Following a heartbreaking Game 4 finish, the Spurs return home for a Game 5 that could mark the end of the line on what has been a memorable season and postseason. Naturally, San Antonio should put up quite the fight, and they'll notably be able to do it at full strength and as a solid home favorite.
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 roster rates, there are definitely strategic elements particular to single-game lineups. Finding value for your 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
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Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Saturday, June 13 @ 12:00 a.m. EDT:
- New York Knicks at San Antonio Spurs (-5.5) (O/U: 216.5)
Despite how Game 4 played out, the Spurs are solid home favorites in their return to Frost Bank Center, and it's not entirely surprising. San Antonio has played well for at least parts of all four games of the series, and there's certainly an argument to be made they could have/should have won both Games 2 and 4.
The Spurs also posted a 32-8 mark straight up at home during the regular season, and although they're only 6-5 at the Frost Bank Center in the postseason, the stakes of the game and the motivation to atone for the epic Game 4 collapse are certainly factoring heavily into the line.
The relatively modest projected total also makes sense, considering the two teams know each other very well at this point and the first four games have played to totals of 216 points or fewer.
Injury Situations to Monitor
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Elite Players
The player with the highest MVP salary on Saturday's slate is Victor Wembanyama ($25,500). Karl-Anthony Towns ($18,300) and Jalen Brunson ($18,000) sports the second- and third-highest salaries in that spot.
Wembanyama has now scored over 50 non-multiplier FD points in three straight games, and he's averaging 55.2 overall in the series. The big man has played no fewer than 38 minutes in any of those contests as well, and he therefore seems to offer the best combination of floor and upside.
Towns has scored just 36.1 and 25.0 non-multiplier FD points in the last two games, but he averaged 43.0 over the first pair of Finals contests.
Brunson has put up at least 25 shot attempts in each of the first four games, and he's eclipsed 40 non-multiplier FD points in three of them on his way to an average of 44.4 non-multiplier FD points per contest over 38.5 minutes per game.
Expected Chalk
With only one matchup, the likes of Stephon Castle ($9,600), Josh Hart ($8,600) and OG Anunoby ($7,400) should also be very popular as non-MVP candidates.
Castle's foul trouble helped cap his production in Game 4, but the fact he's averaged 33.5 FD points since the start of the Western Conference Finals should ensure he's on plenty of rosters.
Hart's offensive involvement has been mostly limited in the first four games, but his Finals average of 30.8 FD points over 28.3 minutes per game fueled by his rebounding and defensive work should continue to keep his roster rate high.
Anunoby will naturally be on the field's mind thanks to his Game 4 heroics, but he should also be very popular thanks to the fact he's averaging 37.4 FD points during the series and has eclipsed 40 in the last two games.
Key Values
The following players make for strong candidates for the Utility spots:
De'Aaron Fox, SAN ($7,200)
Fox was one of the Spurs shouldering a bit of extra blame for the late-game portion of the Game 4 collapse, as he had a would-be layup that he arguably shouldn't have been attempting blocked by Anunoby at a critical juncture. Nevertheless, the veteran guard could prove to be a bargain at his salary, as he's averaging 31.6 FD points over the first four games of the series and has eclipsed 33 FD points in three straight. Fox is shooting just 38.2 percent in that span as well, so even a slight improvement on that front could lead to a particularly rewarding performance.
Dylan Harper, SAN ($5,600)
Harper has been outstanding by any standard this postseason, but considering he's a rookie, his play particularly stands out. The No. 2 overall pick has seemingly only gotten more consistent as the stakes have risen, as he's averaging 28.5 FD points via 16.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists during the Finals thus far. Harper is shooting a crisp 48.1 percent in the sample as well, and he's scored in double digits in six straight overall dating back to Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals. Harper clearly has head coach Mitch Johnson's confidence, as he's also been afforded exactly 32 minutes off the bench in each of the last three games. Given his current role and production, he could turn out to be the top fantasy-point-per-dollar option of the non-MVP slot candidates for Saturday's slate.
Devin Vassell, SAN ($5,400)
If Harper doesn't turn out to be the best bargain of the evening, then Vassell could well lay claim to that title. The veteran wing has averaged 26.3 FD points in the series, shooting 51.5 percent, including an elite 48.0 percent from three-point range. Zooming out to the entirety of the postseason, Vassell is putting up 28.2 FD points per game on the strength of 13.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals across 34.6 minutes per contest, a sample of 22 games. Given how efficient he's been against the Knicks – he also recorded 31.9 FD points on 50.0 percent shooting in his one non-NBA Cup game against them in the regular season – and his bargain salary, Vassell is firmly in play as a value option.
ALSO CONSIDER: Julian Champagnie, SAN ($4,400)
