This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Basketball series.
Game 2 of each of conference finals is upon us, and there is plenty of information to diagnose when putting together your daily lineups for the Wednesday-Thursday slate. Ahead, we will look at players who had success against their respective opponents in the regular season, as well as players simply playing well at the moment. Also, we will check in on some players to avoid due to lack of playing time and steep prices.
GUARD
Kyle Lowry, TOR at CLE ($41) - After a relatively slow start to the postseason, Lowry finally found his form in the a latter half of the Raptors' round two series with the Heat. From the start of the playoffs through Game 4 of round two, Lowry averaged 31.6 fantasy points per game. He finally found a way out of his playoff slump for the final three games against the Heat; scoring 54.4 fantasy points during that span. In those three games he posted an impressive 32.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 2.3 steals, 4.0 triples in 40.0 minutes. The Raptors are going to ride Lowry and DeMar DeRozan as far as they can take them, and based on Lowry's performance against the Cavaliers in the regular season he should continue producing at a high level. Lowry averaged 31.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 3.3 steals and 2.3 triples in three games against Cleveland. Both Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook are obviously great choices at guard, but with Lowry you can potentially get those type of numbers at a cheaper value.
J.R. Smith, Cle at TOR ($17) - Smith is one of the most hit-or-miss players in the game, but in daily contests with only two games you have to find the cheap players who will have above average nights. Smith is a prime candidate based on his performance against Toronto during the regular season. In three games against the Cavaliers he posted 17.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.6 steals and, most important, 4.7 triples in 32.7 minutes. The Cavaliers are rolling, and Smith is one of the best players in the league at riding a team's momentum when they are playing well.
Guard to Avoid:
Shaun Livingston, GS vs OKC ($17) - Livingston proved himself fully capable of managing a team at point guard in Stephen Curry's absence. In the the first three games of Golden State's series with the Trail Blazers, without Curry, Livingston put up 24.7 fantasy points per game. However, in the three games since Curry has returned Livingston is averaging 9.7 fantasy points. His price simply has not yet dropped enough to correlate with his current role on the team. There are other guards around that price range worth gambling on.
FORWARD
Kevin Love, CLE at TOR ($34) - Love is probably in the middle of his best stretch in Cleveland, and it could not be coming at a better time. The Cavaliers are healthy and everything has been clicking for them in the postseason. In the first two rounds of the playoffs Love averaged 38.6 fantasy points, which is roughly five points higher than his regular season average. Love also played well against the Raptors in the regular season; averaging 18.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 steal, 1.0 block and 3.0 threes in three games. Toronto also likely will be without Jonas Valanciunas again in Game 2, meaning the Raptors likely will be undersized, giving Love plenty of rebounding opportunity. There is a pretty steep drop in price after LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green, leaving Love a pretty tempting value in his own mid-tier for this contest.
Kevin Durant, OKC at GS ($51) - Unfortunately, there are few tempting cheap values at forward, meaning it will be important to hit on an expensive player. With everyone on the Cavaliers playing well there is the potential for LeBron to not need to carry all of the load, making him somewhat risky. Durant, however, is coming off one of his poorer performances, but still managed to put up 46.0 fantasy points. He put up 26 points on just 10-for-30 shooting. He also chipped in 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals, one block, one three and five turnovers. The Thunder still managed to steal Game 1, which in theory should take some of the pressure off for Game 2. Expect Durant to come out more loose Wednesday, which could equate to some big numbers.
Forward to Avoid:
Draymond Green, GS vs OKC ($49) - As expected, Green has seen his numbers dip a bit since Stephen Curry's return. He went on a tear in Curry's absence, which subsequently saw his price increase accordingly. However, the last two games in which Curry has started, Green's fantasy point average has dipped to 38.35, which is compared to 60.1 points he averaged in the first four games of their Round 2 series. Green is still capable of putting together solid lines, but his ceiling is a little lowered. As a result, his value takes a hit. Avoid him until his price falls a bit.
CENTER
Steven Adams, OKC at GS ($17) - Adams has really come into his own this postseason. Specifically, he has averaged 31.9 fantasy points over the Thunder's previous four games, which is compared to the 20.1 points he averaged in the regular season. The combination of him and Enes Kanter have really been bothering opposing teams. Adams has been active on the boards and has averaged a double-double for the entire playoffs. His price has yet to catch up to his production, which in turn has made him one of the best values on the board for this contest.
Center to Avoid:
Andrew Bogut, GS vs OKC ($13) - The aforementioned combination of Steven Adams and Enes Kanter really took a toll on Bogut in Game 1. The veteran big man posted zero points, three rebounds, three assists, one steal and two blocks in 17 minutes. It should be noted he was also questionable heading into the series due to a sore hip. Do not be surprised if the Warriors opt to give a fresher option like Festus Ezeli more of a workload as they try to bounce back from Game 1.
