The NBA has a three-game slate this Wednesday night to close out all the Game 2 matchups in the eight first-round series. With three games in play and six teams on the slate, it’s a big player pool by NBA Playoffs standards. With six teams taking the floor, there are a couple of key NBA DFS stacks to consider building around.
Today’s daily injury report isn’t long, but it definitely is impactful, since Celtics star Jayson Tatum is doubtful due to a wrist injury. Be sure to check back for updates to the injury report before the action tips off at 7:00 p.m. ET.
The NBA DFS main slate includes a variety of contests and pay-out structures on DraftKings, headlined by the NBA $400K Shootaround [$100K to 1st].
Boston Celtics vs. Orlando Magic
The Celtics have a 1-0 series lead but will probably have to play Wednesday’s game without Tatum. Even though the game has the lowest point total on the slate, all the available usage makes the Celtics a strong fantasy basketball stack. Tatum was mostly healthy this season but did miss 10 games, giving us an idea what to expect if Tatum is out.
Core Plays: Game 1 hero and proven playoff performer, Derrick White ($6,900), is a great place to start the stack. He played a team-high 34.3 minutes in his games without Tatum this season, averaging 40.0 fantasy points in those contests. Kristaps Porzingis ($7,300) averaged 42.1 fantasy points in his five games without Tatum, and Jaylen Brown ($7,500) averaged 43.2 fantasy points in those contests. Brown played limited minutes in Game 1 due to a knee injury, but produced 28.75 fantasy points. White was the focal point, though, with 30 points and 46.5 fantasy points.
Value Options: Payton Pritchard ($5,700) contributed 19 points and 25.5 fantasy points in Game 1 and could handle more work off the bench if Tatum is out. He isn’t a bargain at almost $6,000, but he has enough upside to still be worth a look. Veteran Al Horford ($4,300) could take Tatum’s starting spot and also pick up a lot of his usage. Ageless Al only had 17.75 fantasy points in Game 1, but averaged 26.9 fantasy points in games without Tatum this season and has another gear he can reach when called on. Sam Hauser ($3,300) didn’t play much in Game 1 (just nine minutes), but showed good bargain upside in the last few games of the season while filling in for Brown.
Miami Heat at Cleveland Cavaliers
Of the three games on the slate, the Heat-Cavs matchup has the highest point total on the board since the other two games are more grinding, defensive-focused series. The Cavs have a deep rotation with lots of options who can step up, like Ty Jerome ($4,300), while the Heat rotation is more focused, with usage concentrated in predictable places. While I don’t think the Heat steal Game 2, I do think they’ll be a solid fantasy stack.
Core Plays: In the backcourt, Tyler Herro ($7,700) is definitely the focus, but also the focus of the Cavs tough defense. Bam Adebayo ($8,400) and Andrew Wiggins ($7,100) are actually better plays based on the matchup. Bam had a well-rounded 45.75 fantasy points in Game 1 despite falling just one rebound short of a double-double. He has 40+ fantasy points in four straight and six of his last seven games. He’s also producing 47.8 fantasy points in his four games against the Cavs this season.
Value Options: From a value perspective, Davion Mitchell ($5,000) is a great option to include in the Heat stack. He has played 30+ minutes in each of Miami’s three games this postseason with 34 fantasy points against the Bulls, 28.25 fantasy points against the Hawks, and a well-rounded 38 fantasy points in Game 1 against the Cavs. Getting that upside and workload at only $5,000 makes Mitchell one of the best core plays on the NBA DFS slate.
Other value plays from the Heat that can fill in your stack include Haywood Highsmith ($3,700) as a bargain forward option and Alec Burks ($3,300), who did play 15 minutes off the bench in Game 1.
