This article is part of our DraftKings NBA series.
With only the Sixers-Celtics game on the slate, Wednesday's featured contests will be using the Showdown format, which gives you six Utility spots to fill with a $50,000 salary cap. You'll find that as a result of this format, the salaries are adjusted in a way that makes fielding elites a very costly maneuver, and if you go for more than one high-priced player you'll be sacrificing a lot on the lower end.
The Sixers have to go to the Garden and win to extend this series, and if Game 4 was any indication, they seem ready to make this difficult for Boston. There's no question that Boston give you some reliable floors in terms of production, while Philly players are the high-ceiling candidates. There's so much fluctuation among guys like Redick, Ilyasova, Covington, Belinelli and Saric that it's hard to predict who will show up. As a result, I'll probably find myself with more Celtics on my lineup.
Below we will target two players per position, and a couple of non-featured picks as well. When possible I will make one of the picks a budget candidate.
GUARDS
Ben Simmons, PHI at BOS ($12,700): Simmons definitely underperformed in the first two games of this series but has come alive in the last two, averaging 44 DKFP against Boston over that span. It's do-or-die for Philly and Simmons has the opportunity to stage a comeback that would cement his place as one of the league's best young talents. The stakes are high, and paying up for Simmons could be the linchpin of a winning lineup.
T.J. McConnell, PHI at BOS ($5,200): Like I said, you'll have to go low to afford the big names, and I think you'll easily see 50% ownership from McConnell unless everyone in your contest has been living under a rock. Many a lineup will live or die on McConnell's production, but despite his probable popularity I'm just inclined to chalk this play up and look for variance in other spots. Simmons has progressively yielded more and more minutes to McConnell and we've often seen both of them on the floor together. I think the 35 DKFP performance he gave in Game 4 is too much to expect on Wednesday, but he's likely to give you what you need at this price.
Other guards to consider:Marcus Smart, BOS vs. PHI ($8,500)
FORWARDS
Jayson Tatum, BOS vs. PHI ($10,800): I wish Tatum wasn't this expensive, but he's shown tremendous resolve in this series and has carried the team on his back in key moments. I think his price point is just prohibitive enough to garner lower-than-expected ownership with other more popular names in the 10k range. You can hardly call Tatum a sneaky play, but on such a slim slate, there aren't many hidden gems.
Marcus Morris, BOS vs. PHI ($6,500): Going for Morris really depends on how you feel about Jaylen Brown. An explosive night can always be in the cards for Brown now that he's healthy, but I think Morris is the more reliable pick at this level, even though he's unlikely to break 30 DKFP. At least you know what you're getting – at $600 more, and with a soft minutes restriction, Brown carries a bit more risk.
Other forwards to consider:Dario Saric, PHI at BOS ($9,900); J.J.Redick, PHI at BOS ($7,700)
CENTERS
Again, no need to get cute at this position, but your low-priced pivots are every obvious We'll just lay out the situation with both teams.
SIXERS: Joel Embiid ($14,500) and Ersan Ilyasova ($4,000): Embiid will have to put up huge numbers for the Sixers to carry the day, but if you choose him you'll definitely need more guys in the $5-6k range to do it. Basically, Embiid's playability comes down to a single factor. If you feel like you can find two guys in the $7-8k range that can outdo an idealistic ceiling from Embiid (say, 55 DKFP), going that route is the more prudent play. I don't know that this slate has enough at the bottom unless you just bought up Philly's interior and went with both of these guys. It's hard to promote Ilyasova by himself.
CELTICS: Al Horford ($11,600) and Aron Baynes ($4,400): Horford starts slow but he always seems to show up with 35-40 DKFP by the end of the game, and he hasn't been the least bit intimidated by Embiid or Ilyasova. I'll likely be giving Horford 30-40 percent exposure in my lineups. Conversely, Baynes will be rewarded with zero ownership. I think it's a bit silly to see him as a more expensive pick than Ilyasova. While you hope for the best, you need your punt play to go for around 25 DKFP to make your lineup viable. Ilyasova is a lot more likely to hit that mark, as Baynes has only gotten there twice in his past 10 games.
