Only two games taking place, but still plenty of solid gpp’s in the lobbies tonight. Both game ones ended in blowouts on Saturday so now we have to try to see how teams adjust, or if they try to stick with a similar game plan.
Miami @ Philadelphia -6.5 Total: 215.5 points
Philly extended their current winning streak to 17 games with a 130-103 game one win. The Heat were actually up four at halftime, but Philly took it to them in the second half. On the Heat side, Hassan Whiteside only played 12 minutes, but still checks in as the top priced Heat option tonight. Kelly Olynyk was much more able to keep up the fast pace of Philly, and went 26 and 7 over 31 minutes in the first game. It’s pretty hard to trust any Heat player to roster tonight, but they should also check in as the lowest owned options in a small two game slate. Dwayne Wade is fine as a cheap play, and Whiteside will get a bump if Embiid returns though.
On the Philly side, there are some hopes that they will have Joel Embiid back, and although he has been ruled out for game two tonight, we’ve seen crazier things this year. Ben Simmons fell a rebound shy of a triple double in his first playoff game, and remains a top triple double threat tonight. Dario Saric, JJ Redick, and Marco Belinelli all finished with at least 20 actual points, while Ersan Ilyasova went for 17 points and 14 boards. Robert Covington didn’t light up the scoreboards, but has another chance tonight with a much better price tag on DK than FD. All of those mentioned are in play, as well as their cheaper options in Michael Fultz and even Amir Johnson.
San Antonio @ Golden State -9.5 Total: 205.5 points
Unlike Philly, Golden State had this game from the opening quarter, and never looked back, winning 133-92. This game has a lower total than the first matchup, but can see a little more effort put in by the Spurs from the start tonight.
On the Spurs side, LaMarcus Aldridge was a huge disappointment, and played only 24 minutes. Back to back games of 5-12 shooting isn’t great, but if they are going to make a move tonight, Aldridge needs to come closer to his regular season averages of 23.1 points and 18 FGA. I expect more out of Dejounte Murray as well, but Rudy Gay should put up similar numbers as his 30 DK point game one throughout this entire series. Pau Gasol could be the sneaky Spurs player tonight. McGee could be one of the reasons for the Spurs, and Aldridge’s slow start. Starting Gasol at center at leaves moves Aldridge off of McGee.
Golden State made the surprise move that paid off with starting Andre Iguodala in game one. He still only played his typical 20 plus minutes, and produced his typical roughly 20 fantasy points. Klay Thompson was the hot hand, but with two games, it will be hard not to consider both Kevin Durant and Draymond Green. Durant has the possibility to outproduce Simmons in a close game, while Draymond finished two boards shy of a triple double, and a nice pivot off of Durant for roughly $3K cheaper.Javale McGee will likely be chased by many, but they went to him early and often on Saturday, and McGee still finished with only 16 minutes. Kevin Looney and David West saw a little more time on the court, and both could finish with more points than McGee tonight.