Philadelphia 76ers @ Atlanta Hawks
Over/Under: 217.5
Spread: PHI -7
Game 7
Philadelphia took care of business in Atlanta to bring the series back home and it is a telling point spread as the 76ers have all of the momentum in hand.
Injuries:
*Joel Embiid – Probable (knee)
*Trae Young – Probable (shoulder)
*Bogdan Bogdanovic – Questionable (knee)
*Danny Green – Out
*De’Andre Hunter – Out
*Cam Reddish - Out
Player Breakdown:
Joel Embiid – Philadelphia won despite an off-shooting night from the center (9 of 22 from the field) but Embiid still finished with 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the second straight game. In the six games Atlanta thus far, Embiid is just two rebounds shy of six consecutive double-doubles and he has earned each one. With eight turnovers on Friday, and 17 in his last three games, that is something to keep an eye on for Embiid but he performing at a high level regardless.
Trae Young – With 34 points and 12 assists on Friday, we can’t blame Young for the series being back in Philadelphia. Young continued his success on the big stage against the 76ers and even if Atlanta doesn’t emerge victorious, it likely won’t be due to the efforts of their star guard. It was the third time Young broke the 30-point mark against Philadelphia so far this series along with his fourth time handing out double-digit assists. It is clear that anywhere Atlanta goes, they will be led there by Young who has taken between 23 and 30 shots from the field in the last three games, so usage (or lack thereof) won’t be a concern.
Ben Simmons – Ten missed free throws. Ten. Yes, I know I repeated myself but I wanted to make sure you were aware that Simmons missed 10 free throws on Friday. Had the 76ers lost the game, trying to look for blame wouldn’t have been too difficult considering the ineptitude Simmons showed from the free throw line. He took four shots from the field, making two of them, for eight points. Scoring has been an issue for Simmons intermittently throughout his career, and with just one game of double-digit assists and one game of double-digit rebounds, the upside hasn’t been truly there. At the same time though, rotations are getting tighter and tighter and Simmons played between 34 and 38 minutes in the first six games of the series before seeing it drop down to 25 minutes on Friday.
John Collins – After three straight strong games, Collins took a step back on Friday scoring just seven points as he made two his eight field goal attempts. Collins still grabbed 10 rebounds but we were left wanting more as he didn’t appear to really be involved in the offense. His fellow big man, Clint Capela, generally isn’t featured much in the offensive game plan but he usually does a good job of finding his way into double figures. On Friday, Capela scored a series high 14 points while also pulling down 11 rebounds in what has come to be a standard effort from him and towards the upper level of what we can expect.
Tobias Harris – One player that we don’t need to worry about, is Harris. After an absolute dud of a performance in Game Five we saw Harris bounce back on Friday with a more customary effort; 24 points (on nine of 20 shooting) with five rebounds and two assists. I think its safe to assume we see a similar performance from Harris tonight as we can pencil him in for somewhere between 30 and 40 fantasy points once again.
Seth Curry – Curry continued his strong shooting from the field this series with 24 points on eight of 14 shooting to help force a Game Seven. The guard has been lights out from downtown and as long as he continues to convert at a prodigious rate, the opportunities will be there.
Bogdan Bogdanovic – This is the one injury situation we really need to watch as the swingman is nursing a knee injury. Bogdanovic will continue to get treatment leading up to game time and his status isn’t all that surprising since he is coming off two rough games in which he combined for just 13 points on six of 20 shooting. My first inclination would be to look Kevin Huerter’s way here, but he has been quite frustrating at times during this series. However, if we are going operate based on what he did on Friday, moving to Huerter here is going to be chalk as he scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 44 minutes of action. The other option to look to is Lou Williams who is always capable of instant option off the bench but he was scoreless in 11 minutes on Friday.
Danilo Gallinari – If only Gallinari could be active on the boards consistently. The forward followed up a 16-point, eight rebound performances by scoring 16 points for the second straight game, but this time with one only rebound. If Bogdanovic is indeed limited or forced to miss the game, perhaps a few more shots find their way to Gallinari, but what you see is what you get here.
Furkan Korkmaz – No Danny Green means Korkmaz moves into the starting lineup but with seven points, five rebounds, and two assists on Friday he failed to stand out. Even with the uptick in playing time there isn’t much here to suggest he puts up much more than 20 fantasy points.
Tyrese Maxey – The rookie came up big on Friday as he got 29 real minutes and made good use of them. Maxey scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds and there is no reason why he won’t be given a chance to repeat that performance tonight.
Los Angeles Clippers @ Phoenix Suns
Over/Under: 221.5
Spread: PHX -4
Game 1
The first game of the Western Conference finals begins with each team down a superstar. Phoenix had a few days off while the Clippers come in on the heels of dispatching the Jazz.
Injuries:
*Kawhi Leonard – Out
*Chris Paul - Out
Player Breakdown:
Paul George – While the focus was ultimately elsewhere after the Clippers advanced, we also shouldn’t take what George did likely. With Leonard sidelined George had another strong game scoring 28 points while grabbing nine rebounds and handing out seven assists in what was a complete effort. It took him into the second half to get rolling, but ultimately the results were there and George is coming into today’s game performing at as high a level as we have seen from him.
Devin Booker – Booker has been scoring at a high level through the first two rounds of the playoffs, but at least for today, the backcourt just belongs to him with Paul sidelined. We know the usage is going is going to be through the roof and in previous seasons, Booker has proven to be up to the task and Phoenix is going to need him to come through offensively after he finished off Denver with 34 points in the clinching game.
Deandre Ayton – The Suns barely had to break a sweat against Denver and while Ayton did play a vital role in the sweep, he didn’t do anything all that exciting from a DFS perspective finishing between 24 and 34 FD points throughout the series. In three of those games Ayton did finish with a double-double but even at his best (20 points and 10 rebounds) that was literally the extent of his entire production.
Cameron Payne – Yes, the main theme here from the Phoenix side is that Paul is out today. I have no issues targeting both members of the Suns’ backcourt as Payne steps into the starting lineup. When given the chance and the playing time, Payne has shown the ability to produce this season as a double-digit scorer and six or seven assists shouldn’t be out of the question either.
Marcus Morris – Morris was coming off two strong games in a row (24 and 25 points) before regressing back down to a more normal level of performance (seven points and five rebounds in 29 minutes). He is still getting close to 30 minutes of playing time per night, but we can’t blanketly assume what type of performance we will see from Morris as he can get anywhere from 16 to 36 FD points.
Nicolas Batum – Batum continues to be one of the better options for Los Angeles. We never had to worry about playing time with Batum but that is even more true now that Leonard is sidelined. The forward does a great job of filling the stat sheet across multiple categories, 30 FD points seems to be the floor here, but the 16 points he scored on Friday was a nice bonus and double his usual output.
Reggie Jackson – We have gone back and forth on Jackson so far this postseason with some really good performances and also some duds. As the Clippers work to make up for the absence of Leonard, Jackson not only scored 27 points on Friday but he also handed out 10 assists. At this price, there isn’t a ton of downside if we go chasing a repeat, but we likely saw Jackson’s best performance of the playoffs.
Mikal Bridges – As far as Phoenix’s supporting cast goes, Bridges is one of the more predictable options. He occasionally flashes some upside, but without Paul, the Suns might be after a little extra offense.
Terrance Mann – Talk about a scoring performance for the ages. In 36 minutes on Friday, Mann put up 39 points in a performance for the ages. He will be given every opportunity to repeat that offensive outburst, but the floor is also pretty low here.
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