This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Basketball series.
Wednesday's slate provides interesting lineup options for Daily NBA players. It is guard heavy with sleeper options on the wings and in the front court. Ahead we will look at players playing well this postseason who should continue their stellar performances, as well as players who should be avoided for various reasons.
Guard
Stephen Curry, GS vs POR ($54) - Do not over think it. Curry is easily the best player on the board, and some owners may still be hesitant with him seeing as he is coming off a knee injury. Other than a slow start he showed no signs of rust in Monday's thriller in Portland. Prior to the game coach Steve Kerr indicated that Curry was not on any type of restricted minutes, so it is safe to assume that will be the case again Wednesday. Kerr's main concern was Curry's conditioning. Also, if Curry shows any type of setback the Warriors likely will be cautious with their MVP guard. However, his potential production greatly outweighs the risk of a setback. After 40 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and five triples in 37 minutes Monday; the sky appears to be the limit for Curry as usual.
Dwyane Wade, MIA at TOR ($34) - In a series filled with ugly basketball Wade has been one of the few bright spots. He has looked like the vintage version of himself for much of the playoffs, and the Heat will ride him as far as he can take them. With four other guards more expensive than Wade, his price is one of the key reasons he is a good value Wednesday. He has averaged 27.3 points, 6.0 boards, 3.3 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.5 blocks and 1.5 triples in 37.3 minutes this series. The 3-pointers have been the most surprising considering he had not made any since Dec. 16 prior to the playoffs. He is playing seven more minutes per game than he did in the regular season and has been piling up stats accordingly. I'm riding the Wade wave until he cools off.
Guard to Avoid:
Shaun Livingston, GS vs POR ($22) - This pick is directly correlated with the return of Stephen Curry. Livingston averaged 28.1 minutes per game in Curry's absence and put up respectable numbers along the way. However, he only played 12 minutes in Curry's return while providing just 9.1 fantasy points. HIs price has increased in correlation with his play, but it will need to drop some to get back to his value with Curry in the lineup.
FORWARD
Al-Farouq Aminu, POR at GS ($20) - Aminu has really been coming into his own this postseason, and his price has simply not caught up to his production. He has averaged 29.9 fantasy points in the playoffs, which is a 6.7 jump from his season average. Specifically in this series with Golden State he has really shined. In the last two games he has put up 20.5 points, 11.5 boards, 1.0 assists, 0.5 steals, 1.0 blocks and an impressive 3.5 triples per game. That line has equated to 39.6 fantasy points per game. He has a favorable matchup in this series with Harrison Barnes, and has taken advantage of it. He is one of the best values on the board Wednesday.
Joe Johnson, MIA at TOR ($19) - Johnson is never going to stand out or put up huge numbers, but he has been a model of consistency this playoffs. There are not many many great places in the forward selection Wednesday, which has resulted in a lot of low priced players When I'm putting my lineup together I am likely taking two of the expensive guards, and filling lower priced players accordingly. At only $19 Johnson qualifies as lower priced. He has averaged 27.6 fantasy points in this series, which is roughly five points higher than his series average. Both lineups are playing small due to injuries to centers, which has benefited Johnson. He is not likely to be highly owned, and the safety of the pick allows you to reach elsewhere.
Forward to Avoid:
DeMar DeRozan, TOR vs MIA ($37) - DeRozan has been dealing with a thumb injury in this series, and he has seen his shooting completely fall off. He has shot just 35 percent from the field this series and has gone 10 of 34 the last two games. The shooting difficulties has been most apparent from his free-throw shooting. An 85-percent free-throw shooter in the regular season, DeRozan is just 14 of 26 from the charity stripe this series. It is hard to see him turning it around considering the poor production appears to be injury related. He simply does not provide the potential of the other players in his price range.
CENTER
Bismack Biyombo, TOR vs MIA ($14) - This is probably the most obvious pick of the night, and Biyombo likely will be highly owned as a result. Regardless, the center options are limited, and Biyombo has the highest ceiling. When Jonas Valanciunas missed a month stretch in the regular season; Biyombo posted 7.2 points, 12.2 boards and 2.0 blocks in 29.8 minutes per game. He picked up right where he left off with Valanciunas out Monday, posting 13 points, 13 boards, one assist, one steal and two blocks in 31 minutes. That production was good enough for 35.1 fantasy points. His price is nowhere near his potential output at this point.
Center to Avoid:
Amar'e Stoudemire, MIA at TOR ($12) - Many people may want to ride Stoudemire for the same reason as Biyombo. Hassan Whiteside will not travel with the team to Toronto, so the Heat will be thin in the frontcourt as well. Stoudemire provided some solid production over eight minutes in the first quarter Monday. However, he is extremely limited physically and only played four more minutes the rest of the game. He finished the night with just 8.6 fantasy points. He may be tempting due to a thin frontcourt, but he just cannot handle enough minutes to produce effectively.
