Miami Heat vs Los Angeles Lakers (-5)

Game Total: 217.5

Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Lakers and Heat kick off tonight. On paper it's clear to see where the star power lies with LeBron James and Anthony Davis carrying the Lakers into the finals in their first year together. Vegas has the Lakers as huge favorites in this series and should the succeed in capturing the title it will largely be on the shoulders of their two stars. On the opposite side the Heat are truly a "team" when it comes to their success in the bubble. When needed, Jimmy Butler has shouldered the load but the steady play of Goran Dragic and the emergance of Bam Adebayo as well as Tyler Herro has really guided the Heat further than many expected them to go as they find themslves with a shot to be NBA champions.

Please note the players listed are in order of preference. If a player is not mentioned that does not mean they are a full fade and should still be considered for your lineups given the showdown nature.

MVP/CPT

1. LeBron James - I mean, is there really anyone else? James closed out the Western Conference Finals with 38 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists. Now that the championship is a mere four wins out I expect to get NBA Finals level production out of LBJ on a night-to-night basis and that means as an MVP/CPT we could be seeing 90-to-100 FP. The Heat will look to check James with Jimmy Butler , Jae Crowder and even old foe Andre Iguodala but Iggy isn't the same player that won the finals MVP in 2015.

2. Goran Dragic - Dragic was as steady as steady could be during the Eastern Conference Finals against the Celtics, scoring 20+ point in four of the six games. In his lone appearance against the Lakers this season he had 19 points, six rebounds and seven assists. He is much cheaper than the top tier players in this series but I could see him being crucial to any success the Heat have here and for the value I will take my shot.

3. Anthony Davis - Bam was great and all against Boston but this is Anthony Davis we are talking about here. AD is averaging 31 points and six rebounds over the past five games. He will have a big size advantage on the Miami front court in this series. Against the Heat this season he averaged 29.5 points, nine rebounds, four assists, three blocks and one steal over two games.

Mid-Tier

1. Rajon Rondo - Rondo may have only played 13 minutes against the Nuggets in the Lakers closeout victory but throughout the series he was a solid contributor and his ability to fill up the stat sheet is why we like his value on this slate. If the Lakers get  him going and we see showtime Rondo on the floor he will crush his price tag. I also expect him to be a fairly high owned player throughout this series given his name and fantasy potential.

2. Tyler Herro - The Lakers have some decent perimeter defenders in Danny Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope but that shouldn't stop Herro from seeing 30-to-40 minutes a night. Herro isn't a one trick pony and that is what I love about his game. As a guar is he averaging nearly five rebounds and four assists to go along with his 23 points over the last four games. We also saw what his ceiling looks like when he does get going like on the night he dropped 37 points on the Celtics in Game 4.

3. Jimmy Butler - I know it took this long to get to Butler but the price isn't cheap. However, we are in the finals and when it comes down to it, Butler is the Heat's best player. I expect him to rise to the occasion and play like their best player in this series. The problem is that we haven't seen that type of upside since the Heat's series against the Bucks so if you pay for him and he is just OK then its wasted salary.

Dart Throw

1. Duncan Robinson - I am just going to re-name this section after Robinson as he is the epitomy of a dart throw. He only shoots threes and on the nights that he hits then his minutes increase and so does his fantasy floor. Night's where he goes cold then we tend to see Spolestra go elsewhere. I also wonder here how much Iguodala plays and if he plays over Robinson or over someone like Jae Crowder

2. Dwight Howard - Howard started seeing the majority of the team's minutes at center over the last two games against the Nuggets and the production was there. He has a tough test here against Bam Adebayo who was dominant against the Celtics throughout the series. If he frusterates Howard he could find himself in ealry foul trouble and that would kill his value.