This article is part of our DraftKings NBA series.
Slate Overview
Golden State Warriors at Dallas Mavericks (-3.0)
Total: 217.5 points
The Warriors appear to have a commanding lead in the series after dominating Game 1 and rallying to go up 2-0. Sunday will be the Mavericks' last chance to make this competitive and they'll be back in front of their home crowd. There's not a great feel for pace or scoring, as the pair of matchups to this point have gone very differently.
That isn't a big concern, however, as we have another Showdown slate. One of my favorite strategies for the format is comparing player props to DraftKings salaries in an attempt to identify values. Not all props are set at the time of this article being drafted, so check for updated lines throughout the day to help with roster construction.
For those unfamiliar with the format, the player in the Captain slot gets 1.5X points but is also priced at an increased rate. There are no positional designations as in traditional contests, instead the Captain slot is paired with five UTIL roster spots.
Injury Situations to Monitor
Andrew Wiggins, GSW (ankle): Questionable
Wiggins is formally listed as questionable but is expected to play.
Other injuries:
Gary Payton, GSW (elbow): Out
Andre Iguodala, GSW (neck): Out
Captain
There are two obvious choices at captain in Luka Doncic ($20,400) and Stephen Curry ($17,100). Using Doncic would leave roughly $5,900 to fill the remaining UTIL spots, while Curry would leave $6,500. Besides price, I'd let contest type dictate choice between the duo.
In cash games, Curry is my preference. He has a very tight distribution of results, as he's topped 40 DK points in nine of 13 playoff games. However, once his minutes limit was lifted after Game 3 of the team's opening series against Utah, that number has jumped to eight of 10 games. That offers some safety.
Doncic has outperformed Curry consistently, but we saw his floor game when put up only 34.75 DK points in Game 1 against the Warriors. Due to his extreme cost, starting with Doncic in the captain slot would force a high variance build, which is better suited for larger-field tournaments.
Jordan Poole ($9,600) and Jalen Brunson ($12,600) are two pivots I'd consider. Brunson has the highest points over/under set by DraftKings Sportsbook besides Doncic and Curry. He's priced appropriately, so that doesn't create a lot of value. A riskier alternative is Poole, which would open the budget enough to play both Curry and Doncic in UTIL slots.
UTIL Options
To state the obvious, the UTIL slots will largely be dictated by the Captain selection. At first glance, it appears Maxi Kleber ($4,800) has taken on a minimal role in the series as he's posted only 7.25 and 12.25 DK points across the first two games of the series. However, he played 33 minutes in Game 2 and has gone a combined 2-for-9 from the field.
There's a wide variance in his role, so he's more of a tournament option. Davis Bertans ($2,600) could be the punt-priced version of Kleber, but that pivot should be done strictly on the basis of his price.
Otto Porter ($5,400) is a more palatable cash-game play. He's locked into 23 or 24 minutes and topped 19.75 DK points in five of his last seven postseason games.
Poole ($6,400) remains a very viable option in the UTIL slot and fits nicely with Curry in the Captain slot.
Reggie Bullock ($6,400) is worth noting as a UTIL option, but he's had a spike in price. He's played 36 and 44 minutes in the first two games of the series, and he's shot well. Even so, he's managed only 22.25 and 30.25 DK points due to lack of peripheral stats. That's been the case for most of the postseason, so I'm not particularly interested at the new price point.
Brunson ($8,400) is also a strong play but is a difficult fit with one of Doncic or Curry in the Captain slot. If I were to head in this direction, I'd play Doncic as my Captain and use Bertans as a punt play. That would leave $6,200 for the last three spots, which pushes us back in the range of the other UTIL options discussed above.
