NBA

FanDuel Single-Game Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Mavericks at Warriors (5/20/22)

In a traditional FanDuel NBA lineup, you have a $60,000 salary cap to roster nine players. In the single-game setup, the salary cap is the same, but the lineup requirements are different.

You select five players of any position. One of your players will be your MVP, whose FanDuel points are multiplied by two. You also select a STAR player (whose production is multiplied by 1.5) and a PRO (multiplied by 1.2). Two UTIL players round out the roster, and they don't receive a multiplier for their production.

This makes the five players you select important in more than one way, as you need to focus on slotting in the best plays in the multiplier slots rather than just nailing the best overall plays of the game. Read this piece by Brandon Gdula for some excellent in-depth analysis on how to attack a single-game slate in NBA DFS.

Mavericks-Warriors Overview

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Wednesday was a fantastic reminder that blowouts happen in single-game DFS. Some players make it a core part of their tournament strategy.

The Golden State Warriors routed the Mavericks in Game 1. We got a wildly different result in Game 2 out east. But at this point, with no dog in the fight, I'll just take a competitive basketball game to watch.

No rotational injury news is set to impact either squad in this game with only long-term absences on today's report, so we can play things straight up.

Player Breakdowns

At The Top

Luka Doncic ($16,500): Even despite a Game 1 dud, I don't mind comfortably ranking Doncic as the top guy. He got a salary increase just based on likely his popularity. Many might have more reservations amidst rumors the Warriors locked up Luka, but really, he just joined his entire time scuffling from the field. He shot 6-for-18 overall (33.3%) and just 30.0% from deep. With his full workload and just a couple of more of those shots falling, he'd still have likely led the slate in overall scoring.

Draymond Green ($13,000): Wednesday's dud was still a sonar-level glance in the Warriors' scoring hierarchy nightmare. Stephen Curry was the optimal MVP, but he scored just 21 points. It was built on the non-standard 12 boards he hauled down. Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole also had 19 points each. Draymond's 33.1 FanDuel points didn't lag that far behind Steph (44.1), and he scored just 10. He's by far the safest Warrior to target in the top tier because his work isn't related to shot volume.

Others to Consider: Stephen Curry ($15,500), Klay Thompson ($12,500)

In The Middle

Jordan Poole ($11,000): Poole had a spot in Wednesday's perfect lineup dropping 19 points in 27 minutes off the bench. Poole is underrated at getting to the rim, which may separate him a bit from Klay Thompson. The Mavs ran the Dubs off the three-point line (just 28 total attempts), but Poole was happy to oblige. He canned just one triple but added seven two-pointers and two free throws. He'll be more popular now after Game 1 shook the rust off his box score from the Memphis series.

Reggie Bullock ($10,000): To me, the key signature info to take with you entering this slate -- Dallas shot just 8-for-34 (23.5%) on catch-and-shoot threes in Game 1. They clanked several wide-open looks that they'll normally bury. Importantly, I want to buy low on Dallas' spot-up shooters like Bullock. Bullock went 3-for-10 from deep, matching Luka. He still played 36 minutes in a game that was lost in the third quarter, and that's an impeccable role for this salary.

Others to Consider: Jalen Brunson ($12,000), Andrew Wiggins ($11,500), Spencer Dinwiddie ($10,500)

At The Bottom

Dorian Finney-Smith ($9,000): To me, there is a case for just about any roster construction at the top of the board. Just make sure to include DFS. At $1,000 lower in salary, he matched Bullock's workload (36 minutes), and he (0.64 FanDuel points per minute) just been more productive all postseason than Reggie (0.57). It's worth remembering he downed eight three-pointers in Game 4 against Phoenix, and that single-game upside is non-existent elsewhere in the value tier.

Davis Bertans ($6,500): In a vacuum, Bertans is a terrible process play. He logged just 13 minutes in a blowout. But, he's the end of the road in terms of players that could still see the court in a competitive game. Rostering Bertans is much more about the opportunity cost of forgoing the additional points from a Kevon Looney or Otto Porter to jam in more studs -- particularly Luka and Steph together. It's always important to consider every type of roster construction to maximize points given the multipliers do not weigh each roster spot equally.

Others to Consider: Kevon Looney ($9,500), Otto Porter ($8,500)