RADIO
We all knew there was a chance that the Celtics would steal at least one game in San Francisco, but the way they did it in Game 1 to kick off the series was something to behold. Boston entered the fourth quarter trailing by 12 points, but they wound up winning by 12 points as they outscored the Warriors 40-16 in the final quarter. They pulled this off by hitting a barrage of three-pointers (9-for-12) to end the game, and they stole home-court advantage back from the dynastic Warriors with the victory. Game 2 is on tap tonight, where Golden State will look to finish the job this time and even the series back up before heading to Boston for Game 3.
There are four players (Robert Williams, Otto Porter Jr., Gary Payton II, Andre Iguodala) who currently hold questionable tags, but all of them appear more likely than not to be active for tonight's matchup.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 6/5/22, with the slate locking at 8:00 pm ET. Remember to monitor NBA injury news and our live-updating NBA injury updates tool as the slate can completely change before lineups lock. As always, feel free to follow my Twitter (@RING_DFS) - I post about a variety of things but mainly NBA DFS with my K-Rate model. Let's get to it - good luck RotoBallers!
DraftKings and FanDuel Captains/MVP - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Jayson Tatum - ($10,400 DK, $16,000 FD)
I absolutely love Tatum at the Captain and MVP spots tonight, especially if he's going to see reduced rostership after going for just 40.75 DK points on 3-for-17 shooting in Game 1. He's easily the most complete all-around player in this series and we don't have to look far for the proof - he dropped 40.75 DK points in Game 1 despite having one of his worst shooting performances of the season (3-for-17). He got it done with 13 assists, five rebounds, and a steal to go along with 12 points, and there has to be a lot of optimism that the star will get back to his primary-scorer ways in Game 2. Curry notched 56.25 DK points in Game 1 as he seemingly couldn't miss anything (at least to start the game), but Tatum exceeds 50+ DK points on a regular basis as he's much less scoring-dependent from a daily fantasy standpoint. I fully expect Tatum to finish the slate with the most fantasy points, making him an essential piece in the multiplier slots.
Stephen Curry - ($10,600 DK, $15,500 FD)
I'm not telling you anything you don't already know here, but Curry is an extremely good shooter and remains the only player outside of Tatum who is capable of finishing as the slate's top scorer. He showcased his legendary range in Game 1, shooting 12-for-25 from the field and 7-for-14 from deep, chipping in five rebounds, five assists, and three steals in the home loss. He's going to keep shooting at a high volume and he's one of the best shooters of all time, so the fact that the Celtics boast an elite defense doesn't take me off of Curry in any way. I still like Tatum more at the Captain and MVP spots, but Curry should certainly be mixed in and he should be the #1 priority at the STAR slot on FanDuel.
Jaylen Brown - ($9,600 DK, $14,000 FD)
Brown is one of the wild cards I'd like to experiment with at Captain over on DraftKings, and he's definitely a player to prioritize at the STAR and PRO slots over on FanDuel. Brown held a 32.6% usage rate (behind only Curry) and put up 45.25 DK points in Game 1, taking over the scoring void left behind by Tatum's brutal shooting performance. At worst, he'll remain the second option on the Celtics. That's going to have value on this slate as it's not going to be in Boston's best interest to continue having to rely on Smart and Horford scoring well above their season averages.
Others to consider (FanDuel): Klay Thompson, STAR/PRO slots only - Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green, Robert Williams, Al Horford
Others to consider (DraftKings): Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Al Horford
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DraftKings and FanDuel Utility Plays - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Draymond Green - ($7,000 DK, $12,500 FD)
Green filled up the stat sheet with 11 rebounds, five assists, and two steals in Game 1, but he was only able to muster 27.75 DK points as he shot 2-for-12 from the field and scored just four points in the loss. He fouled out, which is always going to be a concern with him, but it's not something we should be counting on happening every single game. We have to take recency bias out of the equation as much as we can, and as long as we're projecting the feisty veteran to see minutes in the high-30s once again, we have to love his chances at exceeding value at his salary.
Robert Williams III - ($6,400 DK, $9,000 FD)
Williams is as big of a wild card as they come, and getting him right is obviously even more important on a single-game slate. He has dealt with knee issues all postseason long and he's listed as questionable tonight, but he played 24 minutes last game and put up 24.5 DK points in the win. He was about as efficient as he could be, shooting 4-for-4 for eight points, six rebounds, four blocks, and a steal. One has to think that he has earned the right to a similar workload in Game 2, and there's even a chance he plays more minutes considering his solid play to begin the series. He averaged 1.03 FPTS/min this season, but he has the shot-blocking and glass-cleaning prowess to hit a ceiling game on any given night.
Andrew Wiggins - ($7,200 DK, $11,000 FD)
I'm not sure the world is quite ready to accept what has transpired this postseason, but Wiggins has been balling all playoffs long and he's forcing the public to take notice now that he's doing it in the NBA Finals. He has ramped it up as the playoffs have progressed, too, as he has put up at least 34.75 DK points in six of his last seven games and he erupted for a monster 47.25 DK point performance in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals against the Mavericks. He's a key part of this iteration of the Warriors as he takes about 14 shots per game and fills up the stat sheet with occasional spikes in rebounds and blocks. He's not a guy I'd want to get to a ton of in the multiplier spots, but he has been such a consistently solid contributor that he's a great utility option at his salary.
Others to consider (FanDuel): Al Horford, Otto Porter, Klay Thompson, Derrick White, Marcus Smart
Others to consider (DraftKings): Al Horford, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Jordan Poole, Otto Porter Jr., Derrick White, Gary Payton II, Marcus Smart
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