New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers fans probably get déjà vu when they’re with each other. In 2000, the Pacers ousted the Knicks in six games on their way to the NBA Finals, and a quarter-century later, New York is trying to return the favor. The Eastern Conference Finals tips off tonight at 8 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden.
With such star-studded teams in action, you’ll want Jalen Brunson ($11,000) and Myles Turner ($8,000) in your Showdown lineup. Here are some budget options to pair them with:
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $500K Shootaround [$100K to 1st] (IND @ NYK).
C Mitchell Robinson, New York Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers, $4,800
Robinson was excellent in the conference semifinals, free throw shooting aside. He had a team-best plus-minus in both Games 1 and 2 as the Knicks narrowly beat the Boston Celtics, and his rim protection has been a major asset. Of the 130 players who have defended at least two shots per game at the rim these playoffs, opponents have shot the 35th-lowest percentage against Robinson. He also had the 29th-best total rebounding percentage among all 569 players to touch an NBA floor during the regular season, as well as the 23rd-best block percentage. His interior force allows him to make a huge fantasy impact in very few minutes; for instance, he recorded eight points and 13 boards (29.75 FPTS) in just 23 minutes in New York’s Game 5 blowout defeat.
Despite Tom Thibodeau’s insistence on playing his stars as many minutes as possible, Robinson has carved out an integral role for himself in the playoffs, playing more than 20 minutes in each of the Knicks’ first three victories. His ceiling could be a tiny bit lower against Indiana, which operates a motion-heavy offense and prefers jumpers to drives, but the Pacers have drawn 21.2 fouls per game so far these playoffs, which could effectively force Karl-Anthony Towns ($9,800) off the floor for large parts of the game.
SG/SF Bennedict Mathurin, Indiana Pacers at New York Knicks, $4,000
Indiana, which is averse to paying the luxury tax, will have to decide whether or not to extend Mathurin this offseason. The third-year player is an excellent isolation scorer and spark plug off the bench, which makes for a clunky fit with the rest of the Pacers’ pieces. Either way, he’s capable of some huge performances in short time spans, like the 23-point (26.75-FPT) outburst he notched in 27 minutes in the Game 3 defeat that Indiana suffered in the second round against the Cleveland Cavaliers. All in all, Mathurin played 20 or more minutes in each of the first three games of that series and scored 19 points or more twice before being ejected just one minute into Game 4 and playing only 11 minutes in Game 5.
If his Game 5 rotation suggests anything, Rick Carlisle might opt for other players this series, and his DFS salary has steadily dropped throughout the playoffs to account for the possibility. But New York’s defense is built around three rangy, agile wings in OG Anunoby ($7,600), Mikal Bridges ($8,200), and Josh Hart ($8,800), a fairly mobile stretch big in Towns and a heady point guard in Brunson. The Knicks should be well suited to stop Carlisle’s motion-heavy Plan A. That might force him to turn to a player who doesn’t need Haliburton to manufacture a quality shot, and there’s no player on the roster better at that than Mathurin.
