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

The second round of the NBA playoffs is here! Below you can find a breakdown of each matchup. The breakdowns include the regular season series results, keys to the upcoming series, injury news, and the resulting fantasy outlook including stud players, value options, and potential fades. We'll keep this updated with anything noteworthy as these games progress so make sure to check back as a reference when preparing your lineups for the upcoming slates.

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.

#2 Golden State Warriors vs. #6 New Orleans Pelicans

How did they get here?

• Golden State defeated San Antonio in the first round 4-1

• New Orleans defeated Portland in the first found 4-0

Season Series:

• 10/20 (@NO): Warriors 128 - Pelicans 120

• 11/25 (@GS): Warriors 110 - Pelicans 95

• 12/4 (@GS): Warriors 125 - Pelicans 115

• 4/7 (@NO): Pelicans 126 - Warriors 120

Notes:

• Golden State rallied from double-digit deficits in each of their three wins

• Warriors have scored at least 110 points in eleven straight against New Orleans

• DeMarcus Cousins played the first three games of the series and Nikola Mirotic played the last game

Keys to the Series

1) Can Golden State Contain The Brow?

Anthony Davis averaged 33 points, 11.8 rebounds and 57.6% shooting against Portland in their first-round series. You can't stop Davis, you can only hope to contain him. How does Golden State slow him down? For starters, they should cut off the hand that feeds him. Mr. Rajon "Playoff Rondo" was outstanding in the opening round series averaging 13.3 assists per game against the Blazers. Do you want to slow down Davis? Not allowing Rondo to create opportunities for him is a good start.

2) Win the Coaching Battle

These two teams know each other very, very well. Alvin Gentry was an associate head coach with the Warriors when they won the title in 2014-15 and Darren Erman, current assistant Pelicans coach responsible for defense, was a Warriors assistant that year as well. This should give the Pelicans an advantage as their coaches understand the Warriors' players' tendencies whereas Coach Kerr understands Gentry but doesn't know his players well.

3) Keep Up with the Pace

This will be an incredibly fast-paced and high scoring series. Something the Warriors don't typically need to worry about is keeping up the pace as they ranked 5th in the NBA in pace of play. The Pelicans, however, ranked first. New Orleans was third in the NBA this season in points per game (111.7) and 28th in points allowed (110.4). Golden State was first in the NBA in points per game with 113 and 17th in points allowed at 106.9. Fantasy production should be ample in these games.

4) Win The Battle on the Glass

Draymond Green will be huge in this series. Neither of these teams were very strong rebounding during the regular season. New Orleans ranked 20th with a 49.7% rebounding rate and Golden State ranked 21st with a 49.6% rebounding rate. Coach Kerr mentioned that rebounding was something they really paid attention to against San Antonio and it showed as they outrebounded the Spurs 237-188. Whichever team can keep the other off the glass and limit their second-chance opportunities will have an advantage.

5) Stop Mirotic

The first three games in the season series Mirotic was on the Chicago Bulls and DeMarcus Cousins was still healthy. In the fourth game, Mirotic was a member of the Pelicans and made a huge impact scoring 28 points and shooting 6-11 from beyond the arc. Mirotic has played the best basketball of his career since coming to New Orleans. Golden State will need to put that to an end.

Key Injuries

New Orleans:

• DeMarcus Cousins: PF/C

• UPGRADE: Anthony Davis: PF/C

Golden State:

• Steph Curry: PG/SG

• Patrick McCaw: PG/SG/SF

• UPGRADE: Andre Iguodala: PG/SG/SF

Fantasy Outlook

Guard:

