Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) in the first half during a preseason NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
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Opponent - MIA
Proj Pts FD - 50.87 DK - 55.41
He was completely terrible in the first game, I get it. Could Miami have his number throughout? Maybe. It’s certainly possible. But I also don’t want to completely overreact to one game either knowing what kind of dynamic offensive talent Trae is when things are all rolling. He shot 1-12 in that first game, an affair that turned into a blowout. I don’t think we can project that for every game, and there’s a world in which things stay close and he murders this number. I’m going back to the well on Trae here with the idea that we are getting him at something of a discount all things considered.
Opponent - ATL
Proj Pts FD - 34.54 DK - 36.09
He didn’t play a ton in the first game mostly because he didn’t have to. It turned into a blowout early and no one on the Heat side of things was taxed all that much. I don’t think Miami blows them out over the course of the whole series and I do think we can project Lowry in the upper-30s in terms of minutes which definitely makes him a value play. Even in just 29 minutes on Sunday this guy went for 10 points and nine assists with a couple of steals and four rebounds. He’s just coming too cheap on DraftKings especially.
Opponent - PHO
Proj Pts FD - 44.78 DK - 46.17
As long as the game stays even remotely close, we can bank on C.J. McCollum playing a million minutes. The Pelicans need every bit of the production and there’s a reason he ran 43 minutes out of the gate. Considering New Orleans needs his scoring in the worst way, as long as there’s a sliver of hope he has a super high floor at these prices. In the first game of the series, CJ played 43 minutes, took a team-high 25 shots, and finished with 25 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. It’s such a balanced line and he’s their lead creator. I think this is a pretty easy call all things considered.
Opponent - ATL
Proj Pts FD - 21.18 DK - 23.14
While I don’t think he has tremendous upside, Strus works well for slates like this because he’s coming pretty cheap and should play 25-30 minutes if the game stays close. He ran 25 in the first game of this series, one that turned into a blowout in Miami’s favor, but he was still effective all things considered. He finished with about 18 fantasy points depending on where you played him, a number we can live with on these kinds of slates. I think he presses up towards 30 minutes in this one and is coming cheap enough to allow you to play some of the other more expensive plays on the slate.
Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 34.23 DK - 34.6
Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 33.98 DK - 35.28
It was a weird game for Memphis in Game 1, losing to Minnesota and giving away, at least for the moment, home-court advantage in the series. But another thing that was weird was how Taylor Jenkins used more of a regular-season rotation that a playoff one, running a deeper lineup and not going crazy with anyone’s minutes. That really shouldn’t be the case in playoff games and I think we see something of a pivot in Game 2 here. It stands to reason that we see much bigger minutes shares out of the starters with Bane and Brooks both increasing the workload to the high 30s. It would just make sense for how playoff games are played with more of a concentration of minutes around the starters. If that was the scenario then both of these guys are complete and total bargains even with Ja Morant back in the mix and siphoning off a bunch of usage. I love both of these guys on FanDuel in cash games.
Opponent - MEM
Proj Pts FD - 55.98 DK - 58.54
Towns was a revelation in the first game of this series, playing 43 minutes and putting up 29 points and 13 rebounds in that run. On a per-minute basis, this wasn’t his best performance, but the Grizzlies had an impossible time handling his particular skillset. That should be the case again on Tuesday and there’s some chance we even see an increase on the per-minute scoring. He was ultra-efficient, going 11-18 from the field and 5-8 from the line. I do think if the minutes are all the same, that we see an increase on the usage moving forward.
Opponent - ATL
Proj Pts FD - 45.1 DK - 46.09
Bam wasn’t asked to do much in the first game of this series, finishing with only 28 minutes and taking only five shots total. It was a weird first run at this series and I don’t think it gave a true reflection of what to expect going forward. He’s still a mismatch for this Hawk’s team as long as Capela is off the floor and he does present some real problems on both ends of the court. The price on both sites is crazy low for his skill set and, again, I don’t think the first game is a good proxy for what he can do across the fantasy line in this series.
Opponent - MIA
Proj Pts FD - 28.11 DK - 26.44
He got the start for the injured Capela on Sunday and was a popular play because of it. But he also underperformed in the matchup, finishing with just three points and seven rebounds in his 21 minutes in the starting role. It was a disaster for sure, something that does make you question even the lower middle tier pricing. But there was some foul trouble in there as well and the just the general idea that the Hawks couldn’t get much going on the offensive end. I think they pick things up in this second game and Okongwu meets his price and more. On this slate, with savings hard to come by, he represents a good way to save.
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