NBA

FanDuel Daily Fantasy Helper: NBA Finals Game 5

Who should you roster in the MVP slot in your lineup for Game 5 of the NBA Finals?

If you're new to daily fantasy basketball -- maybe you started your DFS journey during the MLB or NFL seasons, or maybe basketball is your sport and this will be your first year giving it a shot -- you're in for a treat. The NBA scene changes on a week-to-week, day-to-day, and -- depending on injury news -- even a minute-to-minute basis, making every slate a unique one that requires an ever-changing approach -- and that's especially the case now.

With so much changing so quickly, we're here with plenty of tools to help you out. We have daily projections, a matchup heat map, a lineup optimizer, and a bunch of other great resources to help give you an edge.

Daily fantasy NBA is very reliant on opportunity, so you'll need to make sure that you're up-to-date with key injuries. Our projections update up until tip-off to reflect current news, we have player news updates, and the FanDuel Scout app will send push notifications for pressing updates regarding your players.

We'll also be coming at you with this primer every day, breaking down a few of the day's top plays at each position.

Let's take a look at who you should target in Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat, which locks at 9:00pm.

MVP Considerations

Goran Dragic remains doubtful for Game 5, though Bam Adebayo should play.

Anthony Davis ($15,500), LeBron James ($16,000), Jimmy Butler ($15,000), and Bam Adebayo ($13,000) -- those are the four players with a ceiling projection greater than 50 FanDuel points. The next closest player is well below 40.0, so we'll focus on those four for now.

LeBron has averaged 54.2 FanDuel points in the Finals, though he's had just the one "explosive" performance (60+). I'd wager that another is coming in short order with a chance to close out the series. LeBron was rostered in the MVP slot in 50.7% of lineups on Tuesday, far higher than the next closest player (Davis -- 26.4%). That said, he did finish third in scoring behind AD and Butler, which could lead to a slight decrease in his MVP roster percentage.

Butler's totaled 54.1, 79.7, and 56.5 in his last three. It's worth noting that his usage rate dropped to 23.99% in Game 4 after rising to 26.43% and 31.62% in the previous two contests without Bam in the lineup. Speaking of Bam, he managed just 24.9 FanDuel points in his return. You'd be totally justified in leaving him out of your roster construction. However, the only way to construct a "three-stud" lineup would be to include Bam over one of the aforementioned three.

You can also choose to forego two of the four players we just talked about and include Tyler Herro ($11,000) in some lineups. Herro's had just one game with 35 or more FanDuel points in his last nine contests, but that was a 47.7-point performance. He's seen usage rates above 23% in three of the four games this series. Chances are that the Heat will need a monster scoring performance from the 20-year-old in order to extend the series.

Utility Considerations

This is where most of the differentiation will happen. Kendrick Nunn ($9,000) has played at least 19.8 minutes in every game this series, and he did score 27.0 and 23.3 FanDuel points in the first two games. The fact that he's totaled just 15.0 fantasy points over his last two means that he won't be highly rostered.

Duncan Robinson ($9,500) is one of the premier utility plays, though his roster percentage won't be low. Robinson's posted totals of 32.5 and 27.7 in his last two. A "two-stud" lineup should allow you to get to his salary.

You can also choose to go in the direction of Rajon Rondo ($9,500). Rondo's posted fewer than 20 FanDuel points in two of the four games this series, but he did manage 38.5 FanDuel points in Game 2 -- that's what we're chasing. His minutes have been steady in the mid-20s.

If you need more savings, you can throw a dart at Markieff Morris ($8,000). Markieff has totaled 55.1 minutes over the last two games, and he did score 28.2 FanDuel points in Game 3. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ($9,000) is a good bet to exceed 20.0 FanDuel points, though his ceiling is too limited for that salary. Alex Caruso ($7,500) and Kyle Kuzma ($7,500) seem like the only rosterable players under $8.0K. Of the two, I'd prefer Kuzma since he has a better chance at approaching or exceeding 25.0 FanDuel points.