This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We're set for a two-game slate Friday night that sees the Celtics looking to carry their momentum from a laugher of a Game 2 win over the 76ers into enemy territory and the Nuggets trying to take a commanding 3-0 lead against the Suns.
Slate Overview
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As of early Friday, the Celtics and Suns are two and four-point favorites, respectively, on FanDuel Sportsbook. However, the Boston-Philadelphia number could be on the move if Joel Embiid is announced as out.
Projected totals are both modest, with the Eastern Conference battle sporting a figure of 214 points and the Western Conference clash checking in at 225 points.
Injury Situations to Monitor
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Joel Embiid, PHI (knee): QUESTIONABLE
Embiid managed to play through his knee issue on Wednesday and logged 26 minutes, but he looked tentative and limited at times. If he can't go Friday, Paul Reed would presumably slide into the starting five.
Chris Paul, PHO (groin): OUT
In Paul's absence, Cameron Payne is likely to start at point guard and Devin Booker could also see an uptick in ball-handling responsibilities.
Elite Players
We have four players with five-figure salaries on Friday's slate – Nikola Jokic ($11,500), Joel Embiid ($10,800), Jayson Tatum ($10,500) and Devin Booker ($10,000).
Jokic went off for 71.7 FD points across 41 minutes in Game 2, his third total over 67 across the last four outings.
As mentioned earlier, Embiid played modest minutes Wednesday and certainly won't be at full health even if on the floor, so there's a solid chance he may not be able to fully deliver on his lofty salary.
Tatum only played 19 minutes in the Game 2 blowout, so he should be well rested and notably hung 64.7 FD points on the 76ers across 43 minutes in the opener.
Booker is averaging 47.8 FD points per 36 minutes without Paul on the floor and has posted 49.8 and 48 FD points in the first two games against the Nuggets.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Kevin Durant, PHO ($9,900)
Durant has produced 52.3 and 45.1 FD points in the first two games of the series and hasn't yet gone under 42.7 this postseason.
James Harden, PHI ($9,300)
Harden turned in a clunker in Game 2 that saw him shoot 2-for-14 from the floor, but his 58.2 FD points on Monday and the possibility Embiid misses out or is limited should keep The Beard very popular.
Jamal Murray, DEN ($9,000)
Murray slogged through his first inefficient night of the postseason Wednesday, but he should remain a solid choice after averaging 47 FD points over his first six playoff appearances.
Jaylen Brown, BOS ($8,600)
Brown is shooting 58.8 percent - including 65.5 from three-point range - in the last five postseason games while averaging 40.4 FD points in the sample.
Tyrese Maxey, PHI ($7,300)
The combination of Maxey's salary and the fact he'd averaged 36.1 FD points per game in the five contests prior to Wednesday should keep him in plenty of lineups.
Key Values
Malcolm Brogdon, BOS at PHI ($5,900)
Brogdon continued his stellar postseason in Game 2 by recording 36.2 FD points across 24 minutes for his second-highest fantasy-point tally of the playoffs. He's now averaging 27.8 FD points across 27.6 minutes over the last seven games while shooting 48.9 percent, including 39.5 from behind the arc. With double-digit shot attempts in each of those outings and plenty of postseason experience to lean on, Brogdon is very appealing at his salary.
Aaron Gordon, DEN at PHO ($5,800)
Gordon has scored 32.2 and 25.7 FD points in his first two games this series and is averaging 26.8 FD points while shooting 55.2 percent - including 42.1 from three-point range - over his first seven postseason appearances. The big man logged 39 minutes in both Games 1 and 2 and should be in line for another solid output if he receives a similar workload Friday.
Cameron Payne, PHO vs. DEN ($5,000)
Payne should be very popular if he's indeed announced as the starter in place of Paul, as he averaged 30.4 FD points in 15 starts during the regular season. The veteran guard eclipsed 30 FD points in seven of those games, including four over 40. The Nuggets are allowing the 10th-highest offensive efficiency rating to point guards since the start of the regular season (27.2), further enhancing Payne's prospects at his very modest salary.
ALSO CONSIDER: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, DEN vs. PHO ($4,800); Paul Reed, PHI vs. BOS ($4,700)
