5 Daily Fantasy Basketball Trends for the Rest of Round 1
Minnesota Bleeding Inside
On the defensive end, it was another disappointing season for Tom Thibodeau's Minnesota Timberwolves, as they finished the season 22nd in defensive efficiency. The addition of Jimmy Butler definitely helped in some regards, but even he couldn't shore up their weak interior defense.
Karl-Anthony Towns showed glimpses of his potential on defense, but more often than not he was a plus-matchup for opposing centers. That fact is made glaringly obvious when examining their rim protection numbers. The Wolves' opponents shot 64.7% from within five feet. The only team that allowed a higher field goal percentage from within five feet of the basket -- the Dallas Mavericks -- started a soon-to-be 40 year old Dirk Nowitzki at center.
Minnesota's soft interior defense has led to some big games for Clint Capela, who averaged 38.4 FanDuel points in four regular season games against Minnesota. He scored at will in those contests, upping his average of 13.9 points per game to 18.8 against Minnesota, while shooting a blistering 78.9% from the floor. Capela finished the season ranked fourth in scoring from within five feet of the rim, so it shouldn't come as much surprise that the big fella has eaten in this matchup.
And it was more of the same in Game 1, as Capela put up 24 points, all of which came from free throws or shot attempts from within five feet of the rim. He finished with 51.9 FanDuel points in 34 minutes and could be in store for more big games in what's left of this series.
