This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We have a single-game slate Wednesday, as the Heat and Celtics face off in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference finals series. Boston finally made one of its early leads stick in Saturday night's Game 3, halving their two-game deficit and making it a competitive series again after collapsing in the first two installments against the Heat.
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 rosters. Finding key value plays for the two utility spots is undoubtedly pivotal, as it enables you to fill out the multiplier spots with some of the top projected producers.
We'll proceed to examine the important 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 Wednesday's single-game slate!
Slate Overview
Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat (Projected total: 210.0 points):
The Celtics appeared to find an answer to the Heat's zone defense to an extent in Game 3, leading to a 48.2 percent shooting night for Boston. The return of Gordon Hayward didn't necessarily have an impact on the offensive end – he went just 2-for-7 from the field while likely working off some rust – but a healthier and more conditioned version of the veteran wing will take the floor Wednesday, upping Boston's offensive expectations to a degree.
It's also worth noting that although Saturday's game did finish with a hefty 223 combined points, the Celtics lowering the Heat's shooting percentage for the second consecutive game after allowing a 47.1 percent success rate in Game 1. That figure was down to 44.4 percent in Game 2 and tumbled to a paltry 34.6 percent in Game 3. In other words, coach Brad Stevens may have figured out a few wrinkles, and with Hayward's solid defense now part of the picture, the going could get even tougher for Miami 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): Jayson Tatum enjoyed a bounce-back game Saturday night with 51.8 non-multiplier FD points by bumping his rebounds up to 14 after going for just five in Game 2. That makes him an excellent candidate for this 2x spot, but Bam Adebayo has arguably supplanted teammate Jimmy Butler as the best selection on the Heat. While Butler can naturally still be considered, he's now scored under 40 non-multiplier FD points in three straight to open the series, and Adebayo has produced rising totals of 44, 46 and 59.7 non-multiplier tallies in the same span. The big man double-doubled in Games 2 and 3, and with between 12 and 16 shot attempts in the first three contests against Boston as well, the offensive usage appears to be secure.
STAR (1.5x): In turn, Butler may now be one of the top candidates for this slotting. The veteran is still averaging a solid 17.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.0 steals across 38.7 minutes in the series, but he hasn't seen the type of spike performances like he enjoyed on a couple of occasions apiece against the Pacers and Bucks in the first two rounds of the postseason. The Celtics' Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker also continued to play very well in Game 3, with both players turning in their second consecutive strong shooting nights. Brown was over 50.0 percent from the floor in Game 3 after also accomplishing the feat in Game 2, while Walker went 8-for-16 himself, including 4-for-8 from three-point range.
PRO (1.2x): There are several strong complementary options on either side that could be a good fit for this category. Jae Crowder, Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro certainly qualify for the Heat, and all three players could also be considered for the Utility spots. Additionally, Goran Dragic, who slumped to 20.0 percent shooting in Game 3 and may have therefore soured plenty on him, is a nice fit here as well. It's important to keep in mind Dragic had shot 55.3 percent in the first two contests against Boston, including 46.2 percent from distance, and 47.7 percent overall in the postseason. On the Celtics' side, if not slotting Marcus Smart into a Utility spot, he's definitely worthy of consideration here, considering he's averaging 20.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and shooting 46.3 percent over the first three games of the series. Hayward is also a somewhat riskier candidate to consider, as he's certainly talented enough to produce but this will only be his second game back after an extended layoff.
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.
Gabe Vincent, MIA (knee)- QUESTIONABLE
Romeo Langford, BOS (wrist)- OUT
Chris Silva, MIA- (pelvis)- OUT
Elite Players
The three highest-priced players on the slate continue to be Jayson Tatum ($16K), Bam Adebayo ($15.5K) and Jimmy Butler ($14K). After three straight sub-40-fantasy-point tallies to open the series, Butler continues to see his price drop. At this point, it's difficult to argue he has the same type of upside that Tatum or Adebayo bring to the table, although he naturally still has the talent to pop off on any given night. Meanwhile, Jaylen Brown is priced $1k cheaper than Butler, but he produced 51.9 non-multiplier FD points in Game 3 and has eclipsed 40 FD points on five other occasions this postseason.
Expected Chalk
With only one game on the ledger, the quartet mentioned in the prior section should be even more popular than usual. Additionally, important complementary pieces already mentioned earlier such as Dragic, Herro, Walker, Smart and Crowder should also be heavily rostered.
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:
Tyler Herro, MIA vs. BOS ($10,000)
Herro's salary is climbing, but this is still a good price point for a player that's found a way to consistently contribute off the bench and is seeing what are essentially starter-level minutes. The rookie has proven the postseason stage isn't too big for him, as he's scored 29.3 to 36.7 FD points in the first three games versus Boston. What's particularly impressive is that in contrast to a teammate with a somewhat similar offensive profile, Duncan Robinson, Herro won't necessarily blow up one of your roster spots if his shot is off. He's been a very active rebounder with an average of 7.7 boards thus far in the series, and he also has one nine-assist tally against Boston. Having logged no fewer than 32 minutes in any of the first three games, expect Herro to be out there plenty again Wednesday, giving him a good chance to offer a solid return on investment.
Jae Crowder, MIA vs. BOS ($9,500)
Crowder continues to hold his spot in this space, as there's simply no reason to move off him as a value consideration. The veteran's price has held steady at its current point throughout the series, and after a one-game slight dip in production to a still-solid 27.8 FD points in Game 2, he was back to 29.7 FD points Saturday. That makes it six of the last seven games with more than 29 FD points for Crowder, who's been able to make up for pedestrian shooting with production in other areas. The minutes continue to be consistently over 30 as well, another important factor keeping him very viable at his salary.
Other value plays to consider: Marcus Smart, BOS ($10,000)
