This article is part of our DraftKings NBA series.
Team Analysis
Defenses to avoid: Golden State Warriors, vs UTA: As I've maintained throughout the playoffs, there is rarely a good answer here. In the playoffs, every team can produce on a given night. The Warriors earned this slot by dint of being the heavy favorite tonight, while the Celtics and Wizards projects to be a closer but still high-scoring game. If the Warriors are able to blow the Jazz out, that: a) suggests that the Jazz players didn't all live up to expectations and b) that perhaps the starters might see limited minutes.
Offense to use: Boston Celtics, vs WAS: The Celtics have produced great offense, both as a team and as individuals, against the Wizards this season. Game 1 was no exception, as after a slow start the Celtics shredded the Wizards' defense the rest of the game. The Wizards could certainly bounce back, but the odds are that the Celtics will be fantasy friendly again in Game 2.
Isaiah Thomas, BOS vs WAS ($8,900): Thomas lost a tooth but played like a monster in Game 1, scoring 33 points with nine assists, five treys, a rebound and a blocked shot. This level of production is common for him against the Wizards, as he has now averaged 47.5 fantasy points in five games against them this season.
Bradley Beal, WAS at BOS ($7,700): Beal's hot shooting from the first round continued in Game 1 of the second round, as he scored 27 points with four treys, four assists, a block, a rebound and a steal. This marked his fourth straight game with at least 27 points, and overall he is averaging 40 fantasy points in his last five games.
George Hill, UTA at GS ($5,600): Hill is the lowest priced of the starting point guards on Tuesday and has played reasonably well of late with three straight games of between 28.25 and 35.25 fantasy points. He also played well in his only game against Golden State this season, scoring 20 points with five assists, five treys and two steals in that game.
Gordon Hayward, UTA at GS ($8,200): Hayward enters this series playing the best playoff basketball of his life. In his last four full games, he has averaged 50 fantasy points while leading the Jazz to a seven-game elimination of the Clippers. He is dual-eligible at small forward and power forward and will be relied upon as the main offensive engine to try to keep the Jazz in the game with the high-powered Warriors.
Draymond Green, GS vs UTA ($7,900): Green had a monster first round against the Trail Blazers, scoring between 44 and 46 fantasy points in the first three games of the series and 66 fantasy points in Game 4. He was at his versatile best, with two games scoring in double figures, two games grabbing double-digit boards, two games of nine or more assists, 17 total blocked shots, 11 total 3-pointers and seven total steals. On Tuesday, he faces a Jazz team that he averaged 11 points, 8.3 boards, five assists, 4.0 combined blocks/steals and 2.3 treys against in three games during the regular season.
Otto Porter, WAS at BOS ($5,800): Porter scored 16 points with 11 rebounds, two steals, an assists and a 3-pointer in Game 1. This was right in line with his production against the Celtics all season, as he averaged 35.4 fantasy points in their five games this season.
Al Horford, BOS vs WAS ($7,800): Horford popped for a near-triple-double in Game 1, scoring 21 points with 10 assists, nine rebounds, a block and a 3-pointer. This continues his string of stellar play in the playoffs, as he has averaged 42 fantasy points in his last four games. This also continues his season of strong play against the Wizards, as he now has averaged 40.7 fantasy points through four games against them this season.
Rudy Gobert, UTA at GSW ($7,300): Rudy Gobert had an awful, foul-heavy game in Game 7 against the Clippers, which led to him producing only six fantasy points in 13 minutes. Prior to that, he had averaged almost 39 fantasy points in 31 minutes in his first three games back from knee injury. He had a sprained ankle, which is still a bit of a question mark, but if he's healthy he has played well against the Warriors all season, averaging 42.7 fantasy points in three regular season games.
Marcin Gortat, WAS at BOS ($5,900): Gortat erupted for 16 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and two combined blocks/steals in 39 minutes in Game 1. Gortat has a physical mismatch in his favor against the Celtics, as he is much bigger than Al Horford or Amir Johnson. He has been up-and-down in recent playoff games, but has been overall solid with averages of 27.9 fantasy points in five games against the Celtics this season.
