,200: Griffin's new salary may be hard to swallow, but he's the key to the Clippers if they are going to get past the Spurs. The Spurs don't have an answer to his physical prowess, and he has cleaned the Spurs out to the tune of 58.9 and 60.4 FPTs in the first two games of the series. Griffin isn't the most expensive player, but he should be the highest scoring player Friday.
Dirk Nowitzki, DAL, $6,400: I wouldn't use Jefferson and Nowitzki together, but there's a reasonable argument to be made that some of the production from Chandler Parsons is shifting Nowitzk's way. Nowitzki picked up a game-high 13 rebounds in the last game of the series, complimented by 14 field goal attempts and four free throws. Nowitzki shot under 25 percent in Game 2, but he's regularly a high-percentage shooter, so he should be able to convert those shots into points here. Nowitzki is a strong contender for a double-double at a reasonable price.
Boris Diaw, SAS, $5,000: Diaw is the first man off the bench for the Spurs and is averaging the third most minutes on the team through the first two games of the series. Diaw does a little bit of everything from shooting threes to rebounding to defensive stats. He's a great alternative to Nowitzki at a discounted price.
Center
Dwight Howard, HOU, $7,500: Howard played just 17 minutes in the first game of the series, so the 28 FPTs he put up in that amount of time was huge as it put him on pace for nearly 60 with a full compliment of minutes. Well, in Game 2, Howard got that full compliment of minutes and put 47.4 FPTs. Howard's price still hasn't normalized to where it was prior to the injury, and as long as he gets minutes, he should easily exceed value for salary.
