This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
The two series that constitute Monday's slate got a lot more interesting Saturday, setting up what should be an intriguing day of hardwood action. OG Anunoby's buzzer-beating three-pointer in Game 3 seemed to have flipped a switch for the Raptors, as the team came back to notch a more decisive victory in Saturday's Game 4 to even the series with the Celtics at 2-2. Meanwhile, maybe all the Nuggets needed was a little more separation from their knockdown, drag-out battle with the Jazz in the first round, as they looked like a completely different team while evening their series with the Clippers in Saturday's Game 2.
Before delving into the slate, a reminder that FanDuel has reverted to its previous format of NOT dropping the lowest scoring in lineups after a one-year experiment with that feature. Therefore, it will be important to be prudent with each selection, as each player's total will count toward your final score.
Slate Overview
Here's a further look at the two games on Monday's slate:
Boston Celtics vs. Toronto Raptors (Projected total: 211.5 points)
As already mentioned, we have a good, old-fashioned dogfight on our hands in this now knotted-up series. The oddsmakers have apparently converted to the thinking that these two squads know how to limit each other's offensive attack. After combining for just 193 points in Game 4, Toronto and Boston have now failed to hit Monday's projected total in all four games in the series, so even this reduced number may be an overestimation. One of the biggest factors in keeping scoring tempered is Fred VanVleet's seeming inability to put up a decent shooting percentage against the Celtics (31.9 percent shooting in series), while Jaylen Brown hasn't been much better on the Boston side of the equation (38.5 percent shooting in series).
Los Angeles Clippers vs. Denver Nuggets (Projected total: 220.0 points)
The Nuggets seemed to have their legs back under them Saturday, resulting in 110 points on the strength of solid 45.1 percent shooting. After going a combined 11-for-29 from the field in Game 1, Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray bounced back to impressively drain 20 of 38 attempts in Saturday's Game 2 on their way to 53 combined points. Replicating that kind of success in back-to-back games against the often-stingy Clippers defense could be a tall order, so it remains to be seen if this total is realistic. The oddsmakers may be partly banking on a big Kawhi Leonard bounce-back performance after the perennial All-Star went a very atypical 4-for-17 from the floor Saturday. Notably, neither of the first two games of the series have hit the 220-point mark, but all three regular-season meetings between the teams exceeded that figure.
Positional Breakdown
PG: Kyle Lowry, Jamal Murray and Kemba Walker once again head up the pool and are naturally your three most solid options at the position. Lou Williams always has the potential to make for a highly rewarding value play, as he did in Saturday's Game 2 with 33.3 FD points in 29 minutes off the bench.
SG: Shooting guard has a clean bill of health and a strong trio up top in the form of Paul George, Fred VanVleet and Marcus Smart. However, it's worth reiterating VanVleet's shooting woes continue to keep him short of a 5x return when playing the Celtics, and depth is questionable outside of those selections, with Gary Harris perhaps the next most reliable option.
SF: Small forward continues to be one of the deeper positions on the slate, with Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam, Jaylen Brown, OG Anunoby and Jerami Grant representing the top choices. Not all of them are completely safe – see Brown's shooting debacles in Game 4 and Grant's uneven performances this postseason – but there's upside relative to investment in all of them.
PF: There's solid depth here as well, as Jayson Tatum, Serge Ibaka, Daniel Theis, Michael Porter and Marcus Morris are all options that can fit varying budgets. Paul Millsap, who's averaged 28.3 FD points over the first two games of the second round, is a solid value choice, while JaMychal Green is also a consideration.
C: Nikola Jokic is your one elite option, and a number of value choices in the form of the Clippers duo of Montrezl Harrell and Ivica Zubac, as well as Marc Gasol and Robert Williams, are the other realistic choices at the five. Mason Plumlee is always capable of a strong showing off the bench, but he's riskier in the postseason due to the likelihood of higher minutes for Jokic.
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.
Tremont Waters, BOS (knee)- QUESTIONABLE
Vincent Poirier, BOS (personal)- OUT
Vlatko Cancar, DEN (foot)- OUT
Longer-term injuries/absences: Gordon Hayward, BOS; Javonte Green, BOS; Patrick McCaw, TOR; Oshae Brissett, TOR; Will Barton, DEN
Elite Players
We have just one five-figure salaried player in Kawhi Leonard ($10.6K), who, as mentioned earlier, will be looking to bounce back from a poor Game 2 effort. Nikola Jokic ($9.4K), Jayson Tatum ($9.4K), Kyle Lowry ($9.2K) and Jamal Murray ($8.5K) follow Leonard on the pay scale, with all four having offered very impressive returns in their respective games Saturday.
Beyond that group, consider Pascal Siakam ($8.4K), Kemba Walker ($8.3K) and Paul George ($7.8K) are the three next-cheapest candidates capable of offering elite-level production. Fred VanVleet ($7.9K) is notably absent from that list, as he simply can't seem to get his shot going against the Celtics, capping his overall upside.
Expected Chalk
All of the players just listed in the prior section are certainly going to be on plenty of rosters, along with talented mid-priced players with secure roles such as Jaylen Brown and Serge Ibaka.
Key Values
Gary Harris, DEN vs. LAC ($4,500)
Harris appears to be getting back into a groove, as he was understandably rusty upon his return in Game 6 of the first-round series versus Utah. Prior to that Aug. 30 contest, Harris had last seen game action March 11, so the fact he's already back up to playing 29 minutes and has gone 6-for-13 from the floor over the last two contests after shooting 2-for-13 in his first two seem to be indicators he's rounding into form. Harris' best game thus far on both ends of the floor came in Saturday's Game 3, when he posted 19.0 FD points on the strength of a quartet of treys while helping consistently frustrate Kawhi Leonard on the defensive end. Harris could certainly be in for at least a slight bump in minutes if he continues to thrive in that key defensive role, and he's more than capable of contributing on the other end of the floor with his long-distance marksmanship. It's also worth noting Harris has an even better effort against the Clippers on his 2019-20 season resume, as he posted 29.6 FD points over 24 minutes versus L.A. back on Jan. 12.
JaMychal Green, LAC vs. DEN ($3,900)
There's always some question about how much you'll get fantasy-wise from Green, considering his minutes can fluctuate off the bench depending on game flow. However, things have looked good from that standpoint in the series, as the veteran big man has logged 21 and 26 minutes in the first two contests. What you can count on the most from Green when he's on the floor is some rebounding and three-point shooting, both which played a part in him compiling 22.2 FD points in Game 2 after a solid 15.9 in Game 1. His price minimizes the risk factors as well, and you can essentially bank on the fact he'll never be very highly rostered. Additionally, the matchup on paper favors Green's offensive profile to an extent, considering the Nuggets check in allowing the ninth-highest offensive efficiency rating (43.9), second-highest overall shooting percentage (47.9) and co-highest three-point percentage (37.7) to second-unit players.
Other under-the-radar value plays to consider: Paul Millsap, DEN vs. LAC ($4,900)
Popular value plays to consider: Marcus Smart, BOS ($5,700); Daniel Theis, BOS ($5,600); Montrezl Harrell, LAC ($5,200); Marcus Morris, LAC ($5,200); Lou Williams, LAC ($5,100); Jerami Grant, DEN ($5,000); Michael Porter, DEN ($5,000); Ivica Zubac, LAC ($5,000)
