A pair of favorites came out on top in Monday’s NBA slate. The Miami Heat held off the Joel Embiid-less Philadelphia 76ers and the Phoenix Suns managed to stave off a ridiculous outburst from the Dallas Mavericks‘ Luka Doncic. Two more games will make up Tuesday’s slate. The Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks will look to secure two-game leads against the Memphis Grizzlies and Boston Celtics. We’ll get into what Fantasy managers should be on the lookout for ahead of lock, but only after reviewing Monday’s top performers.
Monday standouts
Doncic’s regular-season numbers against the Suns were modest by his usual standards, but he flipped the script in the first second-round game of his young career. The Mavericks star torched one of the league’s best defenses for 45 points on 15-of-30 shooting. He grabbed 12 rebounds and fell just short of a triple-double with eight assists. He’ll have to keep putting up these kinds of stats to keep this series competitive with such a well-oiled machine.
I highlighted Adebayo as my favorite DraftKings play on SportsLine ahead of Monday’s slate and he did not disappoint. The Heat big man took advantage of the 76ers’ weakened center rotation by tallying 24 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists in his best performance of the postseason. Embiid won’t return until Game 3 at the earliest, so Adebayo could return a ton of value in Game 2 before the 76ers’ centerpiece re-enters the fray.
Booker snapped back from his underwhelming closeout game against the New Orleans Pelicans quickly. He finished the first round with 13 points, five rebounds, and three assists after returning from a hamstring injury. His hamstring didn’t appear to bother him much against the Mavericks, though. Booker came close to a triple-double himself with 23 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists against one of the league’s top scoring defenses. There’s no need to doubt what he’s capable of moving forward in the second round.
Who to play
Brown was a bit of a dud against the Bucks in Game 1 but has played well against a better version of their team during the regular season. His 4-for-13 shooting night from Sunday has contributed to his affordable Tuesday price tag. Khris Middleton’s absence should make things easier for Brown. His assist numbers against the Bucks are well above his season average and he’s in a position to light it up in a redemption game at TD Garden.
Still deciding who to lock in for your DFS roster? We’ve identified a player worth locking in and one to avoid ahead of tip-off below, but you can get my full selection of stud and value plays at each position by heading over to SportsLine.
