There are two games for tonight’s DFS NBA main slate and one of the games features the start of the Los Angeles Lakers-Golden State Warriors series. The Lakers won the season series against the defending NBA champs three games to one and three of their matchups were between February and April. The earlier matchup for tonight’s slate is game two between the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks. The Heat were victorious in game one on the road but both sides are dealing with health issues so make sure you’re checking back in on the injuries continuously prior to the start of the game. Jimmy Butler is out tonight for Miami and Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson’s statuses for tonight’s game are up in the air. Here are tonight’s top DFS NBA plays for the NBA Playoffs.

 

Miami Heat @ New York Knicks-Game 2-(MIA leads 1-0)

O/U: 207

Spread: NYK -8.5

Miami Heat Injuries:

-Jimmy Butler-Out

-Tyler Herro-Out

-Victor Oladipo-Out

Miami Heat DFS NBA Breakdown

The Heat started game one off playing lazy on defense and the Knicks kept attacking the paint until they realized late in the first half that a better gameplan is to force Jalen Brunson to pass off and allow the Knicks to take more open shots from downtown. The Knicks have been the weakest three-point shooting team throughout the postseason and Miami should look to implore the same strategy of keeping the Knicks out of the paint as much as possible. Jimmy Butler produced a double-double but completely rolled his ankle towards the end of the game and he became a decoy. He went through the team's shootaround earlier today according to reports, but, he won't be active tonight. 

With Tyler Herro out of action, more of the offensive burden has fallen on Gabe Vincent. Vincent will get more shots tonight. The Heat will have to shoot a bit better from downtown in game two. Kyle Lowry bailed Miami out by scoring 18 points and hitting 50 percent of his three-pointers. Lowry did a really good job running the offense in the first game and it wouldn’t be surprising seeing him have a similar or even larger role especially to set up Vincent to take threes when both are on the court together. Vincent scored 20 points and dropped 5 dimes. He’s used to being a shooter, but because of the various injuries at guard, he’s been running the point with the starters. It will be tough for Bam Adebayo to have a monster game against the Knicks unless Mitchell Robinson gets in foul trouble. When he gets bottled up in the post, he’ll kick out often to an open Kevin Love, who will be moving around the perimeter. Multiple players get a production boost when it comes to time with the ball and Kevin Love and Kyle Lowry are two value plays that will see their production ceilings rise.

Tier 1 Play(s): Gabe Vincent, Kyle Lowry 

Tier 2 Play(s): Bam Adebayo, Kevin Love, Caleb Martin 

 

New York Knicks Injuries:

-Julius Randle-Questionable

-Jalen Brunson-Questionable

-Jericho Sims-Out

New York Knicks DFS NBA Breakdown

 After coming out soaring offensively to start game one, the Knicks were exposed regarding their unreliable three-point shooting and Miami will continue to clog the lane and the Knicks will need someone to answer the call and sink a few long-range shots to keep the team competitive. Both Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson are dealing with ankle injuries and we’re unsure if either will be on the floor tonight. The Knicks need at least one of Randle or Brunson active to keep up with Miami and Brunson was the team’s best long-range shooter during the regular season. If Randle sits, Obi Toppin will be relied on heavily again as he has been the Knicks best long-range shooter throughout the playoffs and he took 11 of his 15 shots last game from beyond the arc. He was the only Knicks player to hit more than one three-pointer last game. 

With Randle hurting, RJ Barrett has stepped up and he’s scored no fewer than 32 DraftKings points in 4 straight battles. He’s doing a great job attacking the rim and he was a big reason why the Knicks jumped out to an early lead in game one, but once the Heat shut down the lane, it was harder for him to navigate, but, if the Knicks are going to be cold shooting the ball from long-range again, they’ll have to force the attack and Barrett is one of their best attackers and could be in line for more time with the ball even if Brunson and Randle suit up.  Quentin Grimes only played 10 minutes after returning from a shoulder injury and the Knicks should consider setting him up at the arc more as he was one of the team’s best outside shooters during the regular season. We saw Mitchell Robinson pull down 14 rebounds last game and we continue to see him play heavy minutes. He won't get as many ally-oop opportunities with Adebayo shadowing him, but he can still produce enough boards and blocks to get us a good DFS return.

