The 76ers appeared to be on the brink of exiting the first round just a few short days ago, but Saturday night, the spotlight is on Philadelphia as it looks to pull off a three-game comeback in its first-round series against the Celtics. The high-stakes matchup between Atlantic Division rivals is the only game on the NBA postseason docket Saturday, setting up an interesting night of DFS lineup construction.
With only one matchup, we're dealing with FanDuel's single-game contest rosters comprised as follows:
- MVP- (Garners points at 1.5x the normal rate)
- Five Utility spots- (Garner points at normal rate)
With salaries 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 some of utility spots is undoubtedly key, as it enables you to roster a superstar in the MVP slot, where salaries for each player are 1.5x higher than if you were rostering them in a Utility spot.
Slate Overview
For the latest spreads and over/unders, visit RotoWire's NBA Odds page. There, you can also find player props, futures, picks articles and sportsbook bonus codes.
Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Saturday, May 2 @12:30 a.m. EDT:
Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics (-7.5) (O/U: 205.5)
Despite Philadelphia's furious rally in the series and Joel Embiid expected to be available, the Celtics are still getting plenty of respect from oddsmakers in a Game 7 home setting. Getting three consecutive wins over a talented Boston squad is certainly a tall task, so neither the spread nor the modest projected total is surprising.
Injury Situations to Monitor
For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.
Joel Embiid, PHI (abdomen): PROBABLE
Embiid is expected to suit up without restrictions for a fourth straight game. If there are any in-game setbacks, then Adem Bona and Andre Drummond will be in line for a bump in minutes.
Elite Players
The player with the highest MVP salary on Saturday's slate is Jayson Tatum ($21,900). Joel Embiid ($21,300) and Tyrese Maxey ($20,100) sport the next-highest salaries in that slot.
Tatum has been outstanding throughout the series in both the Celtics' wins and losses, averaging 47.1 conventional FD points on the strength of 23.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.2 steals per contest. Tatum should be in for minutes in the high 30s at minimum barring a blowout in either direction, and his versatile production makes him a prime candidate for the multiplier spot.
Embiid hasn't looked limited in any of his first three games of the series, averaging 48.3 conventional FD points via 26.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists per contest while averaging 35.7 minutes.
Maxey has eclipsed 51 conventional FD points in three of the first six games, and he also put up 45.9 FD points in Game 6. He also comes into Game 7 with a hot hand, having shot 51.9 percent, including 45.5 percent from behind the arc, over the last three contests.
Expected Chalk
With only one matchup, the likes of Jaylen Brown ($12,200), Paul George ($9,800) and VJ Edgecombe ($8,200) should also be very popular as non-MVP candidates.
Brown has scored over 35 conventional FD points in four of the first six games of the series, and his upside should make him very popular if you're not paying up for the top three players.
George has been very steady since Game 2, scoring between 30.5 and 41.3 conventional FD points in that five-game span.
Edgecombe has averaged 30.1 conventional FD points over the first six games of the series, and his salary is reasonable enough where he could be very popular as somewhat of a high-end value option.
Key Values
The following players make for strong candidates for the Utility spots:
Payton Pritchard, BOS ($6,600)
Pritchard had a subdued performance back in Game 2, but he's otherwise been impressive off the bench during the series. The veteran sharpshooter is averaging 29.2 FD points on 47.5 percent shooting, including 37.1 percent from three-point range, over the last four contests, while putting up 14.8 shot attempts in 32.5 minutes per game. Both the usage and playing time off the second unit are impressive, and Pritchard should have plenty of opportunity to pile up numbers again as Boston looks to close out the series.
Kelly Oubre, PHI at BOS ($5,200)
Oubre has had a bit of an up-and-down series due to a pair of duds in Games 4 and 5. However, he bounced back in Game 6 with 35.3 FD points over 39 minutes, and he also averaged a respectable-for-his-salary 23.4 over the first three installments of the first round. Oubre has taken double-digit shot attempts in four contests in the series as well, and he also had one 30.8 FD-point tally against Boston during the regular season. While he's clearly the fourth or fifth option with everyone on the Sixers first unit healthy, Oubre's salary offers significant savings and he does have 30+ FD-point upside in him.
Neemias Queta, BOS ($5,000)
Queta has had his hands full with Joel Embiid over the last three games, but he's holding his own with 21.0 FD points over 19.8 minutes per contest over the entirety of the series. Queta has eclipsed 20 FD points in each of the last four contests while shooting 69.2 percent, and the big man has 14- and 11-rebound tallies over the last two games in particular. Queta is pulling down 54.5 percent of his 14.7 rebounding opportunities during the series, so even a slight uptick in his 8.0 points-per-game average Saturday could lead to him delivering a strong return on salary.
ALSO CONSIDER: Derrick White, BOS ($6,800)