It's still unclear when Steph Curry will be back for this series so it will be Andre Iguodala against Rajon Rondo at point guard for these teams in the short term. Obviously, once Curry comes back, he's a stud and you don't need me to tell you he's in play every night. New Orleans ranked 27th in average fantasy points allowed to point guards allowing 33.6 per game. Iguodala does not command much usage when he's part of the first unit but it's a great matchup and he averaged 28.1 minutes per game in round one. Golden State allowed 33.4 fantasy points per game to point guards and 6.8 assists per game which could spell trouble against Rondo. He had fantasy point totals of 11, 39 and 48 in his three regular season games against them this year. At shooting guard, we have a great matchup between Klay Thompson and Jrue Holiday. The Pelicans ranked 23rd in average fantasy points allowed to shooting guards. Thompson put up 46, 42, 31 and 26 FPPG in their four regular-season meetings. Holiday has been one of the best players in the league since the playoffs started with two 50+ FFPG performances in their first-round series against the Blazers. The Warriors allowed 30 FFPG to shooting guards during the regular season so this isn't an intimidating matchup. He had 28, 43, 50 and 50 FPPG during their regular season matchups so obviously he's no stranger to success in this spot. You will see TONS of fantasy scoring in these games. Rondo will be dishing out assists like they are going out of style and if Thompson and Holiday both have their shots falling the ceiling is literally limitless.

Studs: Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Rajon Rondo, and Jrue Holiday

Values: Andre Iguodala

Fades: Ian Clark, Quinn Cook, Shaun Livingston

Forward:

Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis.....do I need to say more? (#analysis). They don't play the same position but I would anticipate they are matched up with each other more times than not. The only difficult part will likely be if you can fit them in together which is probably going to be a challenge with the starters playing so many minutes on these slates and value being unavailable most of the time. Durant had 50, 38 and 63 FPPG during the regular season (he missed one game) while Davis had 70, 57 and 68 FPPG (he also missed a game). Davis is the priority. E'Twuan Moore is a player who always flies under the radar but does have a usable ceiling, especially on small slates. He had 6, 18, 40 and 26 FPPG against the Warriors this season. He should avoid Kevin Durant defense most of the time and could be left unattended with so much focus going to Davis, Rondo, Holiday, and Mirotic. He's an interesting sleeper. My favorite matchup of this series is Draymond Green and Nikola Mirotic. Remember, Mirotic was only on the Pelicans for one matchup this season so we don't have a lot to go off of here. Green is arguably the best defender in the league but he'll have to play a lot of on-ball defense against Mirotic who will spend a lot of his time away from the basket being such a good shooter. Green should also spend a fair amount of time on Anthony Davis. His job will not be fun in this series. He'll pick up the majority of his fantasy production the hard way with rebounds, assists and even some blocks and steals. We already mentioned Mirotic's one game against the Warriors and his recent play has been extraordinary scoring at least 46 fantasy points in eight of his last ten games.

Studs: Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Nikola Mirotic, and Draymond Green

Value: E'Twaun Moore

Fade: Kevon Looney, Jordan Bell, Darius Miller

Center:

Remember, I typically use FanDuel as far as position eligibility is concerned because they are more strict. On DraftKings, at least most of the time, a player I recommend for one position may also be eligible for something else. So, even though Anthony Davis is the center for the Pelicans he's only power forward eligible on FanDuel so I talked about him in the forward section. On DraftKings you can use him either place. The only center by FanDuel standards in this series really worth discussing is JaVale McGee. The Pelicans ranked 13th in average fantasy points allowed to centers this season. Not good but not bad either. McGee is really only out there for his defense. He's not a big scorer but he can fill the stat sheet with rebounds, blocks, and steals. He provided the occasional source of value in the first series against San Antonio but his minutes were difficult to predict as he never played more than 20. In the first two games, he was very efficient with 26 and 27 FPPG but in the remaining three games he didn't surpass 20 FP in any game. It's possible he sees extra minutes to help contain Davis but I think those minutes are more likely to go toward keeping Durant on the floor instead. I'm going to list him as a value option because as we saw in round one on these small slates, especially on FanDuel, you're basically choosing between bad and worse options at this position.

Studs: None

Value: JaVale McGee

Fade: Zaza Pachulia - he played exactly zero minutes in the first series

#1 Houston Rockets vs. #5 Utah Jazz

How did they get here?

