In a traditional FanDuel NBA lineup, you have a $60,000 salary cap to roster nine players. In the single-game setup, the salary cap is the same, but the lineup requirements are different.
You select five players of any position. One of your players will be your MVP, whose FanDuel points are multiplied by two. You also select a STAR player (whose production is multiplied by 1.5) and a PRO (multiplied by 1.2). Two UTIL players round out the roster, and they don't receive a multiplier for their production.
This makes the five players you select important in more than one way, as you need to focus on slotting in the best plays in the multiplier slots rather than just nailing the best overall plays of the game. Read this piece by Brandon Gdula for some excellent in-depth analysis on how to attack a single-game slate in NBA DFS.
Celtics-Heat Overview
| Away | Home | GameTotal | AwayTotal | HomeTotal | AwayPace | HomePace |
| Boston | Miami | 207.5 | 102 | 105.5 | 24 | 29 |
For all the grief I give the Miami Heat about their presence on the injury report, both teams are well represented entering Game 2.
Miami will once again be without Kyle Lowry (hamstring). However, only two others join him on the report. Both Max Strus and Gabe Vincent are listed with hamstring issues, but both also started Game 1 through the same listing.
Boston's injuries were much more impactful on Tuesday, but Marcus Smart (foot) should be back given his probable status. Al Horford (COVID-19 protocols) is unlikely to be cleared in time for this one, though.
Player Breakdowns
At The Top
Jimmy Butler ($16,000): Given that Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum always have the potential to eat into each other's ceiling, Butler is the standout MVP choice once again. It's just hard to argue with a star taking 9 more shots and 13 more free throws than any other Heat starter. While we saw the default MVP can fail on Wednesday with Luka Doncic, that was in a lopsided blowout in the other direction. Miami is a 3.5-point favorite here and hasn't lost at home this postseason.
Jaylen Brown ($13,500): It almost feels silly to look back this far, but Brown saw the largest increases in both rebounding (+1.04 per 36 minutes) and overall FanDuel-point production (+2.33 per 36 minutes) when Horford was off the floor during the regular season. Brown did haul in 10 boards during Game 1, which saved his fantasy day from poor 7-for-17 (41.1%) shooting. I still believe him to be close enough to Tatum's ceiling to take the $2,000 discount -- even at a STAR spot.
Others to Consider: Jayson Tatum ($15,500), Bam Adebayo ($12,500)
In The Middle
Robert Williams ($12,000): "Timelord" has insane per-minute upside from his rebounding and blocked-shot upside. Williams was fourth in the NBA at 2.2 blocks per contest. He logged 28 minutes in Horford's stead for Game 1, and he's likely to start with a slightly larger workload if this one can stay closer. It's worth reiterating that Williams was far and away Boston's leading rebounder (11.39 per 36 minutes) when Horford was off the floor this season.
Marcus Smart ($11,500): I had Smart in this section on Tuesday just because I couldn't imagine him sitting in Game 1. When news about Horford's COVID-19 test broke, the Celtics probably just opted to rest their point guard in a game that was going to be tough to win. Now, Smart resides in a salary tier where he'll log around 40 minutes tonight as his peers (Williams or Tyler Herro) failed to play 30 on Tuesday. He's also eclipsed 35 FanDuel points in three of his last four games.
Others to Consider: Tyler Herro ($11,000), Max Strus ($10,000)
At The Bottom
Grant Williams ($8,500): Grant might be a sinking ship in DFS after this one given how well "Timelord" returned from injury, but he posted 35 minutes in Game 1 just out of necessity. Boston does have Daniel Theis to go to in spurts, but they're most committed to Williams at the four. His 7-point effort in Game 1 was much closer to normal for him as a sluggish offensive contributor, but the guy who canned seven triples in Game 7 against Milwaukee also has a hot night from three in his range of outcomes.
Gabe Vincent ($8,000): Though his 31.8 FanDuel points in Game 1 might draw more attention than deserved, Vincent is still one of just three players below $10,000 that are in line for quality minutes -- P.J. Tucker being the third. Derrick White will be relegated back to a bench role that will require a scoring spurt to pay off. Vincent's three blocks were a bit fluky, but he took more shots than any Miami starter besides Jimmy Butler, and he's a more reliable candidate for steals (0.9 per game this season) moving forward.
Others to Consider: P.J. Tucker ($9,500), Derrick White ($8,000), Daniel Theis ($7,000)