This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
After an intriguing Game 1 in which the Thunder slowly wore down the Timberwolves, the two teams lock horns again 48 hours later. Minnesota will remain on a quest to steal a road game before the series shifts to its home floor, but oddsmakers unsurprisingly remain firmly in the corner of OKC heading into Game 2.
With only one matchup, we're dealing with FanDuel's single-game contest rosters comprised as follows:
MVP- (Garners points at 1.5x the normal rate)
Five Utility spots- (Garner points at normal rate)
With salaries also being different than in conventional FanDuel contests and top players headed for heavy rostering, there are definitely strategic elements particular to single-game lineups. Finding key value plays for some of the utility spots is key, as it enables you to roster a superstar in the MVP slot, where salaries for each player are 1.5x higher than if you were rostering them in a Utility spot.
Slate Overview
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Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Thursday, 5/22 @ 3:30 a.m. EDT:
Minnesota Timberwolves at Oklahoma City Thunder (-7.5) (O/U: 215.0)
Following a 26-point win in Game 1, the Thunder are favored by 7.5 points for the second straight contest. While the margin of victory in the opener was huge, Minnesota played well in the first half and held a 48-44 lead at intermission before things unraveled. Oddsmakers and the betting public likely expect a course correction to an extent on the part of the T-Wolves but still hold the Thunder in high regard.
Injury Situations to Monitor
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Elite Players
The two players with the highest MVP salaries on Thursday's slate are Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($24,000) and Anthony Edwards ($21,900).
SGA, who'll be playing his first game since officially being named MVP on Wednesday, opened the series in signature fashion by posting 57.5 standard FD points in 38 minutes. The star guard did atypically struggle with his shot, draining just 10 of 27 attempts from the floor. He also recorded three steals for the second straight game and continued to be the beneficiary of plenty of whistles, leading to 14 trips to the free-throw line. His upside and the frequent benefit of the doubt from the officials gives him the highest ceiling on the slate.
Edwards' shooting struggles returned in Game 1 after he'd endured a couple of rough outings earlier in the postseason, as he went just 5-for-13 from the field on his way to 32.3 FD points. However, OKC limited Edwards to 36.4 percent shooting during four regular-season meetings, so the lackluster production wasn't entirely surprising. Edwards will likely be more aggressive in Game 2 after averaging 21.1 shot attempts contest during Minnesota's playoff run leading into Tuesday's Game 1 loss.
Expected Chalk
With only one matchup, the likes of Jalen Williams ($12,800), Julius Randle ($12,200) and Chet Holmgren ($10,400) should also be very popular.
Williams carried over his momentum from a Game 7 win over the Nuggets to close the second round by generating 51.1 FD points Tuesday with the help of five steals, which should make him very popular at the same salary.
Randle kept up his strong postseason run in the losing effort Tuesday with 37.1 FD points in 35 minutes, and he should be in plenty of lineups considering he didn't see a salary increase.
Holmgren didn't miss a beat to start the Western Conference Finals, producing 35.9 FD points in just 25 minutes, his fourth straight postseason contest with over 31 FD points.
Key Values
The following players make for strong candidates for the Utility spots:
Jaden McDaniels, MIN ($8,000)
McDaniels fouled out after 23 minutes in Game 1, which led to a disappointing total of 21.7 FD points for the night. However, if he can avoid the whistle more consistently, he should deliver a strong return on investment, considering he came into the series averaging 30.2 FD points over 35.9 minutes per contest in Minnesota's first 10 playoff games. He also thrived against OKC in the regular season, putting up 18.0 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists in four games.
Isaiah Hartenstein, OKC ($5,600)
Hartenstein was under 20 FD points for the third straight contest in Game 1, tallying 18.0 FD points in 20 minutes. Still, the big man was efficient during his time on the floor, as he shot 6-for-8 from the field and pulled down five boards. His four fouls prevented a bigger night, but Hartenstein averaged a near double-double of 10.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.3 blocks in 25.3 minutes against the T-Wolves in four regular-season games.
Donte DiVincenzo, MIN ($5,000)
DiVincenzo helped close out his old Warriors squad with 35.4 FD points in Game 5 of that second-round series, and he opened with 21.2 FD points over 30 minutes against the Thunder in Game 1. The veteran wing's production has been up and down during Minnesota's playoff run, but he's already flashed upside north of 30 FD points on two occasions in that span and can always supplement his production with his defensive skills, as evidenced by five multi-steal tallies in his last 11 postseason games. DiVincenzo's playing time off the bench is steady and his minutes can hit the low 30s, making him a potentially rewarding bargain play.
ALSO CONSIDER: Rudy Gobert, MIN ($5,800); Cason Wallace, OKC ($4,000)
