This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
The NBA's conference semifinal round tips off Saturday night with a highly anticipated Game 1 between the Timberwolves and Nuggets. The two squads come in well rested and at near full health, although the Nuggets do have one questionable tag that bears monitoring.
With only one matchup, we're dealing with FanDuel's single-game contest rosters 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 salaries also being different than in conventional FanDuel contests and top players inevitably headed for heavy rostering, there are strategic elements particular to single-game lineups. Finding 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
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 4 @12:00 a.m. EDT:
Minnesota Timberwolves at Denver Nuggets (-4.5) (O/U: 207.5)
The Nuggets' status as solid but not extensive home favorites is certainly understandable, given their 33-8 home mark since the start of the campaign. However, the Timberwolves are an intriguing underdog, considering they split the season series with Denver and also recorded one of their victories at Ball Arena.
The projected total of just 207.5 points is also unsurprising, as these teams know each other well, the T-Wolves are one of the teams that at least has a reasonable chance of making life a bit challenging for Nikola Jokic, and each squad is capable ratcheting up the defense when necessary.
Injury Situations to Monitor
For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.
Jamal Murray, DEN (calf): QUESTIONABLE
Murray is likely to play through his questionable tag after doing so on multiple occasions in the first round, but if he were to unexpectedly sit, Reggie Jackson would be due for a start at point guard.
Elite Players
The two highest-salaried players on the slate are Nikola Jokic ($17,500) and Anthony Edwards ($15,000).
Jokic is the clear-cut top candidate for the MVP spot after averaging 63.3 FD points (non-multiplier) in the first round, including a trio of tallies over 62. He also had three games with more than 55 FD points in the four meetings with the T-Wolves during the regular season.
Edwards opened the first-round series against the Suns with a ragged performance, but he bounced back to score 42 to 66.8 FD points in the final three games. Edwards shot 51.2 percent, including 43.8 percent from three-point range, in that span, and he was impressive versus the Nuggets during the regular season with averages of 26.0 points, 4.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals while shooting 48.1 percent.
Expected Chalk
With only one matchup, the likes of Jamal Murray ($14,000), Rudy Gobert ($13,000) and Karl-Anthony Towns ($12,500) should also be very popular. All three make for great options in the STAR or PRO slots.
Assuming Murray plays through his calf issue, he'll look to build on a first-round series against the Lakers where he averaged 41.1 FD points despite shooting only 40.0 percent. It's also worth noting that despite the fact he shot 53.8 percent from three-point range against Minnesota in three regular-season games, Murray averaged just 17.3 points per contest and put up 14.3 shot attempts per game (16.7 overall for the season).
Gobert averaged 38.8 FD points per contest over the last three games of the first-round sweep of the Suns before totaling 21.5 in 25 minutes in the decisive Game 4 contest. Gobert averaged a solid 12.7 points, 13.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.0 steals in three games against the Nuggets during the regular season, and he typically boasts a floor of 30-35 FD points.
Getting Towns on the floor for the final two games of the regular season proved key for the T-Wolves, as the big man was able to shake off rust from his long layoff due to a knee injury and ended up averaging 34.1 FD points in the first round while shooting 53.1 percent, including 52.9 percent from behind the arc. Now back to full health and conditioning, Towns could play a key role in Game 1 and beyond in this semifinal-round clash.
Key Values
The following players make for strong candidates for the Utility spots:
Michael Porter, DEN ($11,000)
Porter comes into this series red hot, as he averaged 38.5 FD points across the five first-round contests versus the Lakers while putting up 22.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game. The talented wing shot a crisp 55.3 percent, including 48.8 percent from behind the arc, and he scored at least 29.3 FD points in three of four regular-season contests against the Timberwolves this season. Even though he shares the floor with some very high-usage options. Porter still averaged 15.2 shot attempts per game during the first round and should continue to be heavily involved as the semifinals begin.
Aaron Gordon, DEN ($10,500)
Gordon was also an important complementary source of production for the Nuggets in the first round, and in Game 3 against the Lakers, he was arguably the most important player on the floor for Denver. Gordon produced 52.5 FD points in that game on a 29-point, 15-rebound double-double, and he also had a pair of 34+ FD-point contributions during the series. Gordon shot 48.3 percent during the regular season versus Minnesota as well, and even though he remained very modestly involved offensively in that sample with just 7.3 shot attempts per game, he averaged 10.6 in the first round against the Lakers.
ALSO CONSIDER: Mike Conley, MIN ($10,000)
