The Conference Finals continue with Game 3 in the East on Sunday followed by Game 4 out West on Monday. Get your DFS fantasy basketball team in the game with FanSided’s FanDuel daily picks.
We could be on a crash-course to history, as never in NBA history have the Finals been comprised of two teams that went undefeated through their Conference playoffs. But the Warriors are now one game away and the Cavaliers only two from making that history a reality.
The Celtics lost by 46 points in Game 2, and compounded that by losing best player Isaiah Thomas to a hip injury for the rest of the playoffs. The games have shifted to Cleveland, and the Cavaliers look to be about five levels beyond what we’ve seen from the Celtics to this point. It seems unlikely that the Celtics can even keep this game competitive, and for them to win would require one of the great upsets in NBA history.
Out West, the Spurs put up a spirited effort on Saturday but still fell to the Warriors by double-figures. The Spurs are game, but simply outmanned without Kawhi Leonard. Leonard is questionable to play on Monday, though coach Greg Popovich has already announced that it is unlikely that he plays. The Spurs have several value plays with Leonard out, and if they are as scrappy on Monday as they were on Saturday, that could also force the Warriors to play their starters long enough to reach normal output.
My favorite plays of the day can be found on the following slides in FanSided’s FanDuel daily picks. Each day in order to offer a variety of price points at each position, you can find two slides for each position–one for high-salary options and one for high-value options. Each pick is ranked on a scale of 1-5 stars to indicate the confidence in the pick. The final slide of this post has more detail on what each level means, but in short, more stars means more confidence in the selection on a points-per-dollar basis.
Important note, every day the goal of this post is not to give you a copy-and-paste lineup. Instead, each selection is given while highlighting the factors you need to consider when building a customized lineup for yourself. If you want to see an example lineup, you can find it on the final slide of the post, but I suggest you adjust your lineup to fit your personal taste.
To keep up with all of FanSided’s DFS NBA coverage head over to the fantasy basketball hub where each day you can find a post like this tailored for FanDuel as well as one specifically designed for usage on DraftKings. In this post, all salary and “fantasy points” references are to FanDuel’s scoring system and salaries. If you have any additional questions or thoughts or are looking for updates as we approach tipoff, follow @FanSidedFantasy on Twitter or you can follow my account @ProfessorDrz or find me on my home turf of The Hoops Lab.
Let’s take a look at your best options for both studs and value players at each position.