• Houston defeated the Timberwolves in their first-round series 4-1

• Utah defeated the Thunder in their first-round series 4-2

Season Series:

• 11/5 (@HOU): Rockets 137 - Jazz 110

• 12/7 (@UTA): Rockets 112 - Jazz 101

• 12/18 (@HOU): Rockets 120 - Jazz 99

• 2/26 (@UTA): Rockets 96 - Jazz 85

Notes:

• Rockets won every game in the regular season by double-digits

• Jazz lost the season series to OKC 3-1 but still won their playoff series

• Donovan Mitchell, still a relatively unknown rookie, came off the bench in the first meeting

• Rudy Gobert and Chris Paul each missed a game during the regular season

Keys to the Series

1) Jazz Must Limit Huge Quarters

Throughout the regular season, the Jazz often found themselves within striking distance before allowing a huge quarter and ultimately being blown out. Houston has a tendency to go on these crazy offensive runs and if you allow that to happen you're pretty much screwed. In the first regular-season meeting, Houston scored 39 points in the first quarter and then 48 in the third quarter leading to a 27 point win. In the second game, the Jazz trailed by only five at the half before allowing 37 points in the third quarter. In the third game, the Jazz were up by five before a 41 point fourth quarter led to another loss. In the final game of the regular season series, the Jazz managed to hold Houston to just 39 points in the first half before being outscored 31-19 in the third quarter and losing that game as well.

2) Win the Three-Point Battle

Houston has a very skewed perception of being deadly from three-point range. The truth, however, is their success is mostly due to how many attempts they take and not their actual accuracy. They attempted 42.3 threes per game (which led the NBA by a wide margin) and made 15.7 per game. Their three-point efficiency was average at best (14th in the league) and actually worse than the Jazz. On the defensive end, Houston was actually better at defending the perimeter than Utah holding teams to 35.1% from deep while the Jazz allowed 35.6%, good for 17th in the league. The team who wins this battle will have a significant advantage.

3) Limit Harden But Don't Forget About the Others

Harden tied a career high with 56 points including 19 of 25 shooting in their meeting way back in November. All of this while being subbed out with over seven minutes left in the game and the Rockets leading by 27 points. The Jazz won't stop him but ideally, they can figure out a way to make him less efficient. But, they need to do so without forgetting about the other dangerous weapons on this offense. A great example is in the second game of the regular season series when Harden went a miserable 2 for 18 from the field (somehow still managed to score 29 points) but Utah still lost because Ryan Anderson and Chris Paul stepped up with 23 and 18 points respectively.

4) Joe Ingles

Donovan Mitchell cannot do this on his own. He's been nothing short of spectacular this season and was tremendous in their first-round playoff series against the Thunder but now the Jazz are expected to be without Ricky Rubio for at least the first two games of this series and possibly longer. Mitchell is going to need some serious help. Joe Ingles needs to be part of that solution. His three-point shooting against the Thunder was hot, but Oklahoma City gave him a lot of wide open looks. The Rockets have a much better perimeter defense and I wouldn't expect Ingles to be left open as often. He's going to need to find a way to create open shots for himself and stay hot. Otherwise, an already challenging series for the Jazz just got a whole lot worse.

Key Injuries

Houston:

• Luc Mbah a Moute: PF/C (he's expected to return after missing the first round)

• UPGRADE: N/A (this would be a downgrade to Ryan Anderson)

Utah:

• Ricky Rubio: PG

• UPGRADE: Royce O'Neale: PG/SG/SF, Dante Exum: PG/SG, Donovan Mitchell: PG/SG

Fantasy Outlook

Guard:

The Ricky Rubio injury really impacts a lot on this slate. He had a monster first round series against the Thunder and was their second-leading scorer. From a real-life standpoint, his absence is really going to hurt the Jazz. From a fantasy perspective, it should open up a lot of value. For starters, Donovan Mitchell should slide into the starting point guard role and Royce O'Neale should be the new starting shooting guard (remember he's only small forward eligible on FanDuel). This will open up minutes for Dante Exum and Alec Burks as well. All of these guys become value players on these small playoff slates. Mitchell, despite his price increase, becomes a virtual must-play now as he sees an impressive 4.46% usage increase without Rubio on the floor. Rubio's injury also has an impact on the Houston side as they get a nice upgrade without his defense on the floor. Rubio ranked 5th among point guards in the league this season with a defensive real plus-minus of 1.77. Without him to help slow down both Paul and Harden, already a tall task on its own, the fantasy production of both players should see an increase. Let's not forget about Eric Gordon either. With all the value opening up on the Utah side he could be a player that gets missed. Gordon did not have a great first round series against the Timberwolves but I'm not going to let that change my perception. Gordon is one of the best off the bench players in the NBA and his role as the 6th man is very secure. He should see plenty of minutes. If his shot is falling he'll provide a ton of value.

