NBA DFS Finals Game 2: Will Pascal Siakam and Kawhi Leonard Shock the World Again? DraftKings Showdown Picks (FREE)

It was a somewhat surprising result from an NBA DFS and real life perspective with the Raptors mostly dominating the Warriors en route to a Game 1 NBA Finals win at home. We were able to pinpoint some strong angles in this column with Pascal Siakam’s noteworthy athletic advantages over the currently available Warriors defenders as well as the return to viability of Danny Green and increased court time for Fred VanVleet. But every NBA Finals series is a game of chess, one in which each move has a counter move and the Warriors and Raptors will each take a few days to watch tape and determine where they can improve and adjust and that can materially change the equation for Game 2.

The Raptors are currently a one-and-a-half-point favorite at home in a game with a 213 combined total but watch the lines as we get closer to Sunday’s 8PM Eastern tip-off to see which way the winds are blowing in Vegas. The Warriors are the champions for a reason and even without Kevin Durant, it will be interesting to see how the lines shift — or don’t — with that likely to offer some insight when building lineups for the big NBA Finals DFS contests out there. I’ll walk you through what I see so far based on watching Game 1, the data and matchups, as well as the ownership projections we have here at Awesemo.com to help us build NBA DFS lineups for DraftKings and FanDuel in our Game 2 NBA Finals DFS Primer.

And although our NBA DFS ownership projections and NBA DFS projections are FREE for the Finals you can use the promo code SWITCHANDHEDGE for half off the first month of any Awesemo.com package. We have a ton of high quality content across every single daily fantasy sport there is and with MLB DFS and PGA DFS seasons in full swing (no pun intended) there are a variety of tools to help you win across all the sports. Go sign up now with that promo code and get ready to drastically improve your daily fantasy sports lineups with an All-Access Pass or one for any individual sport you’ll need to fill the hole in your heart the NBA DFS season leaves behind. Now onto Game 2 of the NBA Finals:

Golden State Warriors (106.5 implied points, -11.2 on season average) at Toronto Raptors (108.5 implied points, -5.9 on season average)

-Kevin Durant remains out for the Warriors and that means Steph Curry remains highly in play. I had some reservations about him at Captain in Game 1 given some concerns about how he’d handle different defensive approaches from Toronto and while they did hold him to 8-for-18 shooting, he got to the line a lot with 14 attempts to add some additional value. As we discussed in the Game 1 preview, Curry struggles vs. Fred VanVleet and he continued to do so here with just 1-for-6 shooting on 33 possessions and also not many dumb fouls committed with only two free throws from VanVleet defense. My point: I think he sees more Fred as the series goes on (VanVleet played the entire second and fourth quarter covering Steph) in addition to the defensive wall approach they offered Steph in Game 1 and that makes me okay with Steph as a regular roster spot but slightly less so as a Captain once again.

Klay Thompson had a mediocre 8-for-17 shooting day with 29.25 FP and his price makes him a fine value. He’s far from a lock for me but I think that he’s worth the field’s 50% expected ownership, especially in lineups without Steph. And it’s also very possible he sees some more offensive opportunity as a result of the adjustments Golden State makes to counter Toronto’s defensive approach.

Draymond Green continued his solid playoff run even though his 41 FP was lower than all his efforts vs Portland. Draymond had a 10-10-10 triple double to get there and the value margins for him seem particularly slim from an NBA DFS perspective with his price at a high point. Despite that, he seems solid to me as long as Durant remains out and DeMarcus Cousins is hobbled.

DeMarcus Cousins unfortunately looked like a shell of himself and played very stiff in eight minutes of action where he put up 9.5 FP. This came in a unit with only Thompson to take usage away and it’s hard to see much more coming from Cousins with his quad clearly impeding him and him not likely to see significant minute increases.

Andre Iguodala is a nice value and he’s expected to play since his hamstring MRI came back negative. He’s clearly been hurt for the last round or so but as long as he’s out there he should continue to offer a mix of peripherals and some scoring that make him worth the discounted price and 29% ownership expected for him.

Kevon Looney had a quiet day despite 28 minutes and that much court time makes him playable even if this matchup isn’t going to play to his strengths quite as much as the others these Playoffs have. Looney was in Golden State’s worst plus-minus group (one of him, Curry, Iguodala, Draymond, and Klay) but I don’t think that will affect his court time in any material way.

