This article is part of our DraftKings NBA series.
Following some high play-in drama Friday night between the Grizzlies and Warriors, we're finally set for the official start of the playoffs Saturday with a four-game, all-day slate. The injury report is thankfully light, so there is a deep player pool across the board to work with. Player rotations do undoubtedly get tighter in the postseason when there are enough healthy bodies, so that will be a factor to monitor for DFS purposes as the postseason unfolds.
Slate Overview
Here's a closer look at the two games with the highest projected totals on Saturday's slate:
Boston Celtics at Brooklyn Nets (Projected total: 229.5 points)
The Nets swept the three-game series from the Celtics in games that finished with totals of 218, 230 and 213 points. Brooklyn finished the season both scoring and allowing plenty of points – Steve Nash's squad surrendered 114.1 points per game while scoring 118.6 per contest. Boston was more subdued in both categories, yielding 111.0 per game while putting 112.7. The absence of Jaylen Brown (wrist) naturally hurts the Celts' overall offensive upside, but Evan Fournier played much better down the stretch after a rough start to his tenure with the team and could certainly help fill some of the scoring void. For the home squad, all eyes will naturally be on the Big Three, which played just eight games together during the regular season but naturally have the upside to help this total not only be met, but surpassed.
Portland Trail Blazers at Denver Nuggets (Projected total: 227.5 points)
These two trademark Western Conference squads only had one truly high-scoring game among their three this regular season, with a series that Denver won by a 2-1 margin featuring combined totals of 217, 211 and 248 points. As with the Celtics, the Nuggets are missing a key scoring piece in Jamal Murray (knee), who took his game to an entirely different level during last year's Orlando bubble postseason. Denver is also still missing Will Barton (hamstring) for Game 1, but both teams are otherwise in good health at key spots. The Blazers, much like the Nets, stood out for different reasons offensively (116.1 PPG scored) and defensively (114.3 PPG allowed), while the Nuggets put up a particularly impressive 117.1 points per home game while surrendering a stingy 110.6.
Injury Situations to Monitor
NOTE: Injury reporting is especially fluid in the NBA, where the status of multiple players can change during the course of a day. Therefore, although the following serves as a foundation for the latest injury report as of the time the article is written, check back throughout the course of the day with RotoWire for the latest news regarding the status of all players on that night's slate.
Will Barton, DEN (hamstring)/ Status: OUT
Barton's ongoing absence Saturday should lead to Monte Morris and Shaquille Harrison seeing plenty of minutes.
Robert Williams, BOS (toe)/ Status: PROBABLE
Williams will reportedly try to give it a go Saturday and will split time with Tristan Thompson as long as he's able to hang in with his troublesome foot/toe.
Other notable injuries:
Austin Rivers, DEN (illness)/ Status: OUT
PJ Dozier, DEN (groin)/ Status: OUT
Landry Shamet, BKN (ankle)/ Status: PROBABLE
Maxi Kleber, DAL (Achilles)/ Status: PROBABLE
Jeff Teague, MIL (knee)/ Status: PROBABLE
Elite Players
We have five players with five-figure salaries on Saturday's slate – Giannis Antetokounmpo ($10,700), Nikola Jokic ($10,600), Luka Doncic ($10,500), James Harden ($10,300) and Jayson Tatum ($10,100).
Antetokounmpo averaged 44.5 DK points against the Heat in three regular-season games and will naturally see immense usage in the postseason. He also averaged 54.4 DK points per home game during the regular season.
Jokic is a legitimate MVP candidate and took on an even bigger role once Murray went down. That should not only persist but even potentially be magnified in the postseason. The big man averaged 59.0 DK points per home game during the regular season and 43.9 in three games versus Portland.
Doncic will have Kristaps Porzingis healthy to start the postseason and can sometimes see a slight hit to his usage when that's the case, but he performed very well against the tough Clippers defense during the regular season with an average of 63.6 DK points and 47.8 percent shooting across three games.
Harden should be a full go in terms of health and minutes and looked good during his two games back at the end of the regular season. He scored 51 DK points in his one game against the Celtics this season, but it remains to be seen how much usage he sees with both of his fellow stars on the floor, although his assists could certainly see a boost because of their presence.
Tatum flashed his massive ceiling a couple of times this season and should be in for all the usage he can handle with Brown out, even though he'll certainly get help from Walker and Fournier in particular. It's also worth noting he was excellent against the Nets over three regular-season games, averaging 46.4 DK points on 50.7 percent shooting.
Healthy players with salaries in the high four figures capable of also delivering elite scores include Kevin Durant ($9,700), Damian Lillard ($9,400), Kyrie Irving ($9,200) and Jimmy Butler ($8,400), with all four players expected to see hefty usage in what should be competitive matchups.
Expected Chalk
In addition to the players just mentioned in the prior section, other likely chalk plays include:
Bam Adebayo, MIA ($8,300)
Adebayo has frequently been Butler's partner in crime fantasy-wise this season and averaged a solid 36.8 DK points over three games vs. Bucks in regular season.
Michael Porter, DEN ($8,200)
Porter has been an excellent complementary source of scoring, particularly since Murray went down, and boasts a 40.0-plus DK-point ceiling.
Khris Middleton, MIL ($8,100)
Middleton should be in for his usual high-usage role and put up a solid 37.0 DK points average over three games against Heat in regular season.
Kawhi Leonard, LAC ($8,000)
Leonard is discounted by his standards and should see a big step up in fantasy production now that the postseason is here.
Kemba Walker, BOS ($7,500)
Walker should be heavily involved in trying to help Tatum make up for the absence of Brown and he finished the regular season scoring at least 45 DK points in seven of 10 games.
Key Values
Norman Powell, POR at DEN ($5,700)
Powell averaged 25.4 DK points in two games against the Nuggets this season while shooting an impressive 47.4 percent, including 44.4 percent from distance. Denver had trouble defending small forwards as the season wound down, finishing the campaign ranked in the bottom half of the league in offensive efficiency surrendered to the position (22.8 percent) and yielding 65.1 DK points per game over the last five to players with small forward designations. Powell averaged a solid 27.0 DK points during his road games with the Raptors and Blazers this season and should benefit from the defensive attention that will undoubtedly be heaped on his talented pair of backcourt teammates.
Donte DiVincenzo, MIL vs. MIA ($5,100)
DiVincenzo averaged 29.8 DK points against the Heat in three games this season while lighting up Miami for 52.4 percent from behind the arc, and Miami finished the season allowing 53.3 DK points per game over the last 10 to players with shooting guard designations. DiVincenzo also finished the regular season in fine form, scoring 26.8 to 37.3 DK points over his last seven games while shooting 50.0 percent, including 41.7 percent from distance. He averaged 25.5 DK points per home contest during the regular season also, and although he'll naturally serve as a secondary option on most possessions, his ability to contribute across the stat sheet certainly keeps him viable at this salary.
Monte Morris, DEN vs. POR ($3,300)
Morris makes for an intriguing low-risk tournament play at his current salary, considering he should enjoy a solid role and has repeatedly demonstrated an ability to put up solid fantasy returns with workloads of at least 20 minutes. Coach Mike Malone purposely took it easy with Morris at the end of the regular season with the veteran coming off a hamstring injury, but he should be well rested and a full-go beginning with Saturday's game. Morris could even be in for a start at shooting guard with Barton still out, but even if he comes off the bench, he'll be in a good matchup against a Portland team that allowed the second-highest offensive efficiency to second-unit players (46.6 percent) in the league. Morris delivered over 5x return on his current salary in 31 of 47 games this regular season, so he could turn out to be one of the more rewarding sub-$4K options on Saturday's slate.