Studs: Donovan Mitchell, Chris Paul, James Harden

Values: Royce O'Neale (SF on FanDuel), Alec Burks, Dante Exum, and Eric Gordon

Fades: N/A

Forward:

We mentioned Joe Ingles briefly in the "keys to the series section" as a player that needs to step up and help Mitchell. This is further illustrated by the 2.55% usage increase he sees with Rubio off the floor. It's the second highest on the team behind only Mitchell and results in an additional 5.65 fantasy points per game. The other interesting factor that makes Ingles so intriguing is I'd expect Chris Paul now to stick to Donovan Mitchell on the defensive end. This makes Mitchell's life more difficult (he's still an excellent play) but could force Ingles to do even more. Definitely, something to watch in the first game. Derrick Favors and Jae Crowder also see small usage bumps without Rubio on the floor. Both of these guys are in the "boom or bust" category as the floor is low but each of them had blow up games during their first-round series that showed off their ceiling. Favors had 46 fantasy points in game two and Crowder had 43 fantasy points in game five. Both of them are worth a look in GPPs on these small playoff slates. On the Houston side, I'm not a big fan of anything at this position. Trevor Ariza and P.J. Tucker are both generally players I like to avoid as they better real-life basketball players with excellent defensive abilities than fantasy basketball players who put up a lot of stats. It doesn't mean either of them can't have a big game but it's incredibly difficult to predict. If forced to choose one I could see Trevor Ariza as a guy I'd roster if I were desperate especially on FanDuel where you need to roster two small forwards. The return of Luc Mbah a Moute further muddies the waters of this rotation. If he jumps right into his typical 20 minutes it should take away from the extra playing time that both Gerald Green and Ryan Anderson had been seeing rendering all three of them virtually unusable for DFS purposes. If you're multi-entering a large field GPP you could sprinkle in these guys as a flyer option at what should be very low ownership and hope for the best but the risk is extremely high.

Studs: Joe Ingles

Value: Derrick Favors, Jae Crowder, and Trevor Ariza

Fade: P.J. Tucker, Luc Mbah a Moute, Ryan Anderson, Gerald Green

Center:

My favorite matchup of this series is at the center position between two of my favorite players in Rudy Gobert and Clint Capela. Each of these guys had excellent first-round series and will be a key contributor to the success (or lack thereof) of their teams in this matchup. The defense of Gobert, who ranked first in the NBA in defensive real plus-minus among all players, will make life more difficult for both Harden and Paul. Capela will also have to adjust from facing one of the worst individual centers in Karl Anthony-Towns to the best in Gobert. The problem, Gobert was less than impressive from a fantasy standpoint in their regular season meetings. He had 21, 22 and 34 fantasy points against Houston during the regular season. Capela wasn't much better with 33, 22, and 57 fantasy points in the three games he played against the Jazz. The one 57 point game was, of course, the game that Gobert did not play so I'm throwing that out the window. Bottom line here, this is a difficult matchup on both sides and on a full slate, I would likely avoid this situation entirely. But on a small two or maybe three-game slate like these playoff ones both of these guys are in play. Center is typically a very thin position, particularly on FanDuel, and there will be nights when you have no choice but to choose between these guys. There's no way we can categorize them as a fade but they also aren't priced as a value option. Obviously, this isn't ideal for DFS purposes but it's something we'll have to figure out as we go.

Studs: Clint Capela, Rudy Gobert

Value:

Fade:

#2 Boston Celtics vs. #3 Philadelphia 76ers

How did they get here?

