This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
The Mavericks and Warriors get together for Game 2 on Friday night after Golden State wiped the floor with what had been a red-hot Dallas team in Game 1. The 112-87 lopsided victory for the Dubs is likely going to prove a series-opening outlier, but the complete performance on the part of the hosts was reminiscent of their playoff performances of years past and led to several fruitful DFS performances.
With just one game on the ledger, we're dealing with FanDuel's single-game contest rosters, which are comprised as follows:
· MVP- (Garners points at 2x the normal rate)
· STAR- (Garners points at 1.5x the normal rate)
· PRO- (Garners points at 1.2x the normal rate)
· Two Utility spots- (Garner points at normal rate)
With the pricing also being different than in conventional FanDuel contests on multi-game slates and top players inevitably headed for heavy rostering, there are definitely strategic elements particular to single-game lineups. Finding key value plays for the two utility spots is undoubtedly key, as it enables you to fill out the multiplier spots with some of the top projected producers.
Slate Overview
Dallas Mavericks at Golden State Warriors (-6) (Projected total: 214.0 points)
It would be difficult for the Mavericks to not be more competitive than they were Wednesday night, and Dallas notably came back from a couple of similar beatdowns against the Suns to not only put up a fight in the next game, but actually win outright. However, oddsmakers clearly expect the Warriors to still take a 2-0 lead back to American Airlines Center and do so fairly comfortably. Meanwhile, the modest projected point total hints at the Mavs offering somewhat muted DFS value overall, but again, it bears noting Dallas responded well in these scenarios twice in the last round.
Positional Breakdown
FanDuel single-game rosters don't have traditional positions that match those on a starting five, so we'll instead break down some candidates for the top three multiplier positions instead:
MVP (2x): Luka Doncic ($16,500) and Stephen Curry ($15,500) would have to labeled as the top two candidates for this multiplier spot based on their undeniable upside, even with one of them having an underwhelming Game 1.
Doncic scored a modest-by-his standards 30.4 FD points in 35 minutes while shooting just 6-for-18, including 3-for-10 from behind the arc. The star point guard's fantasy-point tally was his lowest of the postseason. He averaged 31.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.5 steals across four games versus Golden State during the regular season.
Curry recorded 44.4 FD points in just 31 minutes in Game 1, but he notably scuffled with his shot in similar fashion to how he did when facing Dallas in the regular season. Curry went 7-for-16 from the field, including 3-for-9 from distance, after shooting just 38.8 percent and averaging only 20.0 points across 35.8 minutes in his four regular-season outings against the Mavs.
STAR (1.5x): Whichever of the two mega-stars mentioned above doesn't make your MVP spot is naturally the prime candidate here, but a case could also reasonably be made for Klay Thompson ($12,500), Jalen Brunson ($12,000) or Andrew Wiggins ($11,500).
Thompson enters Game 2 with a hot hand, as he's shot 53.2 percent, including 50.0 percent from three-point range, over the last three games. He's also averaging 34 FD points this postseason and can certainly rack up production in a hurry in a multiplier spot due to his long-range marksmanship.
Brunson has the upside to bust out for a strong game on any given night, and he'll enter Game 2 having cleared 30 FD points in 10 postseason games overall, with half of those coming after Luka Doncic made his playoff debut in Game 3 of the quarterfinal-round series. Three of those instances have also come in the last four games, and he's shooting a solid 46.1 percent overall in the playoffs.
Wiggins has 41.2 and 33.5 FD points in his last two postseason games, and he'd also scored over 30 in three straight prior to a Game 5 clunker against the Grizzlies over 19 minutes. The talented wing has shot 49.0 percent, including 39.6 percent from three-point range, since the start of the postseason, even contributing a pair of double-doubles along the way.
PRO (1.2x): Whichever of the trio mentioned for the STAR position is certainly a consideration for this spot, as are Draymond Green ($13,000) and Jordan Poole ($11,000).
Green was offering underwhelming returns throughout the series against the Grizzlies until Game 6, when he produced 43 FD points. He followed it up with a solid 33.3 FD points in 29 minutes in Game 1, and he's shooting 53.5 percent overall in the postseason.
Poole's production has been a bit up and down in the playoffs with the Warriors backcourt healthy, making him more of a fit for this spot despite his undeniably impressive fantasy ceiling. The third-year guard did generate an impressive 27.9 FD points in 26 minutes in Game 1 while shooting a blistering 8-for-12, and despite three sub-20-FD-point tallies, he's still averaging 31.2 FD points across 12 postseason games.
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.
Andre Iguodala, GSW (neck) Status: QUESTIONABLE
If Iguodala continues to sit out, Otto Porter should be a beneficiary off the bench.
Other notable injuries:
Gary Payton, GSW (elbow)/ Status: OUT
Tim Hardaway, DAL (foot): OUT
Elite Players
The two highest-salaried players on the slate are Luka Doncic ($16,500) and Stephen Curry ($15,500). As already detailed in Positional Breakdown section, each player is capable of elite production and each should see very heavy usage Friday.
Expected Chalk
With only one game on the ledger, the likes of Draymond Green ($13,000), Klay Thompson ($12,500) Jalen Brunson ($12,000), Andrew Wiggins ($11,500) and Jordan Poole ($11,000) should also be very popular.
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 for the two Utility spots in single-game lineups:
Spencer Dinwiddie, DAL ($10,500)
Dinwiddie's production has had its fluctuations this postseason, but he's produced over 20 FD points in five of the last six games, a stretch during which he's shooting 49.1 percent, including 51.7 percent from three-point range. He's averaging 21.5 minutes per outing during that stretch, and he also offered glimpses of his upside earlier in the playoffs with three tallies of over 30 FD points. Dinwiddie also averaged 20.5 points on 64.0 percent shooting in two games against Golden State during the regular season, furthering his case.
Kevon Looney, GSW ($9,500)
Looney has seen his production spike over the last couple of games, as he posted 38.9 FD points in Game 6 against the Grizzlies and added 27 in Game 1 versus the Mavs across 28 minutes. The big man brought in a career-high 7.3 rebounds and tied his career best with 2.0 assists per game in the regular season, and he pulled down 8.5 boards per game in four regular-season meetings with Dallas. Looney could be a force again down low Friday, especially if Golden State forces Dallas, which sports an NBA-low 45.8 percent rebounding percentage this postseason into a similar level of inefficiency as Game 1.
Other value plays to consider: Dorian Finney-Smith, DAL ($9,000)
