Tastefully curated today by LineStar Fantasy Expert @GLandry on NBA chat.  

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We've got a three or four-game slate today depending on which site you're playing.  FanDuel has left the earliest game, between Milwaukee and Boston off their main slate.  Why you would do this when there are only four games, to begin with, I have no clue.  I know typically sites split up some games to create additional slates (and thus make more money).  I get that, they are a business, and I have no issue.  But today, they don't have any additional slates that include this game.  Seems very strange but it is what it is I guess.  Milwaukee is actually shaping up to be a rare source of playoff value today so for those of you who strictly play on FanDuel I'm sorry a few of my highlighted players won't help you.  Today, we have three games with low totals that just barely crack 200 and then one game with a high implied total of 218 between the Wizards and Raptors.  We have all close spreads with the largest being seven points in favor of the Warriors who are on the road.  The game between Cleveland and Indiana currently has no spread so Vegas obviously expects this one to be competitive.  Grab your Sunday morning coffee, and maybe some eggs?Let's get to work! 

As always you can feel free to tag me in the LineStar chat rooms @glandry or follow me on Twitter @GP_Landry.  I'm always up for talking DFS and would love any feedback about the daily articles so we can be sure they are adding value to your research process.  

Guards

John Wall (DK: $9.9K, FD: $10.5K) and Bradley Beal (DK: $7.3K, FD: $7.9K), WAS [vs. TOR]

Arguably the most dynamic backcourt in the league, Wall and Beal took over game three with monster performances (both real-life and fantasy) and got their team back into this series.  With the Wizards not getting much production from their frontcourt I fully expect the production from these two to continue.  In the three games so far Wall has 62, 48 and 67 fantasy points including two double-doubles.  His price, while rising, is still too low for the production we are seeing right now (especially on DraftKings where he is still under $10K).  We currently have him listed as the top overall value on DraftKings ($176/pt) and the second best value on FanDuel ($186/pt) today.  Beal, hasn't been as impressive as Wall but he's had two good games (34 and 47 fantasy points) with a poor one in the middle (17 fantasy points).  With Wall back, the masses jumped off the "Beal Wagon" given the usage he loses when they are both on the floor.  His price, however, has dropped enough where he's still worth consideration despite less usage.  While not nearly the same projected value as Wall,  there is still enough value here, being in the $7K range, to pay off his salary.  I love these guys in a stack together, we have them listed as a top assist combo, and I also like the Wizards to even this series today.

Kyle Lowry (DK: $7.6K, FD: $8.2K) and DeMar DeRozan (DK: $7.8K, FD: $8.5K), TOR [@WAS]

On the other side of the matchup against Wall and Beal, we have a very similar situation with Lowry and DeRozan.  The Raptors are also a team not getting much from their frontcourt recently which has resulted in most of the scoring going through these guys.  I don't like them nearly as much as I do Wall and Beal.  They were both grossly underpriced at the start of this series but that has adjusted through the first three games.  Therefore, they don't provide the same value.  But, they will likely carry less ownership and provide a good pivot option for less money off of Wall and Beal.  In the three games of this series, Lowry has had fantasy point performances of 30, 42 and 42.  DeRozan, meanwhile, has had fantasy performances of 29, 50 and 36.  Washington is a tough matchup defensively, but their one weakness this season was shooting guard where they allowed 28.1 fantasy points per game to the position.  Again, just like Wall and Beal, I like these guys in a stack together or possibly with Jonas Valanciunas who we have listed as a top assist combo with Lowry.  It's worth mentioning that Delon Wright is also someone you could consider if Fred VanFleet misses again.  I know he burned a lot of people (myself included) in the last game when VanFleet was ruled out last minute but that's DFS.  You can't let recent performance weigh very heavily in your decision making.  You have to see the full picture and Wright has been very good this season.  If VanFleet misses then he, along with DeRozan and Lowry, are all under heavy consideration today.   

Patty Mills, SA [vs. GS] (DK: $4.8K, FD: $4.9K)

The only guard on San Antonio that is worth any consideration at this point is Patty Mills.  He's played 27, 32 and 33 minutes per game in the first three of this series.  His counterparts, Dejounte Murray, Mano Ginobili and Tony Parker are averaging under 20 minutes per game each.  Golden State is a great matchup allowing 30 fantasy points per game to shooting guards.  Mills has take advantage of this with 10, 29 and 25 fantasy points in each game.  Aside from game one, his return on investment has been excellent when you factor in price.  You can consider a stack with LaMarcus Aldridge, who we have listed as a top assist combo.  This will likely be the Spurs last game of the season so roster both of them while you can.  Who's ready for Warriors/Pelicans?  Is that series going to be incredible or what?   

