This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We have just one game on the ledger Thursday night, as a shorthanded Warriors squad looks to overcome significant odds and take a second game in enemy territory to start the second round against the Timberwolves. Stephen Curry's absence due to a hamstring injury is naturally the key factor from a DFS perspective, as it will open up multiple value options on Golden State.
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 on multi-game slates and top players inevitably headed for heavy rostering, there are definitely strategic elements particular to single-game lineups. Finding key value plays for some of utility spots is undoubtedly 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, 5/8 @ 11:30 a.m. EDT:
Golden State Warriors at Minnesota Timberwolves (-10.5) (O/U: 201.5)
The Timberwolves would have been favorites to bounce back in Game 2 under any circumstance, but Curry's absence unsurprisingly has pushed Minnesota into double-digit-favorite status. Nevertheless, the fact remains Golden State has won four out of five meetings with Minnesota since the start of the regular season, and even with Curry only available for 13 minutes on Tuesday, they still walked away with an 11-point win.
Given the presence of Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green in particular, not to mention multiple key complementary players capable of filling multiple positions and a wing in Buddy Hield who can heat up and make up some of Curry's scoring vacuum, Golden State could be more competitive than expected.
Injury Situations to Monitor
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Stephen Curry, GSW (hamstring): OUT
Curry's absence is likely to lead to Gary Payton entering the starting five at small forward while Brandin Podziemski and Buddy Hield shift over to point guard and shooting guard, respectively. Meanwhile, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green should see major boosts in usage.
Elite Players
The two players with the highest MVP salaries on Thursday's slate are Anthony Edwards ($23,100) and Jimmy Butler ($22,800).
Edwards has now shot just 34.1 percent over his last two playoff games overall, but he did start to heat up in the second half of Game 1. Thanks to his work elsewhere on the stat sheet, he's still been able to muster totals of 49.2 and 51.8 standard FD points in those contests, and he's averaging 50.1 FD points since the start of the postseason.
Butler finished Game 1 with 50.2 FD points while Stephen Curry logged just 13 minutes due to his hamstring injury. With the latter out Thursday, Butler, who averages a 24.8 percent usage rate and 45.5 FD points per 36 minutes with Curry off the floor since joining Golden State, should be in for an extremely busy night.
Expected Chalk
With only one matchup, the likes of Julius Randle ($16,200), Draymond Green ($14,700) and Rudy Gobert ($12,900) should also be very popular.
Randle mustered a modest 27.6 FD points in Game 1, but his safe floor and average of 34.5 FD points since the start of the postseason should keep him very popular.
Green eclipsed 38 FD points for the second straight game in Game 1 and will now see an elevated role sans Curry, a scenario in which he's averaged 33.0 FD points per 36 minutes since the start of the regular season.
Gobert was back down to 30.2 FD points in Game 1 after exploding for 61.8 in the series-clinching win over the Lakers in the first round, but he should naturally still garner plenty of interest Thursday.
Key Values
The following players make for strong candidates for the Utility spots:
Naz Reid, MIN vs. GSW ($9,900)
Reid benefited from the change in opponent in Game 1, as after four straight games with under 20 FD points against the Lakers, he bounced back with 28.5 over 34 minutes off the bench versus Golden State. The versatile big man encouragingly took 14 shots, with half of those coming from three-point range, after having put up eight or fewer in each of the previous four games. While the allotment of minutes may have been a bit out of the norm Tuesday, Reid averaged a solid 27.5 during the regular season and should remain heavily involved relative to his second-unit role.
Buddy Hield, GSW at MIN ($9,600)
There are going to be multiple beneficiaries of Curry's absence, and Hield may have the highest upside of them all. The veteran sharpshooter's production has frequently run the gamut since the start of the regular season, and the postseason has been no different. However, Hield has offset a pair of single-digit FD-point tallies with four other performances where he's scored 29.4 to 50.1 FD points, with the latter total coming in Game 7 of the first round against the Rockets two games ago. He then contributed 41.1 in 40 minutes in Game 1 versus Minnesota, and with Curry out, Hield could well see his 22.8 percent usage rate and average of 31.3 FD points per 36 minutes without his star teammate on the floor both rise in Game 2.
Gary Payton, GSW at MIN ($6,600)
As alluded to earlier, Payton seems to be a good candidate to enter the starting five in Game 2 at small forward with Curry out. The defensive-minded wing played 26 minutes off the bench in Game 1 and shot 75.0 percent on four attempts, helping lead to 22 FD points. Payton has one other tally of over 20 FD points this postseason, and during the regular season, he contributed totals of 25.2, 28.0 and 29.3 FD points in three of his 12 starting opportunities. Payton also had five performances of greater than 30 FD points in his bench role, and he's averaging 35 FD points per 36 minutes with Curry off the floor since the start of the regular season.
ALSO CONSIDER: Brandin Podziemski, GSW at MIN ($11,400); Donte DiVincenzo, MIN vs. GSW ($8,700)