Boston defeated Milwaukee in the first round 4-3

Philadelphia defeated Miami in the first round 4-1

Season Series:

10/20 (@PHI): Boston 102 - Philadelphia 92

11/30 (@BOS): Boston 108 - Philadelphia 97

1/11 (London): Boston 114 - Philadelphia 103

1/18 (@BOS): Philadelphia 89 - Boston 80

Notes:

I'm putting virtually no weight behind the season series. These teams haven't played each other in over three months and the two teams are drastically different now. For one, the Celtics are without Kyrie Irving who was a key contributor during the regular season games including a 36 point performance in the second game. The 76ers meanwhile added Ersan Ilyasova and Marco Belinelli to their team and both have been playing critical roles off the bench.

Keys to the Series

1) Defense Wins Championships

The Sixers are a matchup nightmare for any team with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons being athletic monsters at both ends of the floor and J.J. Redick spreading out the floor with his lethal three-point shooting. If the Celtics can figure out how to handle these players it will certainly provide an advantage. The Celtics had some success against Joel Embiid this season holding him to less than 15 points in two of three games though Embiid blew up in their last meeting. The big question will be whether or not Semi Ojeleye will continue to get the start. He proved very effective against Giannis Antetokokounmpo. Ideally, he would be a great candidate to help out with Ben Simmons. But, the Celtics could afford to play small ball and slide Horford to center against the Bucks. The 76ers are a completely different story. My assumption is Aron Baynes will be reinserted into the starting lineup to help defend Embiid and Horford will move back to power forward. This means Marcus Smart will likely have to deal with Ben Simmons with Horford providing help defense whenever he can. It will be interesting to see how these scenarios play out.

2) Battle of the Benches

Depth is a huge strength for Philadelphia ever since they acquired both Ersan Ilyasova and Marco Belinelli. Both played big roles off the bench in their first-round series against Miami averaging just over 30 minutes per game. Depth is SUPPOSED to be a big strength for Boston as well with guys like Rozier and Tatum originally slated for bench roles before injuries to Hayward and Irving changed those plans. It may only get worse with Jaylen Brown expected to miss at least the first game of the series. Still, Boston has some key players who can play big minutes such as Marcus Morris and they will need him to step up if Boston has any chance of staying competitive.

3) Can Boston Keep Pace?

Philadelphia plays at one of the fastest paces in the league while Boston is one of the slowest teams. As was evident during the series with the Bucks, when they were able to get out in transition and space the floor Boston really struggled to keep up. Ben Simmons is one of the best at doing exactly that when he has the ball in his hands. If the 76ers can play their game it will really make life difficult for the Celtics.

4) Turnovers

Philadelphia was dead last in turnovers per game averaging 16.5. Boston, meanwhile, was one of the better teams averaging 13.9 per game which ranked 13th in the league. If Boston can continue to limit turnovers on offense and lean on their defense to force the Sixers into more than usual it could really create an advantage. Conversely, if Philadelphia can figure out how to limit turnovers they would gain an upper hand.

Key Injuries

Philadelphia:

• None

Boston:

• Kyrie Irving: PG

• Jaylen Brown: SG/SF

• UPGRADE: Terry Rozier: PG/SG, Marcus Smart: PG/SG, Shane Larkin: PG/SG, Jayson Tatum: SF/PF, Al Horford: PF/C

Fantasy Outlook

Guard:

The return of Marcus Smart couldn't have come at a better time. He brought new life to the Celtics, especially on defense, and will likely play all the minutes he can handle with Jaylen Brown expected to miss. Smart is a value play at best as he's more known for his defense than his fantasy production. It doesn't mean he can't have a big game but it's just not as likely as it is with other players. Since his return, he's had 27, 10, and 26 fantasy points per game. Terry Rozier, who was outstanding in the first round series, particularly in game seven, will look to continue his dominance. You can bet Philadelphia will take him more seriously than Milwaukee did. He had less than 30 fantasy points only once against the Bucks and two huge games with 44 fantasy points in game two and 53 fantasy points in game seven. Because of the Jaylen Brown injury, I would expect Shane Larkin to pick up a bunch of minutes as well. He makes for an intriguing value option. For the 76ers it comes down to two players at the guard position. Remember, Ben Simmons is a power forward on FanDuel so I'll bring him up in a minute. J.J. Redick and Marco Belinelli will both play heavy minutes and can provide some possible value at the guard position. Redick had a strong series against Miami with three games of at least 30 fantasy points. Belinelli started off well, but the return of Joel Embiid seems to have hurt his opportunities. He only had 18 and 19 fantasy points in games four and five. He's cheap enough and plays enough minutes to keep him on the value radar but I would no longer call him safe as I had been earlier in the playoffs and the end of the regular season. Sidenote, Jaylen Brown is expected to be out for now but once he comes back he'll certainly be in play.

Studs: Terry Rozier, Jaylen Brown

Values: Marcus Smart, Shane Larkin, J.J. Redick, and Marco Belinelli

Fades: T.J. McConnell, Markele Fultz

Forward:

At the forward position, we'll start with the player to avoid first. Keep in mind I'm talking about normal slates with multiple games. All of these guys are in play on the showdown slate tonight. Semi Ojeleye, though, is really only on the floor to make a defensive impact. He does very little on the offensive end as displayed by his fantasy point performances of 14, 5, and 11 in his three starts in round one. Jayson Tatum, on the other hand, is firmly in play and his appeal will only be increased as long as Jaylen Brown is out. Without Brown, among the others already missing for Boston, Tatum sees a 2.69% usage increase which is second to only Marcus Smart who sees a 3.08% bump. Marcus Morris, off the bench, also sees an increase of 2.33%. We already talked in the "keys to the series" section about how crucial the bench play will be for Boston to stay competitive. Morris had a strong start to the first round series with 31 and 29 fantasy points in the first two games. After that, he only broke 20 fantasy points once in the remaining five games. He also saw a slight minute decrease during that time averaging 25.5 per game. I would expect this to get back over 30 at least in the short term without Brown so now may be as good a time as any to jump on board. For the Sixers, Robert Covington, similar to Semi Ojeleye, is really a strong defensive player which makes him less appealing for fantasy purposes. His price, however, has seen a sharp decline since the return of Joel Embiid. He had at least 20 fantasy points in every game of the first series against Miami. Assuming his price stays low, he makes for an intriguing value play especially at the small forward position that is often tough to fill. Dario Saric and Ersan Ilyasova are viable value options at the power forward position. It's not a great matchup with the Celtics ranking seventh in defensive efficiency against the power forwards. Saric was solid against the Celtics this season with two games over 30 fantasy points in their four meetings. They should each play about 30 minutes per game and both have the ability to go off in almost any matchup. Last, but certainly not least, we have Ben Simmons. He was lights out in the first round series against Miami only scoring less than 50 fantasy points once. He was mediocre against the Celtics during the regular season, but as I said earlier I'm putting very little weight on the season series since these teams are much different now and haven't played against each other in over three months.

Studs: Ben Simmons, Jayson Tatum

Value: Dario Saric, Ersan Ilyasova, Marcus Morris, Robert Covington

Fade: Semi Ojeleye

Center:

Aron Baynes should once again be the Celtics starter in this series to help deal with Joel Embiid. Embiid only averaged 17.3 points while shooting just 38.5% from the field in his three games against the Celtics this season. As I mentioned earlier, however, his last game against them was excellent putting up 26 points and 16 rebounds which resulted in 61 fantasy points. Baynes is one of the few players in this league who has any hope of being able to stop Embiid. It doesn't mean he will but it should be a fun battle to watch. Baynes finished the season ranked third among all NBA centers with a defensive real plus-minus rating of 4.06. I think you can view him as a value option as he should play increased minutes in this series. Al Horford, who is only center eligible on FanDuel, had a strong first-round series against Philadelphia with only one game below 30 fantasy points and three games of 40 fantasy points or more. He sees plenty of opportunities without Kyrie Irving on the floor and should see all the minutes he can handle throughout this series with his skills at both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. With Baynes back in the picture and Ojeleye showing the impact he can have on defense I don't see Greg Monroe having much of an impact in this series. He's not as strong defensively as some of the other options available to Boston and they'll need all the help they can get to slow down Philadelphia. On the Sixers side, Joel Embiid. You're never going to fade him and as I've said repeatedly I'm not worried about some of the success Boston had covering him earlier this season. That was a long time ago and even then he still found a way to have a big game. The floor might be slightly lower than usual in this spot but the ceiling is still massive and that's all you care about on these small playoff slates. Fire him up.

