Which players should you build around -- and which should you avoid -- when building DFS lineups for Thursday? Our experts weigh in.
Players to build around
Renee Miller -- Norman Powell, Toronto Raptors
I can't help locking in Powell for the second time this week. He's still under $3,000 on FanDuel, where you can use him at the abysmal SG position. Although his price has come up and you have to use him at a forward slot on DraftKings, Powell has continued to improve over his last three playoff games, most recently racking up 25 points with four assists, four rebounds and three steals in Game 5. He's been perfect from 3-point range (7-for-7) in the two games he started for the Raptors, and while that is an unsustainable pace, he is playing with a ton of confidence heading into tonight's critical Game 6. Toronto would obviously love to wrap this up on the road. While you have are few stars to choose from tonight, Powell is key to affording them, especially on FanDuel.
Joe Kaiser -- Mike Conley, Memphis Grizzlies
Conley is playing so well in this series, particularly at home -- which is where the Grizzlies will be playing in Game 6. In the first two games in Memphis, Conley made 20 of 36 shots from the field and averaged 29.5 PPG, 5 RPG and 8 APG. With the Grizzlies needing a win to force a Game 7 and so much of their success depending on Conley, this is a great night to believe in the veteran point guard who remains affordably priced despite a red-hot playoffs thus far.
Kyle Soppe -- Cory Joseph, Toronto Raptors
Kyle Lowry said that his balky back is feeling "fantastic," but if you watched any of Game 5, you know that even if he is considerably more healthy than he was then, he is still unlikely to be operating at his All-Star level. His health alone makes Joseph a very reasonable play at his cheap price tag, The Bucks aren't great at defending the painted area, so give me the aggressive Canadian (over 58 percent of his shots have come from within 16 feet this season) in what figures to be an extended role from the one he filled this regular season. Also working in Joseph's favor is the Raptors' 3-2 series lead with a potential Game 7 being played at home, as Toronto is likely to be cautious with Lowry's minutes. All Joseph needs to do is reach his season averages to be a fine play tonight and he has the potential to do much more.
Players to fade
Renee Miller -- Pau Gasol, San Antonio Spurs
This has been an easy matchup to ignore, but now that there are only two-game slates, it gets harder to completely avoid the slow pace and great defense of these teams. Still, Gasol isn't worth the price. Sites have used some creative pricing for the playoffs and paying around $5,000 for Pau isn't a good use of your salary dollars. I believe more in the upside of Greg Monroe or even Jonas Valanciunas at center over Gasol, and although he hasn't exactly met expectations, his salary has dropped and Marc Gasol is more viable than Pau, too.
Joe Kaiser -- Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs
Ginobili busted out of his playoff funk with 10 points, 3 assists and 3 steals in the Spurs' Game 5 victory, which will undoubtedly cause his ownership to spike on Thursday for those looking to go cheap at shooting guard. Here's the thing: Ginobili didn't score a point in the first four games of the series and he has only played 15.2 minutes a game in the series so far, so there's a good chance that Game 5 performance is the exception and not the rule. Don't fall for Ginobili in Game 6.
Kyle Soppe -- Norman Powell, Toronto Raptors
Yes, the exciting 23-year-old has burst onto the scene with 37 points (on 7-for-7 shooting from distance) in 68 minutes as the Raptors rebounded from losing two of the first three games to now being 48 minutes away from advancing. The bad part about the playoffs? Everyone is seeing every second of these games and Powell's pricing now leaves more room for downside than it does room for overachievement. I don't love his reliance on the 3-ball (he failed to shoot even 31 percent from distance in each of the three months leading into April) and is the usage high enough to justify this price tag? As hot as Powell was on Monday, he accounted for just 15.5 percent of the Raptors' shots and that is closer to his ceiling than it is what you can expect given that Kyle Lowry figures to be closer to full health tonight. I'm saving money with Cory Joseph tonight and instead going for extreme star power over rostering Powell tonight.
