This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
The Celtics showed there was life post-Jayson Tatum in Game 5, as they built yet another big lead and kept a grip on it this time around send the series back to New York. Friday's Game 6 is the only one on the NBA Playoffs slate, and given the pride and desperation of the defending champions, could be a memorable wire-to-wire battle.
With only one matchup, we're dealing with FanDuel's single-game contest rosters comprised as follows:
MVP - (Garners points at 1.5x the normal rate)
Five Utility spots - (Garner points at normal rate)
With salaries also different than conventional FanDuel contests on multi-game slates and top players inevitably headed for heavy rostering, there are definitely strategic elements particular to single-game lineups. Finding key value plays for some of utility spots is undoubtedly key as it enables you to roster a superstar in the MVP slot, where salaries for each player are 1.5x higher than if you were rostering them in a Utility spot.
Slate Overview
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Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Friday, 5/16 @12:00 a.m. ET:
Boston Celtics at New York Knicks (-2.5) (O/U: 210.0)
Now back home, the Knicks are unsurprisingly favored over the Tatum-less Celtics despite Boston's 25-point win in Game 5 and its 22-point victory in New York in Game 3, the latter naturally having been accomplished with Tatum available.
The projected total harkens back to the first half of the series, when the first three games finished with totals of 213, 181 and 208 points. In contrast, the last two have featured totals of 234 and 229 points, and the latter total was accomplished without Tatum, with Kristaps Porzingis not playing at all in the second half and with Jalen Brunson fouling out after 33 minutes of floor time.
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Injury Situations to Monitor
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Jayson Tatum, BOS (Achilles): OUT
In Tatum's ongoing absence, Al Horford should remain in the starting five while Jaylen Brown and Derrick White should be the biggest beneficiaries in terms of increased usage.
Elite Players
The two players with the highest MVP salaries on Friday's slate are Jaylen Brown ($20,700) and Jalen Brunson ($19,800).
Brown stepped up in Tatum's absence in Game 5, posting a 26-point, 12-assist double-double that also included eight rebounds and one steal., leading to a series-high 54.6 standard FD points. He actually took fewer shots – 17 – than in several other postseason games alongside Tatum, but his efficiency, if replicable, could make him worth his very elevated MVP salary.
Brunson scored just 30.2 standard FD points in Game 5 due in part to his early exit, but he'd posted 62.0 FD standard points in Game 4. He did experience some shooting struggles against the Celtics' swarming defense in the first half of the series, however, so he could have a difficult time fully delivering on his very lofty MVP salary.
Expected Chalk
With only one matchup, Karl-Anthony Towns ($11,600), Derrick White ($10,800) and Josh Hart ($9,200) should also be very popular.
Towns has been under 40 FD points in four of the first five games of the series, but he recorded 41.9 in the other game during that sample and has offered a secure floor that should keep him very popular.
White saw a major boost in production without Tatum in Game 5, recording 47.6 FD points on a postseason-high 34 points via 9-for-16 shooting. He should naturally be very popular again in Boston's second straight elimination-game scenario.
Hart has been stuffing the stat sheet in trademark fashion throughout the series while averaging 32.2 FD points across 37.6 minutes per game, and his very safe floor should lead to a high roster rate for him again Friday.
Key Values
The following players make for strong candidates for the Utility spots:
Mikal Bridges, NYK ($7,400)
Bridges had a rough shooting night in Game 5, going just 4-for-14 from the floor across 40 minutes and scoring only19.9 FD points. However, he'd gone off for 47.9 FD points in Game 4 with an 11-for-21 shooting tally, and he'd also averaged 31.7 in the nine postseason games prior to that breakout performance. Bridges has taken double-digit shot attempts in 10 straight playoff contests as well, and he's done an excellent job supplementing his production with his defensive exploits by recording multiple steals in seven postseason contests.
Al Horford, BOS ($5,400)
Horford has been a mainstay in the starting five for most of the postseason, and with Tatum out and Porzingis struggling to get on the court, his spot on the first unit is even more secure. The big man has made relatively good use of his opportunities, averaging 24.2 FD points with the help of 46.2 percent shooting, including 38.7 percent from behind the arc, across 31.9 minutes in 10 playoff games. He's been particularly effective in the last three against the Knicks, averaging 26.4 FD points on 10.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 blocks over 32 minutes per contest. Given the urgency for the Celtics and what should be another solid allotment of minutes, Horford should have plenty of opportunity to offer a solid return on a very modest investment.
Payton Pritchard, BOS ($5,000)
Pritchard provided 30.5 FD points over 39 minutes in Game 5, logging his highest allotment of playing time since early March. The sharpshooting guard was only 5-for-14 from three-point range, but he'd shot 50.0 percent from distance two games prior on his way to 33.8 FD points. He's also been at 17.1 FD points or fewer in the other three games during the series, but his very affordable salary and the fact he's now averaging 32.3 FD points per 36 minutes without Tatum on the floor since the start of the regular season makes him a very appealing tournament play in Game 6.
ALSO CONSIDER: Kristaps Porzingis, BOS ($3,200); Luke Kornet, BOS ($2,600)
Agree with these recommendations? Give them a spin with various combinations of other players in RotoWire's NBA DFS Lineup Optimizer.