Tier 1 Play(s): Jalen Brunson (If Active), RJ Barrett, Obi Toppin (If Randle Sits), Immanuel Quickley (If Brunson Sits)

Tier 2 Play(s): Julius Randle (If Active), Mitchell Robinson, Josh Hart (If Brunson sits), Immanuel Quickley (If Brunson Plays), 

 

Los Angeles Lakers @ Golden State Warriors-Game 1

O/U: 227

Spread: GSW -4.5

Los Angeles Lakers Injuries:

-Mo Bamba-Questionable

Los Angeles Lakers DFS NBA Breakdown

Once the Lakers finished retooling their team when the NBA trade deadline passed, they immediately showed improvement defensively and between February and April, they were a top defensive team in the league and seeing them upset the Memphis Grizzlies wasn’t surprising. They’re deep and they’ve had success against the Warriors over the last few months. Tonight will be an interesting test of strength between Anthony Davis and Kevon Looney. Looney crushed the Sacramento Kings on the glass last series and Davis has notched four straight double-doubles and both teams were weak against opposing centers during the regular season. Davis has had a few great games against the Warriors this season. This game will move at a very quick pace and D’Angelo Russell should benefit from a softer matchup against Stephen Curry. 

The Lakers guards will be relied on heavily to produce on offense because Andrew Wiggins will be all over LeBron James on defense and he’ll likely have to pass off a lot when the Warriors defense is set up, and this will lead to Russell and Austin Reaves getting higher-percentage shots. Reaves has scored 16-plus points and dropped at least 4 dimes in both of his last 2 outings against the Lakers. Reaves has been more helpful on the glass recently pulling down four or more in each of his last five games and he’s dished six or more assists in each of his last three battles. The Warriors ranked 27th in the league at defending point guards and 23rd in the league at covering shooting guards.

Tier 1 Play(s): Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves

Tier 2 Play(s): LeBron James, D’Angelo Russell

 

Golden State Warriors Injuries:

-Andre Iguodala-Out

Golden State Warriors DFS NBA Breakdown

The Warriors were pushed to the limit by the Sacramento Kings and the Kings defense is poor, and the Lakers are going to be a tougher matchup for them because of the improvements they’ve made over the last few months. Stephen Curry was active for just two regular-season games against the Lakers and he scored 33 and 27 points in them. The Lakers were a bottom-six team at covering point guards, but they will try to force Curry to pass off. Curry shot very well last series and because of the quick pace expected in this battle, he should still be able to produce at a high level especially when the Warriors are in transition. The Lakers are stronger at defending shooting guards and Klay Thompson hasn’t been giving us strong returns in DFS throughout the playoffs. 

The Warriors got a lot of help in the paint last series from Kevon Looney who grabbed no fewer than 13 rebounds in each of his last five games. He’s coming off a double-double and he posted one against the Lakers earlier this year. Looney has also been more helpful moving the ball around dishing four assists or more in four of his last five contests. Draymond Green continues to be helpful posting assists and we did see him hit double figures in scoring twice against the Lakers during the regular season. It’s hard to rely on Green for scoring, but he’s very helpful generally on the glass (not as much last series), and he’s posted three multi-steal games and blocked shots in three of his last four battles. Andrew Wiggins will continue to play heavy minutes and he’s the Warriors top defender at the elbow and on the perimeter and he grabbed seven rebounds or more in four of his last five contests and during that span, he blocked multiple shots in multiple games and stole the ball in his last four battles. 

Tier 1 Play(s): Stephen Curry, Kevon Looney

Tier 2 Play(s): Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins

 

Player Pool

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