This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We're down to just a single-game slate Thursday, as the Lakers and Rockets face off in a pivotal Game 4 of a series Los Angeles currently leads by a 2-1 margin. As such, 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 rosters. Finding key value plays for the two utility spots is undoubtedly important, as it enables you to fill out the multiplier spots with some of the top projected producers.
We'll proceed to examine the key injuries for the day below and will also break down the positional outlook, before reviewing possible chalk plays and some of the value plays that could help you round out your lineups with a couple of superstars.
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.
Without further ado, let's dive into Thursday's single-game slate!
Slate Overview
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Houston Rockets (Projected total: 220.5 points):
Despite the four mega-stars on these two teams, two of the first three games in this series have finished with relatively muted totals of 209 and 214 points. The one exception was Game 2, when the squads combined for 226 points. The 56.5 percent shooting the Lakers managed in that contest and the better-than-40-percent three-point success rate each team also boasted supports the notion they're certainly capable of hitting Thursday's projected number. However, it's worth noting the Lakers have now held Houston to 115 points or less in five of six meetings since the start of the campaign, and even with both Harden and Westbrook getting hot Tuesday, the Rockets still managed just 102 points overall.
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): With LeBron James scoring over 64 FD points in each of the last two games and failing to hit 50 FD points just twice in eight playoff games, he's the most obvious choice for this spot. Naturally, James Harden's ability to put up a monster performance on any given night – with three-point shooting, which is especially valuable in a spot that accrues points at 2x, usually playing a large part -- could arguably make him the second-most appealing candidate. Anthony Davis, who boasts an average of 53.7 FD points per game this postseason, is also a very viable option here.
STAR (1.5x): Russell Westbrook has endured some struggles this postseason, at times scuffling with his shot and at others not rebounding or facilitating at his usual levels. The fluctuations have led to four sub-32.0-FD-point tallies, making him the likely ideal candidate for this slot. The 1.5-point multiplier will certainly give him the needed boost if he's having one of his underwhelming performances, and it could pay off nicely if he, for example, boosts his current series average of 5.3 assists to more of his top-end level.
PRO (1.2x): This slot is an ideal one for players who might be a second or third option offensively on their squad and are capable of offering well-rounded production. As such, Robert Covington -- who isn't even on the injury report despite his scary collision with Anthony Davis in Game 3 -- and Rajon Rondo could be excellent candidates for this designation, with each already having eclipsed 30 FD points twice in this series. Rondo is still coming off the bench, but he's logged 29 and 30 minutes the last two games and parlayed them into FD-point tallies of 41.1 and 36.9, meaning he should continue enjoying expanded opportunity.
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.
Anthony Davis, LAL (ribs)
Davis is probable due to a right rib contusion he apparently picked up in Game 3. He's fully expected to play.
LeBron James (calf)
James is considered probable with the calf bruise he apparently picked up in Game 3. He's fully expected to play.
JaVale McGee, LAL (ankle)
McGee is considered probable with an ankle injury he's been nursing. The issue helped limit him to seven minutes in Game 3, so the big man could be in for another limited workload.
Danuel House, HOU (personal)
House has been ruled out for Game 4. In his absence in Game 3, Jeff Green saw his minutes shoot up to 35, and he could therefore be in for another substantial workload.
Other injuries to monitor:
Dion Waiters, LAL (groin)- DOUBTFUL
Elite Players
The four highest-priced players on the slate are exactly whom you'd expect – LeBron James ($16K), Anthony Davis ($15.5K), James Harden ($15K) and Russell Westbrook ($13K). As mentioned earlier, James has eclipsed 60 FD points in each of the last two games of the series and shapes up as the safest option, although Davis isn't far behind him and certainly hasn't been below 50 FD points yet this series. Harden was back up over 20 shot attempts in Game 3 after dipping to 12 in Game 2, while Westbrook finally found his groove offensively in Game 3 with a 13-for-24 effort from the floor after going a combined 14-for-39 in the first two contests against the Lakers. However, his reduced price compared to the rest of the trio more than accounts from some of the variance he's displayed.
Expected Chalk
With only one game on the ledger, the quartet listed in the prior section should be even more popular than usual, as should certain complementary pieces such as Robert Covington, P.J. Tucker, Eric Gordon and Rajon Rondo.
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:
Kyle Kuzma, LAL vs. HOU ($9,500)
Jeff Green is likely to be more popular option at this price point with Danuel House (personal) out again for Houston, so nabbing Kuzma instead might give you at least some leverage in tournaments. The versatile forward has contributed 24.2 and 23.6 FanDuel points in the last two games of the series, logging 21 and 24 minutes in those contests. Kuzma is encouragingly displaying a hot hand, draining 13 of 17 attempts during that span while also averaging 3.0 rebounds, 1.0 steal and 1.0 block. Kuzma has generally thrived when facing Houston, as he also had tallies of 32.1 and 42.5 FD points versus the Rockets in the regular season. Finally, consider the Rockets check in ranked in the bottom 10 in offensive efficiency rating allowed to frontcourts (81.5) and second-unit players (44.1), furthering Kuzma's case.
Eric Gordon, HOU vs. LAL ($9,500)
Gordon is coming off a rare down performance in Game 3, as he went just 2-for-9 from the floor on his way to a modest 10 points. That resulted in his lowest fantasy-point tally (17.4) since his delayed seeding-game debut Aug. 12. However, considering Gordon had scored 27.8 to 34.3 FD points in the other nine playoff games he'd played prior to Tuesday, he's a good bet to bounce back in Game 4. Gordon had shot 50.0 percent in each of the first two games of the series before Tuesday's clunker as well, further supporting the notion of a bounce-back effort.
Popular value plays to consider: Rajon Rondo, LAL ($10,500); P.J. Tucker, HOU ($10,000); Jeff Green, HOU ($9,500)
