This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
There's one ticket left to be stamped for the Western Conference Finals, and it'll be decided Sunday as the Nuggets and Thunder duel in a pivotal Game 7 matchup. Action begins at 3:30 p.m. EDT, and I've got some sample builds for FanDuel's single-game format below.
SLATE OVERVIEW
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We encounter a lot of single-game scenarios during the playoffs, and the Sunday slate gives us another opportunity to try our luck with this format. First, let's run down FanDuel's single-game structure.
FanDuel's roster has six slots, consisting of five UTILITY spots and one MVP spot. The player in the MVP spot receives a point multiplier of 1.5x. Unlike previous years where the MVP spot's salaries were static, FanDuel has adjusted the rules and follows a model similar to DraftKings where the MVP salaries are also multiplied by 1.5x. While conventional wisdom suggests a static list of the top six players should be the ideal choice, the salary multiplier introduces several scenarios where the highest-scoring player may not be the best avenue for MVP success. Let's use today's matchup as an example. Taking Nikola Jokic may seem like the ideal move for the multiplier, but the exorbitant $25,800 multiplied salary could deny you value elsewhere. While 1.5x is a significant increase, achieving balance in the standard UTIL slots is imperative and Jokic's salary could foil your chances to achieve that. When making decisions like this, it's important to consider if the additional 0.5x is more valuable than the intrinsic value of the salary advantage received by picking a better utility player.
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INJURIES
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DEN Aaron Gordon (hamstring) - QUESTIONABLE
Gordon joins Jamal Murray and Russell Westbrook on the injury report, though Gordon is the only player with a questionable tag. We should know his status closer to tipoff. His absence would be a blow to Denver's interior, and more production would be needed from Julian Strawther ($1,800).
MVP CANDIDATES
Christian Braun, DEN (MVP $9,900, UTIL $6,600)
Jalen Williams, OKC (MVP $14,100, UTIL $9,400)
Nikola Jokic, DEN (MVP $25,800, UTIL $17,200)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (MVP $21,000, UTIL $14,000)
These players are listed in order of preference, and the choices represent two different avenues when constructing your lineups. My favorite method is to utilize Jokic and Alexander in the UTIL positions and take someone like Braun or Williams at the top to stay within FanDuel's $60,000 cap. Taking SGA or Jokic as the MVP will require some significant sacrifices, but there are ways to get there. In the first method, Williams is a more difficult MVP to roster over Braun, and it would likely result in omitting an elite utility spot with SGA the likely casualty. The second option with Braun in a utility spot would even things out a bit, though Williams would be difficult to reach. I'm not opposed to either one, but I would recommend going for Jokic as MVP if you're going the second route. I'd get production from Jokic and SGA sans the multiplier with Braun at the top, and there's enough value left to make better utility choices.
UTILITY CANDIDATES
Jokic ($17,200), SGA ($14,000), Williams ($9,400), Braun ($6,600)
Michael Porter, DEN ($4,200)
Russell Westbrook, DEN ($4,000)
Isaiah Hartenstein, OKC ($6,300)
Alex Caruso, OKC ($3,400)
This is also ordered by preference, yet the salaries for some of these players represent salary-saving scenarios depending on which build you select. If you want to get all four MVP candidates involved in some way, you'll have to reach down to someone like Caruso to stay under the cap. A Jokic MVP would make Caruso a lock in my view, though you could get away with an SGA MVP and ditch Williams in the same scenario. Here's how ideal builds would look with both of our chosen methods:
ELITE MVP Routes:
MVP Jokic/SGA/Braun/Porter/Westbrook/Caruso
MVP SGA/Jokic/Braun/Porter/Westbrook/Hartenstein
Braun MVP Build:
MVP Braun/Jokic/SGA/Williams/Porter/Westbrook
ALTERNATE PLAYERS
Gordon obviously comes to mind when considering other build options, but hamstring injuries are difficult to predict and he could be limited if available. I don't think we need to resort to reaching for Strawther if Gordon can't go as we can ultimately get better production without the sacrifice.
Noticeably absent from my recommendations are Jamal Murray ($9,000) and Chet Holmgren ($8,600). Their MVP salaries are too high for me, and both of their UTIL salaries are difficult to fit into our plans. One way to get either involved is to omit Williams in the Braun build or sacrifice SGA entirely in a Jokic MVP build to get both in. I think the pair are set up for elite production, though it isn't my favorite avenue.
Murray/Holmgren sample build: Braun/Jokic/Williams/Murray/Holmgren/Porter
This build leaves money on the table. It's not enough cash to make major improvements in the build unless you moved Murray or Holmgren to the MVP spot and demoted Braun to the UTIL pool.
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