Each day, we'll provide you with the players to target in your daily leagues, from the high-priced studs to the solid midrange values to the cheaper, riskier players with upside.
In general, you want to use safer options in your cash games and rely on some riskier, high-upside options in your bigger tournaments. If you can average at least five points per $1,000 of salary, you'll typically end up with at least some cash in your pocket.
Note: We're sending out these Insider tips early in the day, and a lot can change after these are posted. Be sure to follow this Twitter list of NBA reporters, bloggers and announcers for late-breaking injury updates and lineup changes.
POINT GUARD
High-priced studs
Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers (DraftKings: $8,500, FanDuel: $8,200) vs. LAC: Lillard is shooting just 36.2 percent this series, but returning home to face what’s left of the Clippers, he could well catch fire Friday evening.
Kemba Walker, Charlotte Hornets (DK: $8,300, FD: $8,100) vs. MIA: He is a beast when things click, and he returns home, where he shot far better (44.4 field goal percentage) than he did on the road (41.1 field goal percentage) this season.
Solid values
Jeremy Lin, Charlotte Hornets (DK: $5,000) vs. MIA: The fear in using Lin is that Nicolas Batum could return to form tonight, but Lin’s solid play lately can’t be ignored. He may come through regardless of Batum’s performance.
Cheap with upside
George Hill, Indiana Pacers (DK: $4,600, FD: $4,700) vs. TOR: Hill has strung together a trio of quality outings but still sports a friendly contract, leaving him as a quality value play for Friday.
Austin Rivers, Los Angeles Clippers (FD: $4,200) @ POR: You really would want him at a much cheaper price point, but we know he is going to play big minutes and have his hands on the rock plenty tonight with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin out, so the opportunity is there.
Cory Joseph, Toronto Raptors (DK: $3,400, FD: $3,600) @ IND: For whatever reason, Joseph’s contract remains cheap, despite his steady production in this series for this price range.
SHOOTING GUARD
High-priced studs
Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat (DK: $7,600, FD: $7,600) @ CHA: In a literal must-win game on the road for the Heat, is there anyone who thinks Wade isn’t a realistic bet to carry the team on his shoulders and post 50 DFS points tonight?
Solid values
C.J. McCollum, Portland Trail Blazers (DK: $6,800, FD: $7,200) vs. LAC: McCollum is appropriately priced, as a player who is going to get you a solid outing for cash play and sports big upside for tourneys.
Nicolas Batum, Charlotte Hornets (DK: $5,900) vs. MIA: He came off the bench, played just 25 minutes, took only six shots and didn’t look 100 percent in Game 5. He is expected to remain a reserve tonight, too. Good. That should keep his ownership down. The Hornets won’t want to go back to South Beach for a Game 7, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Batum plays big minutes and touches the ball plenty, making him an interesting sleeper.
Jamal Crawford, Los Angeles Clippers (DK: $5,600, FD: $5,200) @ POR: You know the deal here, as Crawford is racking up big minutes and chucking up a ton of shots with CP3 and Griffin out. Luckily, his price remains affordable.
Cheap with upside
Jeremy Lin, Charlotte Hornets (DK: $5,000, FD: $4,900) vs. MIA: The fear in using Lin is that Batum could return to form tonight, but Lin’s solid play lately can’t be ignored. He may come through regardless of Batum’s performance.
J.J. Redick, Los Angeles Clippers (DK: $4,300, FD: $4,300) @ POR: Redick can’t really create his own shot and isn’t a ball distributor, so I’m not expecting an outburst tonight. Nonetheless, like most of his teammates, more minutes and shots are available.
Austin Rivers, Los Angeles Clippers (DK: $3,900) @ POR: You really would want him at a much cheaper price point, but we know he is going to play big minutes and have his hands on the rock plenty tonight, so the opportunity is there.
SMALL FORWARD
High-priced studs
Paul George, Indiana Pacers (DK: $10,000, FD: $9,400) vs. TOR: Hey, this guy is pretty good at playing basketball, and said he is willing to play 48 minutes to keep his team in the postseason tonight. Pony up for his high-priced contract.
Solid values
Nicolas Batum, Charlotte Hornets (FD: $6,600) vs. MIA: He came off the bench, played just 25 minutes, took only six shots and didn’t look 100 percent in Game 5. He is expected to remain a reserve tonight, too. Good. That should keep his ownership down. The Hornets won’t want to go back to South Beach for a Game 7, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Batum plays big minutes and touches the ball plenty, making him an interesting sleeper.
