This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
Wednesday offers a first look at the Eastern Conference Finals between Indiana and New York. The slate locks at 8:00 p.m. ET, and I've got you covered with some sample builds for FanDuel's single-game contests. You're welcome to lock in my final selections, but I recommend doing some tinkering of your own to find an option that suits you.
SLATE OVERVIEW
For the latest spreads and over-unders, visit RotoWire's NBA Odds page. There, you can also find player props, futures, picks articles and sportsbook bonus codes.
We encounter several single-game scenarios during the playoffs, and the Wednesday slate gives us another opportunity to try our luck with this format. First, let's run down FanDuel's single-game structure.
FanDuel's roster has six slots, consisting of five UTILITY spots and one MVP spot. The player in the MVP spot receives a point multiplier of 1.5x. Unlike previous years, where the MVP spot's salaries were static, FanDuel has adjusted the rules and follows a model similar to DraftKings, where the MVP salaries are also multiplied by 1.5x. While conventional wisdom suggests a static list of the top six players should be the ideal choice, the salary multiplier introduces several scenarios where the highest-scoring player may not be the best avenue for MVP success. While 1.5x is a significant increase, achieving balance in the standard UTIL slots is imperative, and an elite player's 1.5x salary could foil your chances to achieve that. When making decisions like this, it's important to consider if the additional 0.5x is more valuable than the intrinsic value of the salary advantage received by picking a better utility player.
Try our FanDuel NBA Lineup Optimizer to discover more expert recommendations, customize the player pool, set exposure percentage and mass-enter DFS lineups.
INJURIES
For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.
We have no significant injuries to report for today's slate.
MVP CANDIDATES
Unlike the Western Conference final, there isn't a player standing head and shoulders above the rest of the player pool like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. In fact, some of the most expensive players available have had their share of regressed totals in the player pool. The argument for making an expensive bid at the MVP slot is diluted as a result.
OG Anunoby, NYK (MVP $12,600, UTIL $8,400)
Pascal Siakam, IND (MVP $15,900, UTIL $10,800)
Myles Turner, IND (MVP $13,800, UTIL $9,200)
Andrew Nembhard, IND (MVP $10,200, UTIL $6,800)
While I am also targeting these players as UTIL candidates, these selections illustrate two general paths when approaching the slate. Siakam and Turner are higher-priced candidates who will allow for slot averages between $8,820 and $9,240 per UTIL slot. Anunoby isn't too far behind, with a per-slot average of $9,480, and Nembhard brings up the rear with an average of $9,960 for the remaining slots. The lowest salary I am willing to consider is $6,200, so we won't have many opportunities to send the per-slot averages further south. Avoiding players at the very top for the MVP allows us to find a spot for them elsewhere, and while all four players are viable for the salary increase, I believe Anunoby and Nembhard give us the highest probability of maximizing our ability to reach for the elites in the UTIL positions, while providing solid totals for the multiplier.
UTILITY CANDIDATES
Aaron Nesmith, IND ($6,200)
Mikal Bridges, NYK ($8,000)
Karl-Anthony Towns, NYK ($12,400)
Josh Hart, NYK ($9,400)
Jalen Brunson, NYK ($14,200)
The unselected MVP candidates join this list. If I use Nesmith and Bridges as locks below Nembhard, we are left with an average of $11,867 to work with. Going with Anunoby and sending Nembhard into the UTIL pile with Nesmith and Bridges lifts the average for the remaining two slots to an alluring $13,200, allowing us to go as high as Jalen Brunson ($14,000) and Karl-Anthony Towns ($12,400). With this method, we're able to complete a balanced build with elite emphasis on the Knicks, but going back to Siakam or Turner fits our plans better, since we can't get both Brunson and Towns involved without major sacrifices that I am unwilling to make.
Below are some sample builds I prefer after much consideration, in order of preference:
MVP Nembhard/Brunson/Siakam/Anunoby/Hart/Nesmith (optional: Turner swap for Hart)
MVP Anunoby/Nembhard/Turner/Hart/Siakam/Nesmith
MVP Anunoby/Nembhard/Bridges/Siakam/Towns/Nesmith
HALIBURTON
Tyrese Haliburton's ($14,000) salary wasn't a good fit for us, and I am more comfortable taking Brunson in this range as a UTIL selection. If you have a good feeling about Haliburton and prefer him, it's simple to swap out Brunson for Haliburton in the builds I recommended above.
