This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
Miami and Boston will once again meet in the Eastern Conference Finals, and we'll walk you through some single-game endorsements for FanDuel's contests. Tip-off for the game is at 8:30 p.m. EDT.
SLATE OVERVIEW
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The Celtics and Heat meet again in the playoffs for the third time in the past four seasons. During the regular season, the Heat went 2-1 against the Celtics and won the two most recent games. Miami played without Jimmy Butler in their latest win, and the Celtics had Jaylen Brown and Al Horford off the floor, as well. Due to the litany of absences, we can't rely on these stats as an accurate measure of how this series will play out, but it's reasonable to assume that this series could go to seven games.
INJURIES
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There are no injury scenarios in Wednesday's player pool.
MULTIPLIER CANDIDATES
Jayson Tatum ($17,500) - MVP, STAR
Jimmy Butler ($17,000) - VARIES
Jaylen Brown ($15,500) - STAR, PRO
Bam Adebayo ($13,500)- MVP, STAR
Tatum has proven that even a slow start won't dampen his fantasy production, and we should reasonably expect the storyline to continue in this series. I'll assume the risk associated with the occasional blowup of Jimmy Butler, but at only $500 cheaper, his production doesn't merit this kind of spend-up. I'm willing to suspend exposure to Butler until I am proven otherwise. For those who want the high-end production of both players, I'll outline some ways to get there later in the article.
I'm targeting Adebayo as the second-best option for this set, mostly due to Al Horford's lack of success against him in the regular season. Over four games against the Celtics, Adebayo averaged 44 FDFPs per game and should emerge as the top interior producer in this series. At 13.5k, Bam comes at a significant discount.
Brown is a difficult fit, but he has the potential to be the second-highest scorer among the two teams. There's no way to profitably fit all three of these players, as we can go only to $7,000 at the absolute minimum in this player pool. We can reasonably fit two of these players, but we'll need a better fit in the final multiplier.
Kyle Lowry ($11,000) - PRO
Marcus Smart ($9,500) - PRO, UTIL
Malcolm Brogdon ($9,000) - PRO, UTIL
I'm endorsing these players in the order listed, and with a Tatum/Adebayo build, you can slot one of these players in the PRO slot and another in the utility position. All three players carry some volatility, but the Heat have placed a lot of faith in Lowry, who can explode from long-range on any given evening.
UTILITY CANDIDATES
Max Strus ($8,500) or Caleb Martin ($7,500)
Beyond Smart or Brogdon, utilizing one of these players should be a high priority. Strus is a streaky deep threat, and he came in handy while Martin dealt with a lingering back issue. Martin had a few days to rest, and he might steal back some of the minutes he lost to Strus during the series against the Knicks. If you are taking a MME route, I would opt for a 70/30 split between the two, with Martin being the contrarian upside option.
OTHER VARIABLES
I've left out Boston's frontcourt in my endorsements, but I would still give Al Horford ($12,500) some exposure despite a difficult fit. The 16-year vet stopped practice Tuesday and told his team to tighten things up after the team came in a bit too loose and relaxed. He's a leader, and the younger players follow his lead. As I said, his history against Miami isn't great, but I would consider swapping him in at the PRO slot.
Gabe Vincent ($8,000) will stay in the lineup longer if he gets hot, and his success would negatively impact Kyle Lowry's totals. I still favor Lowry, and Vincent may offer us salary space that we don't need, but there's no rule saying that we have to spend $60k. More often than not, the unique builds usually have some salary left over. Don't be afraid to leave some cash on the table to be unique.
Finally, there will certainly be a temptation for a Tatum/Butler build. While it will be a challenge to keep a build like this under the salary cap (and you'll have to exclude Adebayo), the following builds could allow for both All-Stars to fit into a lineup:
Tatum/Butler/Vincent/Brogdon/Strus
Tatum/Butler/Smart/Strus/R Williams
Tatum/Butler/Smart/White/Vincent