Forwards

Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL [vs. BOS] (DK: $10.4K)

I'm sorry for those of you on FanDuel today but Antetokounmpo is just too good a value on DraftKings to ignore.  He was a bit of a let down in game three with just 44 fantasy points.  Not enough of a return considering his salary.  This caused a slight drop, only $200 in his salary, which doesn't sound like a lot but certainly doesn't hurt.  We've talked about this in multiple articles this week already, but in case you missed them, he's absolutely owned Boston this season.  In fact, this past game was the first time he scored less than 50 fantasy points against the Celtics all season.   In seven meetings, he had three fantasy performances of 60+ points.  I expect a full bounce-back game today, especially at home, as the Bucks look to even this series.  He's a great pivot off LeBron James and Kevin Durant as he always carries less ownership then both of them, is usually less expensive (he's actually more expensive than Durant today but that should actually just drive ownership down even further), but still has the ability to put up a similar fantasy performance.  James is the top overall play on this slate without question.  He's legitimately the entire team for Cleveland and commands a ridiculous amount of usage.  But, this doesn't mean Antetokounmpo can't post a similar number with a $1500 discount.    

Jabari Parker, MIL [vs. BOS] (DK: $5.7K)

I'm sorry I know I'm doing it to you again if you're playing on FanDuel.  This is one of the reasons why I have such an issue with them not including this game.  The Bucks are truly an excellent source of possible options today.  After a strong finish to the regular season, Parker started the postseason averaging just 12.5 minutes per game.  He proceeded to rant about his limited minutes in an attempt to get some more playing time.  Coincidence or not, after Parker's rant, John Henson went from not being on the injury report, to doubtful, to out prior to game three.  Without Henson, Parker was the biggest beneficiary as the Bucks ran more small ball lineups.  Henson is currently listed as doubtful once again, so I would expect the Bucks to run a similar rotation since it obviously worked so well in the previous game.  This means Parker is likely looking at something in the neighborhood of 30 minutes.  He filled the stat sheet in his extended opportunity with 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 assists and a steal leading to 34 fantasy points.  My only issue here, however, is he saw a massive price increase due to the additional minutes and solid game three performance.  He went from being $4.4K to being $5.7K on today's slate.  The increased price increases the risk so proceed with caution.  Just because they ran the rotation this way in the previous game that Henson missed doesn't mean they'll do it again.  But, they did win, so it seems unlikely they would make any major changes to something that obviously proved successful.  Just be careful.    

Mike Scott, WAS [vs. TOR] (DK: $4.1K, FD: $3.8K)

Surprisingly, Marcin Gortat bounced back in game three playing 26 minutes and scoring 23 fantasy points.  I was figuring Scott would possibly get the start or at least pick up the minutes they wouldn't give to Gortat.  Instead, Gortat played a bunch and while he didn't have a monster fantasy day he reached his typical floor.  The good news, however, is that despite the increased minutes for Gortat, Scott still got his playing time as well.  It appears that Ty Lawson was the loser in this situation after seeing 31 minutes in his first game with the Wizards he only got 16 in game three.  With Gortat and Lawson's minutes fluctuating from game to game, but Scott seeing an average of 27.5 minutes in this series so far, he seems to be the only player we can trust at the moment (outside of Wall/Beal of course).  He's not going to make or break the slate for you.  But, he does provide value and some salary relief if you want to pay up for one of the bigger names today.        

Centers

Jonas Valanciunas, TOR [@WAS] (DK: $5.7K, FD: $6K)

I'm going back to the well today with Valanciunas as I want as much exposure to this game as possible.  It didn't work out as well as I'd hoped in the previous game but that's the risk you take when rostering a player who never gets more than 25 minutes per game.  But, center is thin, especially on FanDuel where players don't have multi-position eligibility AND they don't have the Bucks/Celtics game included today (I'm being mean to FanDuel today huh? I still love you guys but this missing game really throws things off).  Valanciunas has had at least 20 fantasy points in each game of this series including 40 in game two.  He's always a threat for a double-double.  Maybe (it's a BIG maybe) we'll see him get some extra minutes today with the Raptors not wanting to let the Wizards even this series.  This game has the highest implied total of the slate by far and a very close spread.  You could consider a stack with Lowry (they are a top assist combo) or even Lowry and DeRozan to give you exposure to all sources of potential production on the Raptors.   

