Unfortunately, the two series that are having their Game 5 take place this evening have been heavily impacted by injury. The Warriors lost Steph Curry (hamstring) all the way back in Game 1, while the Celtics suffered a huge blow in Game 4 on Monday when Jayson Tatum (Achilles) went down late in the fourth quarter.
However, the games must go on and teammates must step up in their absences. Let’s break down the best NBA DFS value picks for tonight’s featured DraftKings slate.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $350K Shootaround [$100K to 1st]
C/PF Kristaps Porzingis, Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks, $5,000
It’s now or never for Porzingis, who has only twice registered double-digit points in this postseason. It’s a fall from grace that has been truly mind-boggling. Porzingis averaged a very healthy 1.26 FPTS per minute throughout the regular season, yet that figure has dropped to just 0.86 in the playoffs. Heck, Porzingis was removed from the Celtics’ starting lineup last week, and it makes sense, as he’s produced a paltry 5.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game against the Knicks. That said, the loss of the aforementioned Tatum throws all those stats out the window. The All-Star leaves a massive void, as Tatum was leading all Boston players in field goal attempts (90) and operating with a massive 30.2% usage rate. In the regular season, Porzingis notched a 25.0% usage rate when sharing the floor with Tatum and a 28.2% usage rate with the All-NBA forward on the sideline. Porzingis’ price tag at the beginning of the postseason was $7,900. He clearly has more upside than he’s shown the past few weeks and he’ll need to find it quickly if the Celtics have a chance to win Game 5.
PG Mike Conley, Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Golden State Warriors, $3,800
Conley is obviously a DFS asset with limits at this point in his career. He’s not going to drop 30 points in a game, nor is he going to log 40 minutes — especially with the Timberwolves’ having the luxury of both Donte DiVincenzo ($4,300) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker ($3,300) coming off the bench. Still, the veteran’s seen over 28 minutes in each of his past two starts and, despite shooting just 5-for-18 (27.8%) from the field, Conley’s averaged 21.1 FPTS. It’s also a stretch where Conley ranks third on the team in touches per game (60.5) and second on the team in potential assists per game (8.5). Again, Conley isn’t likely to wow anyone with his performance in Game 5, but if he can muster a decent shooting night, 6x or 7x value is on the table thanks to his salary sitting below $4,000.
