This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
Do-or-die time has arrived for the Dallas Mavericks, which face a seemingly insurmountable three-game series deficit heading into Tuesday night's Game 4. Dallas does have the comfort of its home floor, but that wasn't enough in a 109-100 loss in Game 3. The Warriors are a battle-tested bunch that have been in this spot on many occasions, but even with the circumstances stacked against them, the Mavericks are still slight home favorites as of early Tuesday.
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
Golden State Warriors at Dallas Mavericks (-1) (Projected total: 215.5 points)
Oddsmakers continue to have stubborn faith in the Mavericks, as they remain very narrow favorites despite home-floor advantage not having led to a win in Game 3. Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson are certainly reliable real-world and fantasy producers for Dallas, but the rest of the roster is a bit hit-or-miss. That makes the Mavs a risky fantasy proposition outside of its stellar starting backcourt, but the landscape is completely different on the other side.
Not only has Stephen Curry bounced back from a few sub-par shooting games to post over 50.0 percent success rates overall and from distance in the last two games, but Andrew Wiggins continues to enjoy a stellar series and the likes of Kevon Looney, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green have been solid complementary fantasy options as well.
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) remain as the clear-cut top candidates for this spot following their Game 3 efforts.
Doncic once again thrived Sunday night, leading the way for Dallas in a losing effort with 63.7 FD points across 40 minutes. Luka is shooting 50.0 percent, including 47.4 percent from three-point range, over the last two games, and he's scored at least 50 FD points in 10 of 13 postseason games.
Curry is now on a two-game heater, having averaged 31.5 points on 51.2 percent shooting, including 55.0 percent from three-point range, while also recording 8.0 assists and 6.5 rebounds in that span. The sharpshooter is averaging 48.0 FD points dating back to Game 6 against the Grizzlies in the semifinal round.
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 Jalen Brunson ($13,500), Andrew Wiggins ($13,000) and Klay Thompson ($11,500).
Brunson went off for his second best fantasy-point tally of the postseason in Game 2 (44.9) and has now cleared 29 FD points in 12 playoff games overall. Five of those instances have also come in the last six games, and he's now shooting a solid 47.4 percent overall in the playoffs.
Wiggins was spectacular in Game 3, generating 44.7 FD points on the strength of a 27-point, 11-rebound double-double. He's recorded at least 33.5 FD points in each game of the series thus far and is shooting 48.6 percent, including 39.7 percent from behind the arc, in his 14 postseason games.
Thompson shot only 6-for-18 in Game 3 but still came up with a solid 31.9 FD points across 39 minutes. He's now averaging 32.6 FD points across 16 postseason games and his shooting 46.3 percent in the first three games against the Mavericks.
PRO (1.2x): Whichever of the trio mentioned for the STAR position is certainly a consideration for this spot, as are Kevon Looney ($12,500) and Jordan Poole ($11,000).
Looney has consistently gotten the best of the Mavericks over the first three games, and he's putting up 11.0 points, 12.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists across 31 minutes over the last four postseason tilts overall dating back to Game 6 of the semifinal-round series against the Grizzlies. The Mavericks sport the lowest rebounding rate of the original 16-team playoff field (45.3 percent), so Looney should be counted for another strong night on the boards at minimum.
Poole dipped to 21.4 FD points in Game 3, but he averaged 31.3 FD points across 27.5 minutes in Games 1 and 2 while shooting a blistering 68.2 percent in that sample. Poole is averaging 30.8 FD points in 14 postseason games overall, and given he's put up over 50 FD points in two postseason games already, he certainly has the upside to serve as viable salary-saving tournament play.
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.
Otto Porter, GSW (foot)/ Status: DOUBTFUL
With Porter likely to log an absence, Juan Toscano-Anderson could be the beneficiary off the bench.
Other notable injuries:
Andre Iguodala, GSW (neck)/ Status: GTD
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 Tuesday.
Expected Chalk
With only one game on the ledger, the likes of Jalen Brunson ($13,500), Andrew Wiggins ($13,000), Kevon Looney ($12,500) and Klay Thompson ($11,500) 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:
Draymond Green, GSW ($10,500)
Green's production hasn't been the easiest to predict this series, as he's sandwiched tallies of 33.3 and 29.5 FD points around a 16.7-FD-point clunker in Game 2. Green's involvement on the offensive end was notably up in Game 3, as he took a series-high 10 shot attempts while also checking off every box on the stat sheet. If he can approximate the usage and log over 30 minutes for the second game in a row, he could deliver nicely as a value tournament play, considering he's eclipsed 30 FD points on six occasions in 14 playoff games.
Spencer Dinwiddie, DAL ($10,000)
Dinwiddie has been similarly up and down, but at $500 less than Green, he also makes for an intriguing GPP option. The veteran guard came off the bench to contribute 26 points in Game 3, and he also recorded 42.6 FD points four games ago on the strength of a 30-point showing in Game 7 of the semifinal-round series over the Suns. Dinwiddie is averaging 23.5 FD points and shooting 39.3 percent from three-point range over 16 playoff games overall, and he's shooting 57.7 percent, including 51.5 percent from behind the arc, in the last five postseason games.
