NBA DFS Expert Survey: NBA Finals - Game 2
Our panel of experts is here to give you their NBA DFS advice for the upcoming featured slate by answering a handful of questions to help you make crucial lineup-building decisions. Want to know Noto’s favorite Captain? Or squirrelpatrol’s hot take? Find out below!
NBA DFS Showdown Picks: DraftKings & FanDuel Expert Survey for Game 2 of the NBA Finals
Which useful trend or statistic stuck out most during your research?
Notorious: Even though Kristaps Porzingis wasn’t on a minutes restriction, he only logged 20.3 minutes in Game 1. He likely would have played the last 3-4 minutes if the game was competitive, but I think that gives us a good idea of what to expect from him in Game 2 (somewhere in the 24-26 minute range). This still leaves enough space for Al Horford and Sam Hauser to play their usual minutes. There weren’t any major surprises on the Mavericks, but I would be careful to trust the 20 minutes that we saw from Josh Green. He ended playing the final 8.5 minutes in the blowout.
squirrelpatrol: My favorite bet prior to Game 1 was Maxi Kleber over 1.5 rebounds at plus money in anticipation that Kleber would be able and needed to play more minutes than expected. If you had told me that Kleber would play 18.5 minutes I would have been thrilled, but he pulled down zero rebounds in his time, a difficult thing to do given his 6’10” height. If Kleber sees the same number of minutes and his regular production is there, he is a very interesting value play on this slate.
headChopper: Because of the blowout, the Mavericks subbed out the stars around 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter. So some of the numbers are a bit off due to that, but some still stand out. Jaden Hardy played 11 minutes in the game and hit the optimal at $2,800. For Game 2, he is DOWN $400 in salary (only $2,400). However, Hardy subbed in at the 5:17 mark for garbage time. He would have only played about 6 minutes otherwise. He also finished with a 13/3/1 statline to hit the optimal, but 9/2/1 of that came in that last 5 minutes of garbage time.
eys819: The big-man rotation on both sides remains an interesting variable in the series. Al Horford somewhat surprisingly still played nearly 30 minutes despite the return of Kristaps Porzingis, who played just shy of 21 minutes. Neither played the last 3 minutes due to the blowout. On the Dallas side, Daniel Gafford played just over 14 minutes, while Derrick Lively saw 18.5 minutes. Maxi Kleber also contributed nearly 19 minutes. None of the 3 played the last 5 minutes due to the blowout.
kmurray03: Maxi Kleber was extremely unproductive in Game 1, but he was able to see 18 minutes in this Dallas rotation to start the series. It is hard to tell if he was going to be in line to check back into the game before everyone was pulled due to blowout, but regardless, if Kleber is going to play 16-18 minutes again, he is in a good spot to be one of the top values of the night.
What is your preferred tournament format (e.g. large-field, single-entry) to play on this slate? How do you plan to beat that field of opponents? What tactic or strategy will set you apart?
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