Studs: Joel Embiid, Al Horford

Value: Aron Baynes

Fade: Greg Monroe

#1 Toronto Raptors vs. #4 Cleveland Cavaliers

How did they get here?

Toronto defeated the Washington Wizards in the first round 4-2.

Cleveland defeated the Indiana Pacers in the first round 4-3.

Season Series:

1/11 (@TOR): Raptors 133 – Cavs 99

3/21 (@CLE): Cavs 132 – Raptors 129

4/3 (@CLE): Cavs 112 – Raptors 106

Keys to the Series

1) One Versus Twelve

There are two real keys to this series. The first is if LeBron will actually get any help or not. His surrounding cast showed some signs of life in game seven where both George Hill and Tristan Thompson provided a bit of a spark. Hill had 24 fantasy points in 19 minutes while Thompson blew up for 15 points and 10 rebounds in 35 minutes of action. But even then, LeBron still played 45 minutes in that game and averaged 41.2 minutes per game in the first round. He would have played more if not for a brief break where he cramped up and had to sit for a minute. Now, he only gets one day of rest before game one begins in this next series. He’s the best player in the world, absolutely no question, but Toronto is better with players two through twelve. Toronto has, arguably, the best bench in the league. They will play ten players (and could go as high as 12) in this series. If Toronto’s bench can drastically outplay Cleveland’s mix of underperforming bench players such as Clarkson, Hood or Nance they should force James into more minutes. That sounds dangerous – wouldn’t you want him off the floor? But the more he keeps this up the more he will eventually wear down. As much as we’d all like to think he can, James simply can’t do this by himself. Toronto’s bench play will decide this series.

2) Home Court Advantage

One of Toronto’s biggest goals this season was to secure the top seed in the east and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. The Raptors only lost seven times at Air Canada Centre this season and Cleveland played .500 ball while on the road. The two teams played three times this season with Cleveland winning the series 2-1. Both of Cleveland’s wins were at home. If they can find a way to steal a win in Toronto, something very few teams have done all season, it will flip this series on its back in a big hurry. Toronto must protect its own house they cannot afford to go back to Cleveland trailing or even tied at any point. Give LeBron a window and he'll make you pay dearly.

Key Injuries

Both teams are fully healthy there is nobody on the injury list right now

Fantasy Outlook

Guard:

This is the most interesting position in this matchup. The Cavs have a bunch of players who could, theoretically, provide some value but they've mostly fallen short of expectations. We'll start with the Toronto side first. Lowry and DeRozan are one of the best backcourt pairings in the league. They both had an excellent first-round series. If they don't do well there is no hope for the Raptors. Delon Wright struggled in the first round and it was obvious just how much the Raptors missed Fred VanFleet. He eased himself back in with 19 minutes in their last game. We've talked about how crucial the bench will be for Toronto in this series. Both of these guys need to step up, VanFleet in particular, as he had monster fantasy performances of 38, 32, and 24 against the Cavs in the regular season. Trying to figure out the Cleveland guard situation is a completely different story. Kyle Korver and J.R. Smith seemed most capable of providing any kind of scoring support in the first round. Korver played at least 20 minutes in every game except one and had 30 fantasy points in game five. But, he also had two games with only eight fantasy points. J.R. Smith played no less than 28 minutes in any first-round game but had no more than 23 fantasy points. Still, despite mixed results, I would expect these guys to start and play heavy minutes at shooting guard and small forward with LeBron running the point. This automatically puts them in the value discussion. After that, I need to see someone step up before I believe it. George Hill had a solid game seven with 24 fantasy points in 19 minutes but he's got to prove he's healthy before I'm ready to invest. Rodney Hood and Jordan Clarkson both have the ability to produce big fantasy games but ever since they got to Cleveland they've just been a shell of their former selves. Either of these guys could catch fire, likely at low ownership, but predicting when (if) that will happen is nearly impossible. I'm off Jose Calderon completely as long as George Hill is back in the mix. LeBron will play the majority of the point guard minutes and Hill will fill in behind him leaving very little for Calderon to work with.

