Game Two of both series that resume tonight are must-win for the home teams. LeBron James $11200 will put the Cavaliers on his back, while James Harden $10200 attempts to do the same for the Rockets.
It’s the NBA playoffs, where the unexpected happens. Last night, Mike Conley made a courageous, inspiring return from facial surgery to even the series for the Grizzlies. Wearing a mask, his vision blurred, Conley scored 22 points and held Stephen Curry to 19 in a rare home defeat for the Warriors, who now must win one in Memphis.
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Cleveland was unable to overcome the absence of Kevin Love (shoulder) and J.R. Smith (suspension) in Game One; starting Mike Miller $2200 at SF simply did not work. I expect Tristan Thompson $5200 to start and play big minutes, with Iman Shumpert $4700 a strong play again. Kyrie Irving $8800 scored 30 but could not stop Derrick Rose $7500 and Pau Gasol $8400 from running the pick-and-roll. Jimmy Butler $8700 does everything else for Chicago and Mike Dunleavy $4900 more than earned his salary — 14 PTS, 7 REB, 3 3PT — in 39 minutes.
Neither center was effective on Monday. Joakim Noah $6300 was able to stop Timofey Mozgov $5500, and vice versa. The bench players did not do much; Taj Gibson $4000 and Matthew Dellavedova $2300 are risk/reward plays if you need bargains to go with your stars. This will not be as high-scoring as the late game, which should be a dandy.
Chris Paul $9300 (hamstring) is doubtful, so understudy Austin Rivers $2200 becomes a must-start. The coach’s son helped the Clippers in a remarkable Game One upset, with Blake Griffin $10300 posting a triple-double — 26 PTS, 14 REB, 13 AST. It’s possible that the Rockets were overconfident in the absence of CP3, but they were outscored 71-51 in the second half, which is embarrassing.
Harden will be in attack mode tonight and everyone else must play better D. Starting PF Terrence Jones $5000 didn’t do much in only 16 minutes; Josh Smith got 29 minutes off the bench but was not a huge factor. Trevor Ariza $5600 was one of the better Rockets and Pablo Prigioni $2500 is their only true PG.
The clash between giants Dwight Howard $8200 and DeAndre Jordan $7700 went as expected. Each double-doubled with a handful of blocks, neither was great from the free-throw line. Almost every DFS team will have one of them in the lineup. However, with expensive mega-stars available at SG, SF and PF, I might try punting C. If Howard happens to pick up a couple of early fouls, backup Clint Capela $2300 could play more than his usual 5-6 minutes.
It’s a similar conundrum at PG, where Irving vs. Rose is a tossup and both will be extremely popular. I’m going extreme stars-and-scrubs, using Rivers there. Punting two positions lets me surround the Big Three (who eat up 63.4% of the salary cap) with useful contributors at G, F, and Util.
Matt Barnes $4400, J.J. Redick $5000 and Jamal Crawford $4500 all made significant contributions on Monday. Along with Shumpert, all are capable of providing value at a reasonable cost.
| Pos | Premium | Midrange | Bargain |
| PG | Kyrie Irving $8800 | Derrick Rose $7500 | Austin Rivers $2200 |
| SG | James Harden $10200 | Jimmy Butler $8700 | Iman Shumpert $4700 |
| SF | LeBron James $11200 | Trevor Ariza $5600 | Matt Barnes $4400 |
| PF | Blake Griffin $10300 | Pau Gasol $8400 | Taj Gibson $4000 |
| C | Dwight Howard $8200 | DeAndre Jordan $7700 | Clint Capela $2300 |
The Fantasy Spin features DFS advice every day of the NBA season. Follow Kent Williams @SheridanFantasy for updates.