FanDuel Single-Game Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Celtics at Heat (5/25/22)

In a traditional FanDuel NBA lineup, you have a $60,000 salary cap to roster nine players. The salary cap is the same in the single-game setup, 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
BostonMiami2041031012429


It's hard not to feel squeamish in any attempt to handicap this series at this point.

First and foremost, there is insane injury report traffic for a single series.

On the visiting Celtics, Robert Williams (knee) and Marcus Smart (ankle) are listed as questionable. Smart didn't play on Monday.

The Miami Heat have Kyle Lowry (hamstring), Tyler Herro (groin), Gabe Vincent (hamstring), Max Strus (hamstring), and P.J. Tucker (knee) all listed as question marks. The only real doubt lies with Herro, who missed Game 4.

Secondarily, this series has seen some of the most improbable runs between squads. Miami won the third quarter 39-14 in Game 1, and they won the first quarter in Game 3 by 21 points. However, Boston all but ended Game 4 early with a 24-6 start.

Blowout angles are more viable in this single-game series than just about any in recent memory.

Player Breakdowns

At The Top

Jimmy Butler ($15,000): The best way to approach this slate might honestly be to junk everything you've seen and know about it. Butler's abysmal stead in Boston (6-for-22 shooting) is over, and he's surprisingly not listed on Wednesday's injury report. With the series back in Miami, he'll look to return closer to the role and flow he had in Games 1 and 2. Butler carried Miami's offense with a 31.8% usage rate and at least 29 points in both of those contests.

Jaylen Brown ($14,000): All is not well with Jayson Tatum quite yet. Tatum still scuffled to 1-for-7 shooting from three-point land in Game 4, but he was the optimal MVP in large part to 16 free throws on 18 attempts. That's not likely tonight as we move away from TD Garden. Brown took four more shots than Tatum did, but he also had an off night himself with a 5-for-20 effort. At a lower salary, Brown still has the better role as a spicy MVP candidate in the event you script a Boston upset in your lineup.

Others to Consider: Jayson Tatum ($15,500), Bam Adebayo ($13,000)

In The Middle

Al Horford ($12,000): It's actually daunting for Miami that Boston won so convincingly in Game 4 with three of their top players struggling. Horford took a back seat offensively in Game 4 with two field-goal attempts, but his FanDuel score was propped up by four blocks. The key thing I'm watching in Boston's frontcourt is minutes played, and Horford still saw 33 to Rob Williams' 28. Williams just exploded inside of his. Horford won't be incredibly sneaky, but he still headlines a weak mid-range.

Kyle Lowry ($10,500): When the game fell apart, Lowry was the first Heat starter to call it a night. That's a given with the hamstring issue he's battled all postseason, and it's something to keep in mind if scripting a blowout lineup in either direction for this one. Still, I was encouraged enough by 29 minutes, 11 points, and 6 assists in Game 3 to believe he's at solid enough strength to merit consideration here. His spot in Miami's closing lineup is all but assured if Herro sits again in Game 5.

Others to Consider: Marcus Smart ($12,500), Robert Williams ($11,000)

At The Bottom

Victor Oladipo ($8,500): Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. Oladipo was a fine choice with additional minutes in his future as Herro sat Game 4, but no one predicted 23 points, 6 assists, and a team-high 30 minutes as Boston blew the Heat's doors off. The larger takeaway is that Vic has thoroughly out-playing Max Strus in this series, and he might replace Strus for a majority of the time at the two-guard spot off the bench moving forward. 'Dipo is the top choice below $8,000 by a wide margin.

Grant Williams ($8,000): When monitoring minutes in that Boston frontcourt, Williams' 36 minutes takes the cake among the low-salary options. As a young player, he's still logging blowout minutes off the bench, and that's practical and helpful in this series. Given his organic matchup with P.J. Tucker, he's still going to see heavy minutes in a tight game, as well. He logged 39 in Game 3. Something to note, though, is that Grant has cracked double-digit points just once in seven road games this postseason.

Others to Consider: Max Strus ($9,500), Derrick White ($9,000; if Smart sits), P.J. Tucker ($8,000)