NBA Finals: Daily fantasy basketball picks for Heat-Nuggets, Game 1
Game 1 of the NBA Finals is here. It's an improbable matchup, with the Heat making it through the Eastern Conference to take on the Nuggets. Thursday's matchup also brings another single-game contest on Yahoo.
In addition to selecting two flex players, there are three multiplier positions in this single-game format. A player slotted into the Megastar spot will earn double their fantasy points scored. The Superstar spot will earn 1.5X his fantasy points scored. Finally, the Star will earn 1.2X his fantasy points scored. With that in mind, let's highlight some players to consider.
MULTIPLIERS
Nikola Jokic ($56): Jokic continues to produce eye-popping numbers. During the Nuggets' playoff run, he has recorded eight triple-doubles. In total, he has averaged 29.9 points, 13.3 rebounds, 10.3 assists and 1.1 steals in 39 minutes per game. His salary will do a number on your budget, but he is still well worth it.
Jimmy Butler ($43): Butler is the main reason why the Heat have made it this far. During the regular season, he averaged 22.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game. In the playoffs, he has averaged 28.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2.1 steals. If the Heat are going to pull off another upset, they will need to ride Butler's hot hand to get there. Expect him to receive as many shot attempts as he can handle, while also providing plenty of rebounds, assists and defensive stats.
Jamal Murray ($37): Murray shot 45.4 percent from the field during the regular season and has shot 48.0 percent during the playoffs. He is an excellent three-point shooter, shooting 37.3 percent from behind the arc for his career. As Jokic's main running mate, he also brings a high floor to the table.
FLEX PLAYS
Caleb Martin ($19): The Celtics had no answer for Martin, who averaged 19.3 points on 60.2 percent shooting from the field during the Eastern Conference Finals. He saw his role increase as the series moved along, culminating with him starting the final two games. He logged at least 41 minutes in both matchups, scoring 45.5 and 44.5 Yahoo points, respectively. Expect him to be locked into a ton of minutes for Game 1.
Kyle Lowry ($13): The Heat hope to get Tyler Herro (hand) back for Game 3. However, they are still thin at guard until that happens. Their limited depth has forced Lowry to average 27 minutes over their last 13 games. While his production hasn't been off the charts, he scored at least 20.9 Yahoo points 11 times. That makes him worth considering at near the minimum salary.
PLAYER TO AVOID
Aaron Gordon ($21): Gordon helped finish off the sweep of the Lakers with 42.7 Yahoo points in Game 4. However, that was certainly an outlier performance for him. Prior to that, he had scored 18.6 Yahoo points or fewer in four straight games. In the playoffs, he has just three games in which he has scored at least 30.0 Yahoo points. With him averaging just 9.8 shot attempts per game during that span, his upside isn't all that appealing.