NBA

FanDuel Single-Game Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Celtics at Heat (Game 3)

Boston's Jayson Tatum is ranked third in value on Sunday with a 3.0 rating and a 51.0 fantasy projection. Who else is a top option for Sunday's Game 3 slate?

In a traditional FanDuel NBA lineup, you have a $60,000 salary cap to roster nine players. The salary cap is the same in the single-game setup, 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 choose 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 essential in more than one way; 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.

Team Opp O/U Spread Implied Total Injuries
MIA BOS 214.5 3.5 105.5 Herro, Oladipo OUT
BOS MIA 214.5 -3.5 109

Player Breakdown

At the Top

Jimmy Butler ($17,500): Miami's clutch forward is numberFire's top option with 53.1 expected FanDuel points after he produced 1.49 FanDuel points per minute during the Eastern Conference Finals. In 1155 minutes this season with today's inactives, Butler is ranked first among his team in usage (27.8%) while averaging 0.71 real-life points per minute.

Jayson Tatum ($17,000): The 25-year old has been his team's top producer this series, averaging 1.15 FanDuel points and 0.77 real-life per minute. Even at a salary ranked second among today's slate, Tatum is third in value with a 2.99 rating and a 50.9 fantasy projection.

Bam Adebayo ($15,500): Despite a tough matchup versus a Boston defense allowing centers to score 21.6 real-life points and 48.8 FanDuel points per game to centers this regular season, Adebayo has accounted for 1.23 FanDuel points per minute in his past two games. With Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo off the floor, Miami's big man has played an increased offensive role, accounting for a 26.1% usage rate and 0.57 real-life points. .

In the Middle

Jaylen Brown ($14,000): Despite a disappointing 23.3 fantasy performance in Game 2, Brown still ranks fourth overall with 38.1 expected FanDuel points. In 75 minutes versus Miami this postseason, Brown is recording 0.76 FanDuel points and 0.50 real-life points per minute.

Al Horford ($11,500): Boston's veteran sees a 0.21 boost to 0.87 FanDuel points per minute with the Celtics' projected starting five on the floor on the season.

Marcus Smart ($10,000): The Celtics' point guard is fifth in value with a 2.79 rating and a 27.9 fantasy projection after he logged 0.77 FanDuel points per minute and an inconsistent 15.9% usage rate during the Eastern Conference Finals.

At the Bottom

Caleb Martin ($9,500): Even in a second unit role, Martin has averaged 30.5 minutes off the bench versus Boston this postseason while producing an efficient 1.10 FanDuel points per minute.

Malcolm Brogdon ($9,000): After recording 0.80 FanDuel points per minute in the first games this series, the Celtics' award winning sixth man is second in value with a 3.03 rating and a 27.3 fantasy projection.

Kyle Lowry ($9,000): In 941 minutes with today's injuries, Lowry ranks third among his team's expected rotation in fantasy production (0.94 FanDuel points per minute) and fourth in usage (19.7%).

Robert Williams ($8,500): "Time Lord" is fifth among his team in value with a 2.73 rating and a 23.2 fantasy projection after the big man accounted for 1.02 FanDuel points and 0.55 real-life points per minute this series.

Gabe Vincent ($8,000): Despite averaging seven shot attempts per game versus Boston, Vincent has averaged 0.62 FanDuel points per minute. Miami's guard is third on his team in value with a 2.69 rating and a 21.5 fantasy expectation.

Max Strus ($7,500): At a salary ranked 12th among today's slate, the Heat's three-point specialist is fourth overall in value with a 2.89 rating and a 21.7 fantasy projection. In 60 minutes this series, Strus is producing 0.51 FanDuel points per minute and a 12.8% usage rate.

Derrick White ($7,500): The 28-year old is logging 21.5 minutes per minute in the past two games while averaging 0.84 FanDuel points per minute and a 14.3% usage rate.