Jordan Bell picked up the nominal start but ended with just 7.25 FP in 12 minutes. He’s a candidate to win more minutes if he starts hot but I’m not confident that moment will come for him in a road Game 2.

Shaun Livingston was in optimum lineups with his 16.5 FP in 17 minutes and his cheap price that allowed players to afford the other key pieces. His price is still low enough to be viable in that role with him likely to continue to see minutes as the defensive sub when Iguodala goes out but he remains unlikely to produce much of an upside.

Alfonzo McKinnie is one guy I’d keep an eye on. The Warriors gave minutes to a lot of guys but McKinnie was in two of Golden State’s three lineups with a positive plus minus. Livingston is likely to get more of Iguodala’s minutes if things went south with him healthwise but McKinnie has arguably been more effective with that time in the last two rounds. He and Quinn Cook would be the two super cheap bench guys I’d be most okay with in terms of price and having some theoretical ability to earn more minutes.

Kawhi Leonard had an iffy Game 1 with 5-for-14 shooting and his leg did seem to affect him a bit at times. He still saw 43 minutes and contributed eight rebounds and five assists so it’s hard to imagine him not being worth a near lock as a regular roster spot and possibly a Captain one if his shot did fall.

Pascal Siakam was the big success story of Game 1 with 55.5 FP on 14-for-17 shooting. I speculated in the Game 1 preview that his size and athleticism would be a big issue for Golden State and he really dominated his primary defender Draymond Green with his length and aggressiveness at the rim a real problem for Draymond. His price is up substantially but I would still be inclined to go towards him as long as his ownership remains at the fairly reasonable 51% we currently project. Kevin Durant’s length would likely be an answer to his effectiveness but Draymond really struggled with Siakam in a way you don’t usually see from Draymond.

Kyle Lowry projects as a really nice value and he mostly faltered in Game 1 due to low usage and some missed shots with 2-for-9 shooting. He’s more interesting to me in lineups that assume one of Siakam or Kawhi doesn’t hit value but his six rebounds and nine assists show a decent floor if Lowry’s shot falls.

Marc Gasol was solid in Game 1 with a surprising 20 real-life points and 37.25 FP and his minutes seemed secure despite a matchup that doesn’t feel totally in his wheelhouse. His price works and I think he’s close to Lowry in terms of being a worthwhile play from a value perspective.

Danny Green was a guy I was in on in the Game 1 preview and that ended up as a solid approach from a value perspective with Green’s 22.5 FP. But with his price back up substantially, I’m a little less enthusiastic. He’s fine but the usage really hasn’t meaningfully been there with his “good” game still just 4-for-9 and 3-for-7 from deep and with that price jump I’d rather have a cheaper Iguodala.

Fred VanVleet stands to have a lot of minutes this series for the reasons I discussed above but he didn’t have much usage in Game 1 with just eight attempts in his 33 minutes of action. He’s in play for me in the hopes he heats up and overall he projects to me as a better value than Green despite the higher price with just slightly more ownership projected.

Serge Ibaka was mostly a non-factor with 11.25 FP in 17 minutes and he mostly remains in play due to his decently valued pricing. I’d also go to Iguodala over him for slightly more money but some exposure to Ibaka seems fair in the hopes he heats up at home, perhaps earning more minutes with Siakam or Gasol foul trouble, as he has before in these playoffs.

Norman Powell and Patrick McCaw barely played but it seemed as though McCaw directly stole Powell’s minutes with McCaw getting a little second half time while Powell didn’t leave the bench. I’d avoid Powell while McCaw is perhaps the faintest bit playable but unlikely to be worth more than his 9% projected ownership.

Follow me on Twitter @ChrisSpags and I’ll see you guys next week for another NBA DFS Finals Primer for Game 3! Enjoy your weekend!

Author
Chris Spags is the senior director of editorial strategy at Awesemo.com and contributes to the site's NBA, NFL, and MLB coverage as a writer and host of video content. Chris's content background from sites like Guyism, Uproxx, and Barstool Sports allows him to bring a unique spin to the world of daily fantasy sports analysis. Chris writes regular columns with NBA and NFL analysis as well as his inimitable style and his 'Four Corners' videos for basketball, baseball, and football DFS are the primary short form content offering on Awesemo's YouTube channel. You can find him on almost any given night providing analysis right up to slate lock on Awesemo's flagship Live Before Lock livestreams or on Twitter @ChrisSpags. You can contact Chris by emailing [email protected].

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