Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals will take place Thursday evening at TD Garden between the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics, with both sides looking to cement their place in league history with a championship. The Mavericks are hoping to grab the franchise’s second title, while Boston hopes to add an eighteenth banner to the rafters. Dallas is back in the Finals for the first time since 2011 while the Celtics are making their second appearance in three seasons.
Here’s a look at one potential DFS lineup strategy managers can implement for Showdown contests on DraftKings for Thursday’s game featuring captain’s picks, value plays and fades.
Captain Pick
Luka Doncic, $20,400
There’s an argument to be made here for Jayson Tatum at home, who is coming off a monster series against the Pacers. However, Doncic’s production is impossible to ignore. He’s a walking triple-double at this point and should continue to have insane usage in this offense. Doncic has topped 60 fantasy points in the last seven playoff games and is a no-brainer for your lineup. Since his price tag is going to be high anyway, you might as well slot him in the captain spot and get the 1.5x bonus.
Utility Plays
Jaylen Brown, $9,400
Even though Tatum was the star against Indiana, Brown was no pushover. The Celtics forward logged 48+ fantasy points in three of the four games, breaking out a bit offensively and taking over for Boston in key situations. He comes in at a lower number than Tatum but can deliver the same production when it comes to scoring. If Brown can add a few rebounds to the stat line, he’ll continue to pick up where he left off with Indiana.
Derrick White, $7,400
Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday are also tempting flex plays, but I think White provides a good mix of consistency and upside for the price tag. The combo guard has been hit or miss when it comes to the perimeter game, though he usually finds a way to contribute even if the threes aren’t falling. White topped 42 fantasy points in three of the four games against the Pacers and has consistently been hitting good numbers in DFS lineups. He’s the best bet among the Celtics rotation players in my opinion.
Dereck Lively, $5,600
I don’t know that Lively will continue to impact the glass like he did against Minnesota and Oklahoma City. After all, he is a rookie and this is a tough matchup for him. However, I do think he offers a bit more than Daniel Gafford in this particular game. The Celtics bench players don’t quite have the size of Minnesota’s, which means Lively should have some favorable 1-on-1 chances even if the overall matchup isn’t that great.
Derrick Jones Jr., $4,600
Jones Jr. was excellent against the Thunder before dropping off substantially for Dallas in the conference finals. He still offers a solid floor at this price point for DFS managers, and he’s bound to get a few easy lobs from Doncic per game to maintain a presence offensively. It all comes down to whether he can knock down a few triples but I’d roster him as a value add.
Maxi Kleber, $2,400
Since we’re splurging on Doncic and Brown, this last slot has to be a low-cost option. There’s a chance Kleber doesn’t play at all this game, which is kind of what you get for players in this price range. However, the big man can hit the perimeter shot at a decent clip and if he nails a couple, he’ll pay off at this number.
Fades
Kristaps Porzingis, $8,200
I don’t think Porzingis will have a bad game in particular. However, there’s no real trend to look at and it’s hard to gauge how he’ll perform in his first game back after a long recovery process. The matchup is somewhat favorable for the big man and he’ll have motivation going up against his former team, so he could go off. There’s too much uncertainty for me to back him in Game 1 at this price but he’ll likely be featured in lineups as the series goes on.
Jrue Holiday, $6,800
Holiday emerged as a scorer against the Pacers, largely because of Porzingis remaining out. The veteran point guard likely reverts to his role as a connector, being less aggressive offensively and seeing less usage overall. I think Holiday will focus more on his defensive assignments, as he’s likely to draw Doncic and Kyrie Irving for most of the game. That’ll take away from his offense and in turn, limit his fantasy impact. I’d leave him out of lineups tonight.
