NBA DFS Playoff Primer: Friday, June 9th
The NBA postseason is finally upon us. We no longer have to worry about players resting, late scratches, and teams trying to lose. For the next couple of months, we get meaningful basketball game after meaningful basketball game. We have decided to combine the Core Plays and the Grind Down into one all-encompassing article for the NBA playoffs. We will break down each slate, sift through the game flow trackers of prior meetings between teams, cover the notable matchups, and provide our favorite NBA DFS targets.
Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic became the first teammates in the history of the NBA to both record 30+ point triple-doubles. It was a masterful performance and the Nuggets are now two wins away from an NBA Championship. Everyone has been quick to count out the Heat throughout their incredible playoff run, but they have been as resilient as any team in sports. Jimmy Butler has continued to stress teamwork and enjoying the moment, while Erik Spoelstra is one of the best coaches in the NBA at making adjustments. This feels like a must-win for Miami, as they can’t afford to head back to Denver down 3-1 in the series.
Game 3: Denver Nuggets at Miami Heat
- Time: 8:30 PM ET
- Series: Nuggets 2 – Heat 1
Series Matchups
- Game 1: MIA 93 – DEN 104
- Game 2: MIA 111 – DEN 108
- Game 3: DEN 109 – MIA 94
Notable Injuries
Tyler Herro – Out
Denver Nuggets Lineup – DraftKings & FanDuel Salaries
| Player | DK | FD | MIN/G | +/- | FP/G | +/- | USG% | +/- | DK/M | +/- | FD/M | +/- | MIN (P) | DK (P) | DK/$ | FD (P) | FD/$ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamal Murray | $11,600 | $15,000 | 32.8 | 9.7 | 37.1 | 16.3 | 26% | 1% | 1.13 | 0.13 | 1.09 | 0.06 | 42 | 47.0 | 4.05 | 44.4 | 2.96 | |
| Kentavious Caldwell-Pope | $5,200 | $8,000 | 31.3 | 2.3 | 22.1 | -8.7 | 14% | -3% | 0.71 | -0.31 | 0.72 | -0.32 | 34 | 20.1 | 3.87 | 20.2 | 2.53 | |
| Michael Porter | $7,000 | $9,500 | 29.0 | 1.3 | 29.0 | -8.4 | 22% | -5% | 1.00 | -0.32 | 0.96 | -0.30 | 32 | 27.5 | 3.92 | 26.4 | 2.78 | |
| Aaron Gordon | $6,600 | $11,500 | 30.2 | 5.8 | 32.2 | -2.7 | 21% | -8% | 1.07 | -0.25 | 1.07 | -0.25 | 35 | 26.3 | 3.98 | 26.3 | 2.28 | |
| Nikola Jokic | $15,600 | $18,500 | 33.7 | 8.3 | 59.1 | 10.8 | 26% | 4% | 1.75 | -0.09 | 1.67 | -0.12 | 42 | 65.8 | 4.22 | 61.9 | 3.35 | |
| Bruce Brown | $5,000 | $9,000 | 28.5 | -3.0 | 25.0 | -6.8 | 17% | 1% | 0.88 | -0.16 | 0.89 | -0.17 | 27 | 21.7 | 4.34 | 21.9 | 2.44 | |
| Jeff Green | $1,800 | $6,500 | 19.5 | -4.7 | 13.9 | -6.3 | 17% | -7% | 0.71 | -0.20 | 0.71 | -0.22 | 16 | 7.6 | 4.24 | 7.6 | 1.17 | |
| Christian Braun | $2,200 | $7,500 | 15.5 | -1.3 | 10.3 | 3.9 | 13% | 3% | 0.66 | 0.34 | 0.68 | 0.38 | 13 | 7.7 | 3.48 | 7.7 | 1.03 |
The +/- columns show the difference between season averages and the playoffs.
Miami Heat Lineup – DraftKings & FanDuel Salaries
| Player | DK | FD | MIN/G | +/- | FP/G | +/- | USG% | +/- | DK/M | +/- | FD/M | +/- | MIN (P) | DK (P) | DK/$ | FD (P) | FD/$ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gabe Vincent | $6,000 | $10,500 | 25.9 | 7.9 | 17.9 | 7.8 | 17% | 2% | 0.69 | 0.07 | 0.67 | 0.08 | 33 | 20.4 | 3.40 | 19.7 | 1.88 | |
| Max Strus | $4,400 | $8,500 | 28.4 | -3.6 | 20.9 | -0.7 | 17% | 0% | 0.74 | 0.08 | 0.70 | 0.12 | 28 | 17.2 | 3.90 | 16.3 | 1.92 | |
| Jimmy Butler | $12,200 | $14,500 | 33.4 | 6.2 | 42.2 | -4.1 | 25% | 1% | 1.26 | -0.30 | 1.29 | -0.33 | 41 | 52.3 | 4.28 | 52.9 | 3.65 | |
| Kevin Love | $3,000 | $8,000 | 20.0 | -0.9 | 20.4 | -3.2 | 19% | -1% | 1.02 | -0.12 | 0.97 | -0.07 | 18 | 17.2 | 5.74 | 16.5 | 2.06 | |
| Bam Adebayo | $9,400 | $14,000 | 34.6 | 5.7 | 40.1 | 7.5 | 25% | 2% | 1.16 | 0.02 | 1.16 | 0.00 | 41 | 43.7 | 4.65 | 43.5 | 3.11 | |
| Caleb Martin | $6,200 | $10,000 | 29.3 | -3.5 | 20.9 | -4.5 | 14% | -2% | 0.71 | -0.08 | 0.72 | -0.05 | 27 | 20.2 | 3.26 | 20.1 | 2.01 | |
| Kyle Lowry | $4,600 | $8,500 | 31.2 | -5.0 | 26.9 | -5.4 | 16% | 0% | 0.86 | -0.04 | 0.84 | -0.06 | 27 | 21.7 | 4.71 | 20.9 | 2.46 | |
| Duncan Robinson | $3,200 | $7,000 | 16.4 | 1.1 | 11.1 | -1.0 | 17% | -1% | 0.67 | -0.10 | 0.63 | -0.12 | 17 | 13.1 | 4.09 | 12.1 | 1.73 | |
| Haywood Highsmith | $1,400 | $6,500 | 18.0 | -7.3 | 12.0 | -2.5 | 12% | 5% | 0.67 | 0.22 | 0.68 | 0.25 | 2 | 1.1 | 0.79 | 1.1 | 0.17 | |
| Cody Zeller | $1,200 | $6,500 | 14.4 | -7.3 | 13.5 | -11.3 | 18% | -7% | 0.94 | -0.63 | 0.94 | -0.68 | 6 | 5.1 | 4.24 | 5.0 | 0.77 |
The +/- columns show the difference between season averages and the playoffs.
Game 4 Analysis
Jamal Murray makes basketball look so effortless. Even when opponents force him into difficult shots, he makes them look easy. He has averaged 53 fantasy points per game in this series, which is similar to what he has done throughout this entire playoff run. It will be interesting to see how ownership shakes out between Murray and Jimmy Butler tonight. I will likely have more interest in the lower-owned of the two, so I will be keeping a close eye on pOWN%. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has yet to have a good game in this series and got into early foul trouble in Game 3. I would like to buy low on him eventually, but his salary hasn’t changed much on DraftKings. For tonight, the best path is to use him as a utility play on FanDuel ($8,000).