Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James holds the ball away from Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas during the second quarter of a NBA basketball game in Boston Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
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Analysis
The Cavs showed us a lot in game one and it's clear how they want to attack the Hawks in this series. They went primarily small with Thompson getting a lionshare of the minutes at the five and the Cavs working for mismatches all over the court. It worked and expect to see a lot of the same in this one. Cleveland is a big problem for Atlanta's personnel because they are just too athletic and big in their small ball unit if the latter makes sense. I don't see how the Hawks can hang in this series really if the Cavs are going to play this five for most of the game.
Vegas agrees of course with the Cavs opening at -7 for Wednesday's game. It's the only one of the docket for tonight so enjoy.
Top Plays
Opponent - ATL
FD Proj. Pts - 53.51 DK Proj. Pts - 55.67
Opponent - ATL
FD Proj. Pts - 39.82 DK Proj. Pts - 42.68
Opponent - ATL
FD Proj. Pts - 28.24 DK Proj. Pts - 28.85
Opponent - ATL
FD Proj. Pts - 24.5 DK Proj. Pts - 27.7
Sure this seems like a massive cop out. I'm just recommending the whole Cavs team right? Well yes, yes I am. But the kind of minutes safety you are looking at with these four guys is really about as good as it gets on a two game slate and they are priced with flexibility all around. On FanDuel I'd probably run all four without hesitation. You just have such a fantastic floor if the Cavs are committed to this being their lineup in the series. And there's no reason to doubt, short of a blowout, that it will happen. The only guy I left off is Kyrie because you can't start all five and he is the one who gets rotated on the odd-man out scheme. There is also other PG value out there so I think he's fine to avoid.
Opponent - CLE
FD Proj. Pts - 27.69 DK Proj. Pts - 29.14
From an offensive standpoint he has a fantastic game one going 16/12/4/2. He has defensive issues in certain rotations against the Cavs, but the Hawks need him out there for some scoring. He's a little pricey on DraftKings but fine to go with on FanDuel.
Opponent - CLE
FD Proj. Pts - 44.34 DK Proj. Pts - 46.04
I think he's the safest Hawk from the minutes standpoint. He put together a solid first game and is the one guy on their team versatile enough to guard multiple positions on this Cavs squad. He does have a habit of disappearing from view at times which is troubling considering the price, but I do think the floor is there.
Opponent - CLE
FD Proj. Pts - 28.66 DK Proj. Pts - 29.92
If you this Coach Bud is done with Teague and sees Schroder's skill set as giving Atlanta the best chance to win, then Dennis is a must start at these prices. He crushed in game one with a 27/6 line off the bench, playing more minutes than Teague. Look, this could of course go the other way, but I think Schroder is a fine play at only about 22 minutes for these salaries. The rest is bonus.
Analysis
The first game is this series was a total and complete slog and yes, that included the overtime. It was boring to watch and was just the opposite of what makes some other teams in the playoffs exciting. Outside of the last 90 seconds or so of regulation when the Raptors mounted a comeback, the game wasn't much to behold. Both of these teams make their bones on slowing the game down and working opponents over on defense. That they both employ this strategy only means we are in for more games like the first one. There's really no other way. Miami ranked 25th in PACE and Toronto ranked 29th. That's a lot of long shot clocks, walking the ball up the court and playing for one shot (not always a great one either).
The Heat stole a game in Toronto and there's also something clearly wrong with Kyle Lowry. Outside of the half court heave to send it to overtime (and even that looked awkward) he couldn't get anything going. It could be an injury, or fatigue. But he's struggled a ton in the playoffs and it isn't' going to get easier in this series.
Top Plays
Opponent - TOR
FD Proj. Pts - 37.06 DK Proj. Pts - 37.64
Clearly the man for the Heat right now and he put up a solid game one line with a 24/6/4/3/2 that extended into OT. He still only played around 33 minutes in regulation and the Heat have done a very solid job managing his minutes over the course of the regular season and the playoffs. It's that lack of top end run that holds me back on him just a little.
Opponent - TOR
FD Proj. Pts - 23.97 DK Proj. Pts - 26.03
Still taking a lot of shots for the Heat and getting out there for major minutes. Johnson's price hasn't moved much throughout but he's been a solid value considering the kind of shot volume he could see if it gets into the double digits of looks.
Opponent - TOR
FD Proj. Pts - 35.54 DK Proj. Pts - 36.14
He's such a high upside play but also a major risk if the Heat decide to sit him in crunch time because of the free throw shooting. He dominated the glass in the first game pulling down 17 boards. The scoring never came around as they couldn't work him in the post as much as they might have liked.
Opponent - MIA
FD Proj. Pts - 33.98 DK Proj. Pts - 34.56
If the Raptors think they can keep him on the court this much without being a complete and utter defensive liability over the long term then he's a fantastic value at center. Jonas wasn't out there a ton in the first game, running around 36 minutes in regulation and finishing with the line of the game at 24/14. If you think he's going to see minutes in the mid 30's again then he's almost a must play at these prices.
Opponent - MIA
FD Proj. Pts - 35.83 DK Proj. Pts - 36.76
He doesn't take great shots and he can be a frustrating guy to watch. But he also has upside if he's going to put up 22 shots a game in this series.
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View Comments
You the man Val!
so glad i did a last minute switch from bogut to JV!! cashed out in 70% of my LU's!! optimizer was on point last night!!
Hey what optimizer you used..
Cash game lineups for DK?
It's called rigging, Tammy!
Would someone please explain Norman Powell to me. "He's a backup SG, NO, He's now an 'All-Star' SF & the second coming of K. Durant. "No. "He's a guy who ruins your day with his fake 11 pts every time." I don't get it; him. Meanwhile, T. Ross goes for 20 FP after essentially a DNP Sunday...
Starting think nearly impossible winn bigg on tournaments no matter how much effort put into it
but Then yu see same names winning big tournaments
Over and over comeing top 5 like wtf -
The same big names you see in those tournaments play almost 100-120 different LU's a night. They do it for a living
PG Schroeder & Irving
SG Smith & Korver
SF James & Bazemore
PF Love & Millsap
C Valanciunas
What do you think of this FD lineup?
A solid lineup but it will be very COMMON as well.
I totally agree!!!!! Last night I was up to $160.00 and play 18 games!! Toward the end of the last quarter I end up with $10!! I WAS ENRAGED!!!! Something is not right!!!!! I had incredible players!!! It is TOTALLY RIGGED!!!
Korver could, and should indeed have better night, pretty impossible to play worse, but there is no way in hell that I run that guy out there in my LU.
He is just another one of those guys, roster him, he disappears, don't roster him, he blows up, or at least has decent numbers.
If I'm going down, I'd rather go down without him on my roster, good luck.
That's my lineup haha!
I can almost guarantee you that JV will not score 54 fantasy points again! This is what is going to happen.... Everyone will own Valanciunas tonight and he will throw up a dud, and Horford will blow up for 50! Everyone will ride Millsap tonight, and he will stink and Korner will blow up for 35! I'm starting to feel like this whole game is rigged!!! Those multi-entry gpp's are a scam! Unless your rich!
I can also guarantee that everyone will ride Schroder tonight and then Teague is going to wake up explode for 45! This whole things is unpredictable and a bunch of crap!
I have a feeling he's going to get the start over Teague by the way he's been performing.
So what's the verdict on the perfect Fanduel GPP lineup for tonight/tomorrow? LMAO!!
We need to get one of those SHARKS that win several G's every night in here. Same people every damn time.
would i be crazy to fade lebron james???
Yes. He needs to be included in tonight/tomorrows lineup assuming you are playing RIGGEDdual.
lol