This article is part of our DraftKings NBA series.
We're set for a single-game slate Saturday night as the Bucks and Nets meet in Milwaukee for Game 7 of a series that has been quite the rollercoaster. Brooklyn will still be missing Kyrie Irving with an ankle injury for Saturday's contest, and Milwaukee has won three of the last four games, making it an uphill battle for Brooklyn to ensure a season with sky-high expectations doesn't disappointingly end in the semifinal round.
With just one game on the ledger, we're dealing with DraftKings' Showdown contest rosters, which are comprised as follows:
· Captain's Spot- (Garners points at 1.5x the normal rate)
· Five Utility spots- (Garner points at normal rate)
With players carrying markedly higher salaries when rostered in the Captain Spot, there are definitely strategic elements particular to single-game lineups. Picking the right player for that multiplier spot becomes particularly key to success, as the higher salary that player carries naturally affects the composition of the rest of your roster.
Slate Overview
Milwaukee Bucks at Brooklyn Nets (Projected total: 215.0 points):
The Bucks have managed to hold the Nets to under 100 points in three games in this series, and Brooklyn has kept Milwaukee at 108 points or fewer in the three Barclays Center contests thus far, making this modest total understandable. Additionally, Irving's absence naturally lowers the Nets' offensive expectations, as does a limited James Harden, who shot much better in Game 6 after a 1-for-10 tally in Game 5 but is still clearly affected by his hamstring issue.
Injury Situations to Monitor
NOTE: Injury reporting is especially fluid in the NBA, where the status of multiple players can change during the course of a day. Therefore, although the following serves as a foundation for the latest injury report as of the time the article is written (usually late morning Eastern time), check back throughout the course of the day with RotoWire for the latest news regarding the status of all players on that night's slate.
Kyrie Irving, BKN (ankle)/ Status: OUT
Irving's third consecutive absence should lead to increased opportunities for Bruce Brown and Landry Shamet, while Kevin Durant, and to the extent that he can, James Harden, will see increased usage.
Elite Players
There are four players with five-figure (non-Captain's spot) salaries on the slate – Giannis Antetokounmpo ($12,200), Kevin Durant ($12,000), James Harden ($11,400) and Khris Middleton ($10,000). All but Harden are leading candidates for the Captain's spot, given their typically diversified fantasy contributions and usage.
Antetokounmpo will naturally continue to be a pivotal factor in the Bucks' fortunes, and he's scored at least 53.0 DK points in each of the last four games. He also has put together tallies of 57.8 and 61.5 DK points in two of the games in Brooklyn thus far.
Durant wasn't quite a spectacular in Game 6 as Game 5, but he still put up 49.3 DK points on the strength of a 32-point, 11-rebound double-double and generated 100.3 DK points in his last game at Barclays Center. With everything on the line Saturday, he should naturally be expected to take 25-30 shots yet again and clearly sports a massive ceiling with that type of usage.
As mentioned earlier, Harden would naturally be a prime Captain's spot candidate were he at full health, and he still makes for an intriguing tournament option in that multiplier spot due to his massive upside. However, he's taken a combined 19 shot attempts in the last two games while dealing with his hamstring issue, and that modest amount of offensive usage won't get it done at his salary no matter how many assists he dishes out.
Finally, Middleton has spiked a couple of times in this series, putting up 56.8 and 70.0 DK points in Games 3 and 6, respectively. The only asterisk is that both of those games unfolded at Fiserv Forum, and that Middleton has yet to shoot better than 36.4 percent at Barclays during the series. Nevertheless, he still put up 41.5 DK points there in Game 5, so he remains a consideration for the Captain's role.
Expected Chalk
With only one game on the ledger, all of the players mentioned in the previous section will certainly be very popular. Additionally, the Bucks' Jrue Holiday and the Nets' Blake Griffin should also be on plenty of rosters, with both veterans enjoying strong series thus far.
Key Values
Note: On a multi-game slate, I typically try to highlight players that would be considered under-the-radar plays in this section. Naturally, with such a limited player pool, there will be very few low-rostered players that are likely to also be viable from a DFS perspective, so I'll instead focus on two of the best candidates to provide a strong return relative to salary.
Blake Griffin, BKN vs. MIL ($7,800)
Ideally, Griffin's salary would be a bit lower, but on a small slate, we can't be too choosy when hunting down value. With Irving out again and Griffin averaging 36.7 DK points per 36 minutes without his teammate this season and postseason, the veteran becomes a consideration in a game where the Nets will undoubtedly be aggressive. Griffin opened the series with 46 DK points in Game 1, and even though he's come nowhere near that number again, he's still put up 21.3 to 26 DK points in the subsequent five games. Given his ability to check off every box on the stat sheet, he's a very viable value consideration Saturday.
Jeff Green, BKN vs. MIL ($5,200)
Green let plenty down in Game 6 by posting just 19.5 DK points after exploding for 38.3 in Game 5. A rough shooting night was the difference Thursday, as the veteran drained just two of nine attempts on his way five points. However, with Irving out and Brooklyn back home, look for the floor-spacing big to get right back to being aggressive in a do-or-die scenario. If the shots are falling a lot more frequently, Green has the ability to deliver a 5x return on his very modest salary, at minimum.