JaVale McGee, GS [@SA] (DK: $3.8K, FD: $4.2K)

Another player who doesn't get nearly enough minutes but has been efficient with the ones he does get is JaVale McGee.  He's only played 15, 19, and 16 minutes in each game but has produced 28, 29 and 15 fantasy points so far.  Today, we have him projected at just over 22 fantasy points (20 on DraftKings) which equals about $189 per point ($184 on DraftKings) which puts him squarely in the mix for one of the better values on the board today.  He's not safe by any means.  The one thing that could work in our favor today is I would expect LaMarcus Aldridge to never leave the court.  With the possibility of a sweep today, the Spurs will keep their best guys on the court as long as they can.  McGee has been getting increased opportunities as a defensive maneuver to keep Aldridge at bay.  Should Aldridge play a bunch of extra minutes it could lead to McGee getting some as well.  Pure speculation on my part but the logic checks out so it's something to consider.  

Tyler Zeller (DK: $3.5K) and Thon Maker ($3.8K), MIL [@BOS]

I won't rant about FanDuel anymore.  I won't rant about FanDuel anymore.  I won't rant about FanDuel anymore.  Okay, let's talk about these guys.  Does anyone else besides me feel like some of these rotations are harder to figure out in the playoffs then they were the last couple of weeks of the regular season?  When Henson was ruled out it seemed obvious that Zeller would start and play all the minutes he could handle at center.  Thon Maker had yet to see the floor in this series prior to game three.  So, why would we think he'd suddenly take all of Henson's playing time?  But, that's exactly what happened.  Though Zeller did start, it was Maker who got more minutes and had the better fantasy performance off the bench.  With Henson likely to miss again today, what do we do here?  I'm not ready to call Maker a great option as it's only a one-game sample size but his play does make him intriguing as a salary relief option.  Or, since Zeller will likely get a share of the minutes and will be less owned, could we go that route instead?  You can make an argument for either guy especially considering their prices.  It appears the "hot hand" which happened to be Maker last game will be the one who gets the minutes.  I don't see myself going here to be honest.  I think they will be the subject of a lot of discussions today so I figured it was worth entering them in the conversation as part of the article.  I just don't trust either player enough and I have a feeling they will be popular (especially Maker).  I think they are more likely to disappoint than excite.  Plus, on DraftKings, you have some extra options at center so you really don't need to go here.  You're free to make your own conclusion but just adding my two cents.  Choose wisely.    

Injuries 🤕

Boston at Milwaukee

Boston:

• OUT: Marcus Smart: PG/SG

• OUT: Kyrie Irving: PG

• UPGRADE: Terry Rozier: PG/SG, Jaylen Brown: SG/SF, Al Horford: PF/C

Milwaukee:

• DOUBT: John Henson: PF/C

• UPGRADE: Tyler Zeller: PF/C, Thon Maker: PF/C

Golden State at San Antonio

Golden State:

• OUT: Patrick McCaw: PG/SG/SF

• OUT: Steph Curry: PG/SG

• UPGRADE: Andre Iguodala: PG/SG/SF

San Antonio:

• OUT: Kawhi Leonard: SF

• UPGRADE: N/A

Toronto at Washington

Toronto: 

• DTD: Fred VanFleet: PG/SG

• UPGRADE: Delon Wright: PG/SG

Washington:

• OUT: Jodie Meeks: SG/SF

• UPGRADE: N/A

Cleveland at Indiana

Cleveland:

• QUEST: George Hill: PG

• UPGRADE: Jose Calderon: PG, Cedi Osman: SG/SF

Indiana:

• DTD: Joseph Young: SG

• UPGRADE: N/A

Complete honesty here.  I don't love this slate.  It feels like all the ownership is going to be in the Washington/Toronto game which means you'll be digging for players on the teams involved in games with very low totals.  Value is hard to come by.  Most of these teams are running extremely tight rotations and those that aren't are playing their players just enough minutes to hurt the productivity of their teammates but not enough to make them DFS options.  The only player on Cleveland you can consider right now is James so basically that's removing an entire team from your list today.  Plus, on FanDuel, there's a whole game missing!  It feels a bit like a trap slate.  I myself will be staying away.  I do understand the desire to play every slate so I would just advise you to cut back on your bankroll (hopefully you're doing that already these playoff slates have been brutal so far).  If you do in fact play today, then good luck!  Tag me in the LineStar chat rooms @glandry or follow me on Twitter @GP_Landry with any questions or feedback!  Thank you for reading!   

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