Al-Farouq Aminu, Portland Trail Blazers (DK: $5,700, FD: $5,900) vs. LAC: His plus-50-point DFS explosion in Game 4 was a fluke and over-inflated his price, so he isn’t much of a value in cash games. However, he returns home tonight and gets a terrific matchup against a Clippers team that not only has a depleted roster but is using players out of position. Consider his five-foul, 1-6 FG, 0-5 3-FG performance in Game 5 to be a fluke, too, and give him another look in GPP formats tonight.
Cheap with upside
Maurice Harkless, Portland Trail Blazers (DK: $4,500, FD: $5,200) vs. LAC: Harkless may not carry the same upside as Aminu, but he does get all of the same benefits and comes at a cheaper price.
Jeff Green, Los Angeles Clippers (DK: $4,200) @ POR: It’s no secret that I’ve never been enamored with Green’s fantasy game, but he has carried decent value in points formats any time he has been forced into big minutes and increased usage. With the Clippers in desperation mode sans CP3 and Griffin, his price-to-usage ratio makes him nearly a must-start in cash and GPP games tonight.
DeMarre Carroll, Toronto Raptors (DK: $4,100, FD: $4,500) @ IND: It’s a short list of players who will be lightly owned, should play 30-plus minutes and could post a surprisingly good stat line; Carroll is one of them. That makes him worth considering in GPP games.
POWER FORWARD
High-priced studs
N/A
Solid values
Myles Turner, Indiana Pacers (DK: $5,200, FD: $5,600) vs. TOR: He has sandwiched a dud outing in Game 4 with a pair of quality performances in Games 3 and 5. The key overall is that he has taken double-digit shots in all three of those games. Foul trouble remains an issue for the youngster, but he carries excellent upside at this price point.
Marvin Williams, Charlotte Hornets (DK: $5,100, FD: $5,200) vs. MIA: There has been little rhyme or reason to his ups and downs in this series, so he is risky in cash contests. Still, 35-point upside in DFS games at this price is intriguing in GPP formats.
Cheap with upside
Jeff Green, Los Angeles Clippers (FD: $4,900) @ POR: It’s no secret that I’ve never been enamored with Green’s fantasy game, but he has carried decent value in points formats any time he has been forced into big minutes and increased usage. With the Clippers in desperation mode without CP3 and Griffin, his price-to-usage ratio makes him nearly a must-start in cash and GPP games tonight.
Frank Kaminsky III, Charlotte Hornets (FD: $3,600) vs. MIA: He will remain a starter tonight, Spencer Hawes is out, Whiteside is dinged up and his contract remains cheap. Those are enough pluses to give him a look.
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Los Angeles Clippers (DK: $2,000) @ POR: Using him would be risky even in GPP formats, considering he was a DNP-CD in Game 5 and earned zero points in Game 4. However, if coach Doc Rivers turns to the big man this time, he would need only about 10 DFS points to pay off this dirt-cheap contract, which is entirely reasonable, and would allow you to pack in some pricier contracts.
CENTER
High-priced studs
DeAndre Jordan, Los Angeles Clippers (DK: $8,200, FD: $8,300) @ POR: He has been playing well in this series and was on fire from the stripe in Game 5 (#sarcasm; he went 6-11 from the line). Unfortunately, that’s resulted in a pricey contract. The absence of CP3 and Griffin likely won’t result in a notably increased offensive role for Jordan, but it may keep him on the court even if the Blazers start hacking him and the free throws aren’t dropping.
Hassan Whiteside, Miami Heat (DK: $8,000, FD: $8,200) @ CHA: We haven’t seen a big game from Whiteside in this series -- he has more fouls (20) than blocks (15) and no more than 8 FGA in contest since Game 1 -- and he is dealing with a hand injury on top of his previous thigh ailment. He is too pricey to rationalize in cash games, but his unimpressive play of late should keep ownership down in GPP games, offering some extra incentive to give him some exposure there to see if he happens to get hot.
Solid values
Miles Plumlee, Portland Trail Blazers (DK: $6,700, FD: $6,200) vs. LAC: He has been one of the top bargains of the postseason thus far, but his contract has risen to the point where he is no longer a steal. However, for the production he offers, he remains an excellent value compared to Jordan and Whiteside.
Cheap with upside
Al Jefferson, Charlotte Hornets (DK: $4,900, FD: $5,700) vs. MIA: I’m not thrilled with his FanDuel price, but on DraftKings he remains a respectable play. He could sport some extra upside if Whiteside’s hand injury hampers or sidelines him.
Frank Kaminsky III, Charlotte Hornets (DK: $3,500) vs. MIA: He will remain a starter tonight, Spencer Hawes is out, Whiteside is dinged up and his contract remains cheap. Those are enough pluses to give him a look.