Yahoo Finance NBA DFS: Tyus Jones leads Thursday picks
The NBA brings seven games to the table Thursday as the end of the regular season approaches. It's tricky times right now with playoff teams frequently resting their starters, and tanking teams ramping up their efforts to accumulate losses by sitting some of their key players. One playoff team that could rest some of their starters is the Celtics, who will be playing the second game of a back-to-back set when they take on the Bucks. As far as tanking teams go, the Trail Blazers will once again take the floor, this time against the Pelicans. Let's discuss some players to consider deploying on Yahoo, as well as a few to possibly avoid.
GUARDS
Tyus Jones, MEM at DEN ($18): Jones is one of the main reasons why the Grizzlies have been able to maintain their winnings ways with Ja Morant (knee) sidelined. Over his last seven games as a starter, he's averaged 15.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game. We might not see Morant again until the playoffs, which means Jones should continue to have added opportunities to provide value.
Tre Jones, SA at MIN ($16): Dejounte Murray is battling an illness that is set to keep him out of his fourth straight game. The Spurs have already locked up a spot in the play-in tournament, so they can afford to take a cautious approach with their star. Jones has been starting in his place and has played extremely well, scoring at least 34.5 Yahoo points in three straight games.
Guard to Avoid
Marcus Smart, BOS at MIL ($20): It will be interesting to see how the Celtics play this game. They smoked the Bulls on Wednesday, so they could decide to rest their stars. However, they are still battling for playoff positioning and only have a half game lead over the Bucks for the second seed in the Eastern Conference. They could drop all the way to the fourth seed, too. If Smart plays, he's still probably someone to avoid, given that he has scored 27.1 Yahoo points or fewer in six of his last eight games.
FORWARDS
Miles Bridges, CHA vs. ORL ($32): The Hornets have played at the third-fastest pace in the league, and Bridges has logged 36 minutes per game, which are two big reasons why he's having the best season of his career. He's showing no signs of slowing down despite his heavy workload, scoring at least 39.6 Yahoo points in six of his last seven games. The Magic are expected to be without a few of their key players, which could leave Bridges to feast on backups.
Ignas Brazdeikis, ORL at CHA ($10): Franz Wagner (ankle), Cole Anthony (toe) and Wendell Carter Jr. (wrist) won't play in this game, so there will be plenty of opportunities for other players on the Magic to receive increased playing time. With Wagner hurt, Brazdeikis logged at least 36 minutes in both of the last two games. He scored 25.3 and 28.2 Yahoo points, respectively, so he could be worth considering in tournament play at the minimum salary.
Forward to Avoid
Draymond Green, GS vs. LAL ($21): The Lakers have been officially eliminated from the playoffs, so it wouldn't be a surprise if they started to rest some of their veterans. If they do, this game could get out of hand in a hurry. With the prospect that Green plays limited minutes if this game does become lopsided, he might not be worth the risk.
CENTERS
Joel Embiid, PHI at TOR ($57): Embiid is a difficult matchup for most teams, but especially the Raptors. They have several long, versatile defenders, but they don't have much size at the center spot. Embiid has taken advantage of that, scoring 56.2 and 44.6 Yahoo points, respectively, the two previous times that he's faced them. He's scored at least 50.8 Yahoo points in six straight games, overall, so expect him to have an extremely high floor in this matchup.
Mo Bamba, ORL at CHA ($19): With the Magic often playing shorthanded, Bamba has seen his role increase as the season comes to a close. Over the last seven games, he's provided 14.1 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.7 blocks. The Hornets have allowed the second-most rebounds per game in the league, leaving Bamba with significant upside.
Center to Avoid
Steven Adams, MEM at DEN ($22): Adams has not been playing poorly. In fact, he's scored at least 30.8 Yahoo points in five of his last six games. However, he should have his hands full in this game defending Nikola Jokic. With Jokic at the helm, the Nuggets have allowed the fewest rebounds per game in the league. There are plenty of other viable center options for this slate, so taking a chance on Adams probably isn't necessary.
