This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
Every night in the postseason has sparse game loads, which means lots of overlap but also lots of opportunity to win if you hit on the right player or two. The Celtics and Wizards played a classic in Game 2 and now go to Washington for Game 3 with the Wizards in must-win mode. That game seems like it could be close and exciting. The other game features the Warriors and the Jazz in Oakland for Game 2, after the Warriors won Game 1 rather easily. Utah's starting point guard, George Hill, is out for the game. That could make Game 2 an even bigger blowout.
Isaiah Thomas, BOS at WAS ($9,600): This spot could easily go to John Wall, as neither team has done much to slow the star point guard of the other team. Both are coming off games of around 70 fantasy points, and both have a history of success against the other franchise. Wall has, in fact, outscored Thomas by a few points in the first two games of the series, but Thomas averaged a few more points than Wall in their head-to-head series this season. Plus, Thomas is a bit less expensive, so could be the better buy. The best situation may be to deploy both of them.
Bradley Beal, WAS vs BOS ($7,600): Beal had scored at least 27 points in four straight games, and five of six, before he struggled on Tuesday. The Celtics have some tough 1-on-1 defenders on the perimeter, and Beal may have had some trouble with Marcus Smart and/or Avery Bradley as running mate John Wall torched Isaiah Thomas. However, Beal will be back home on Thursday, and he did hit the same Celtics defense for 27 points in Game 1, so he could be due for a bounce-back.
Shelvin Mack, UTA at GS ($2,700): George Hill will miss Game 2 with a toe injury. His replacement hasn't been announced, but Mack seemingly has an inside track over Dante Exum and Raul Neto. Mack scored 21.4 fantasy points in 21 minutes of Game 1, mainly in garbage time, but he has shown flashes of productivity during the season when called upon to start. Keep an eye out for updates, though, because if a teammate is tabbed as the starter they could make a good punt play as well.
Draymond Green, GS vs UTA ($8,800): Green has been as money as his Twitter handle in these playoffs, having one game of 61.9 fantasy points then between 37.4 and 43.6 fantasy points in the other four. The 43.6 fantasy point effort came in Game 1, and the Jazz don't have anyone with both the size and the agility to really slow down Green's all-around game.
Joe Johnson, UTA at GS ($5,600): Johnson has played big minutes in the playoffs, and has turned that into big production in about half of his appearances. With George Hill out, the Jazz will need someone to step into the scorer/team offense initiator role that Hill usually inhabits. Johnson is a good candidate to do that, and if he does it could be lucrative for him.
Otto Porter, WAS at BOS ($5,600): Porter has scored 34.7 and 31.8 fantasy points in the two playoff games against the Celtics, and he averaged more than 30 fantasy points against them in the regular season as well. He matches up well against them, and will also be playing at home on Thursday in a must-win game.
Al Horford, BOS at WAS ($8,300): Horford has scored 45.8 and 36.9 fantasy points in the two games against the Wizards, and has been between 29.7 and 45.8 fantasy points in all eight playoff games so far. Horford is playing well, he has had success against the Wizards all season, and with all of the extra attention that Isaiah Thomas is likely to receive on Thursday it should open things up for Horford.
Marcin Gortat, WAS vs BOS ($6,200): Gortat has produced double-doubles in both of the first two games of the series, scoring 41.6 and 34.5 fantasy points. He is an inconsistent player in general, but seems to be too big for the Celtics to slow him this series.
Javale McGee, GS vs UTA ($3,400): McGee scored only four fantasy points in the series opener, so he's a big risk. But, he had scored between 13.6 and 29 fantasy points in the eight games before that. He's efficient and productive, especially in garbage time situations, and with George Hill out there is a reasonable chance that Game 2 becomes a bigger blowout than Game 1 was. This would work to McGee's favor. Still, he's a punt play.