Studs: Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan

Value: Delon Wright, Fred VanFleet, J.R. Smith, Kyle Korver

Fades: Jordan Clarkson, Rodney Hood, George Hill, Jose Calderon

Forward:

There's a lot of potential value at the forward position in this matchup but similar to guard figuring out which guy will go off on which night is going to be extremely difficult. The most intriguing play here is Kevin Love. He was horrible against the Pacers never scoring more than 30 fantasy points in any game during that series. But, his price has now dropped pretty significantly. Since the start of the first round, Love is down $1200 on DraftKings and $1800 on FanDuel. He had success against the Raptors this season with over 40 fantasy points in two of their three meetings. At his current price and with the ceiling we know he's capable of you have to put him in the value category for the time being. Jeff Green started off round one playing only 13 and 16 minutes for the first two games. He then wound up playing at least 20 minutes in each of the remaining games. He had a couple of fantasy performances of over 20 points which would be a solid return given his current salary. He's someone to keep an eye on as a GPP flyer. Larry Nance was the opposite of Green. He played bigger minutes the first two games and then never played more than 20 for the remainder of the series so that Green could get extra time. If that continues than Nance is off my radar but it will be something worth watching in game one. On the Toronto side, OG Anunoby and CJ Miles basically split the minutes right down the middle. Between the two of them, they only broke 20 fantasy points once in the first round. Neither of them had any success against the Cavs in the regular season either. Serge Ibaka is more interesting. His price has dropped since the first round series with Washington but he did put up a couple of big games in that series. The issue with him is his minutes were all over the place. He's a boom or bust option in GPPs. The guy who stood out to me at forward for Toronto was Pascal Siakam. In their three meetings during the regular season, he played 24, 26, and 23 minutes and finished with fantasy points totals of 33, 20, and 24. Any of these would be an excellent return given his current price tag. He's one of my favorite options in this matchup and he should go low owned (at least until people catch on). I wouldn't go crazy but he's definitely someone you can consider.

Studs: LeBron James

Value: Kevin Love, Pascal Siakam, Jeff Green

Fades: Larry Nance, OG Anunoby, CJ Miles

Center:

Are we buying Tristan Thompson's game seven performance? He went off for 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 32 fantasy points in 35 minutes. Personally, I'm going to start him off in the fade category as I need to see it more than once before I buy in and I suspect he'll be crazy popular after his recent big game and his current price. I'll jump off and hope he goes right back to his usual ways. During the regular season, he only averaged 18.5 minutes per game against the Raptors with a 22 fantasy point performance and a 10 fantasy point performance. For Toronto, Valanciunas had some really efficient games with 35, 30, and 30 fantasy points against the Cavs without ever playing more than 22 minutes. His last two games of the first round he caught fire with 42 and 36 fantasy points while finally getting some playing time. It seems like the Raptors have figured out they need him. Given how efficient he is, even in limited minutes, his success against the Cavs, and two games now in a row with more than 30 minutes I really like him in this series. I sprinkled in a little Jakob Poeltl during the first round when Valanciunas was struggling to get minutes and the Raptors frontcourt was really difficult to figure out. He had a nice return for me a couple of times but I'm hesitant to use him now if Valanciunas is really going to get 30 minutes per night. This will be a wait and see approach.

Studs: Jonas Valanciunas

Values:

Fades: Tristan Thompson (for now), Jakob Poeltl

Like what you read? Give us a thumbs up below!