NBA DFS Playoff Primer: Monday, April 17
The NBA postseason is here! We no longer have to worry about teams resting players, teams trying to lose, and late scratches. 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.
After a tremendous weekend of playoff basketball, we are back for a two-game slate on Monday. Could this be the season of first-round upsets? Four of the eight lower seeds ended up winning game one of their respective series, so fans in Phoenix, Milwaukee, Memphis, and Cleveland might be a little nervous at this point.
We will take a look at how each game played out, but it’s important to remember that the playoffs are all about adjustments, both from a coaching and a playing standpoint. We will look for potential edges where we can and try to predict what teams will do differently moving forward.
Let’s get to the games!
GAME 2: Brooklyn Nets at Philadelphia Sixers
- Time: 7:30 PM ET
- Series: Nets 0 – Sixers 1
Previous Matchups
- Game 1: BKN 101 – PHI 121
Notable Injuries
Ben Simmons (BKN) – Out
Brooklyn Nets Lineup – DraftKings & FanDuel Salaries
| Player | DK | FD | MIN/G | +/- | FP/G | +/- | USG% | +/- | DK/M | +/- | FD/M | +/- | MIN (P) | DK (P) | DK/$ | FD (P) | FD/$ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spencer Dinwiddie | $7,200 | $7,400 | 34.5 | 1.9 | 33.9 | -3.2 | 22% | 4% | 0.98 | -0.14 | 0.95 | -0.12 | 38 | 39.7 | 5.52 | 38.2 | 5.16 | |
| Mikal Bridges | $7,700 | $8,400 | 35.7 | -1.3 | 34.4 | 4.8 | 22% | 9% | 0.96 | 0.18 | 0.96 | 0.13 | 38 | 38.5 | 5.00 | 37.5 | 4.46 | |
| Cameron Johnson | $5,800 | $5,700 | 28.6 | -1.2 | 27.7 | -0.7 | 20% | 3% | 0.97 | 0.02 | 0.96 | -0.08 | 31 | 27.4 | 4.72 | 26.5 | 4.65 | |
| Dorian Finney-Smith | $4,200 | $4,700 | 30.4 | -12.8 | 19.6 | -11.8 | 13% | -2% | 0.64 | -0.20 | 0.64 | -0.29 | 27 | 18.4 | 4.38 | 18.1 | 3.84 | |
| Nic Claxton | $6,600 | $7,800 | 29.9 | 0.3 | 33.7 | -8.7 | 16% | -7% | 1.13 | -0.30 | 1.20 | -0.27 | 33 | 33.9 | 5.14 | 35.6 | 4.56 | |
| Royce O’Neale | $4,400 | $5,000 | 31.7 | -3.8 | 24.1 | -6.4 | 14% | -2% | 0.76 | -0.13 | 0.75 | -0.11 | 28 | 22.7 | 5.16 | 22.0 | 4.41 | |
| Seth Curry | $3,200 | $4,300 | 19.8 | -3.5 | 15.4 | -3.4 | 19% | -1% | 0.78 | -0.04 | 0.75 | -0.11 | 15 | 9.8 | 3.05 | 9.4 | 2.18 | |
| Joe Harris | $3,600 | $3,900 | 20.6 | -6.6 | 14.5 | -9.5 | 14% | 3% | 0.70 | -0.35 | 0.68 | -0.43 | 15 | 10.6 | 2.93 | 9.8 | 2.52 | |
| Day’Ron Sharpe | $3,300 | $4,300 | 11.5 | 5.9 | 12.8 | 7.7 | 17% | -2% | 1.11 | 0.06 | 1.15 | 0.03 | 15 | 15.2 | 4.61 | 15.4 | 3.57 |
The +/- columns show the difference between season’s averages and this playoff series.
Philadelphia Sixers Lineup – DraftKings & FanDuel Salaries
| Player | DK | FD | MIN/G | +/- | FP/G | +/- | USG% | +/- | DK/M | +/- | FD/M | +/- | MIN (P) | DK (P) | DK/$ | FD (P) | FD/$ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Harden | $9,000 | $9,500 | 36.8 | -0.7 | 49.0 | 3.5 | 25% | 5% | 1.33 | 0.12 | 1.26 | 0.03 | 38 | 46.1 | 5.12 | 43.6 | 4.59 | |
| Tyrese Maxey | $6,700 | $6,800 | 33.6 | -1.0 | 31.7 | 0.8 | 24% | -10% | 0.94 | 0.05 | 0.91 | 0.13 | 37 | 30.7 | 4.58 | 29.7 | 4.37 | |
| Tobias Harris | $6,000 | $6,100 | 32.9 | -4.2 | 28.8 | 6.2 | 18% | 4% | 0.87 | 0.35 | 0.87 | 0.32 | 35 | 26.1 | 4.36 | 25.7 | 4.21 | |
| P.J. Tucker | $4,000 | $4,200 | 25.6 | -0.6 | 11.0 | 17.7 | 7% | 4% | 0.43 | 0.72 | 0.43 | 0.88 | 26 | 12.3 | 3.08 | 12.2 | 2.91 | |
| Joel Embiid | $10,600 | $11,400 | 34.6 | -1.6 | 57.3 | -15.0 | 37% | -8% | 1.66 | -0.38 | 1.64 | -0.32 | 37 | 59.6 | 5.62 | 58.6 | 5.14 | |
| De’Anthony Melton | $4,500 | $4,600 | 27.9 | -5.6 | 23.7 | -3.4 | 16% | 2% | 0.85 | 0.06 | 0.86 | 0.04 | 23 | 17.6 | 3.92 | 17.9 | 3.89 | |
| Jalen McDaniels | $3,700 | $4,000 | 23.9 | -7.0 | 19.9 | -6.4 | 17% | -11% | 0.83 | -0.04 | 0.84 | -0.07 | 16 | 11.1 | 3.00 | 11.1 | 2.77 | |
| Georges Niang | $3,300 | $3,900 | 19.4 | 0.4 | 14.6 | -5.6 | 16% | -4% | 0.75 | -0.30 | 0.71 | -0.31 | 18 | 10.8 | 3.26 | 10.0 | 2.56 | |
| Paul Reed | $3,500 | $4,500 | 10.9 | 2.0 | 12.1 | 7.4 | 15% | 9% | 1.11 | 0.40 | 1.20 | 0.43 | 10 | 10.6 | 3.04 | 11.1 | 2.46 |
The +/- columns show the difference between season’s averages and this playoff series.
Game Analysis
I wasn’t able to catch game one of this series because I was doing a little coaching of my own. My son doesn’t love sports the same way I do, but he likes to get out there and play with his friends. As long as he gets a bucket each game, he’s on cloud nine. His first grade basketball league started two weeks ago and I show up to the first game to find a total of five kids (including mine) on our team, three of which had no concept of the game of basketball. My friend coaches with me and we spent the entire first game trying to get our kids to be on the right side of the court. One little one quit halfway through and never came back in the game. We only managed to score six points that day and two of them came from the other team scoring on the wrong basket.
Fast forward to last Saturday and apparently there was a mix-up with the rosters between the first grade and kindergarten leagues. The three kids that were confused by the round orange ball that they were supposed to throw through a hoop were actually supposed to be in the younger league. They were sent down and we got a few kids that were the right age and that knew what they were doing. Basketball at this age is pure comedy. I’m not exaggerating when I say that four different kids on the other team got hit in the head on long shots or long passes. They were dropping like flies out there. Anyway, we won our second game of the season and my little one has two baskets in two games.