This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We're teed up for an intriguing two-game Saturday playoff slate that features a pair of critical Game 3 clashes. It's essentially do-or-die time for the Celtics, who are trying to avoid falling into an 0-3 series hole that would have seemed unfathomable less than a week ago. Meanwhile, the Warriors will have the home crowd beside them but still have to find a way to regain the momentum in the series without Stephen Curry.
Slate Overview
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Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Saturday, May 10 @ 11:30 a.m. EDT:
Boston Celtics (-6.5) at New York Knicks (O/U: 208.0)
Minnesota Timberwolves (-5.5) at Golden State Warriors (O/U: 200.5)
Neither betting line Saturday is surprising, despite the fact both road squads are solid favorites. Oddsmakers clearly expect the defending champion Celtics to be fueled by the urgency of having lost the first two games at home enough to jump back into the series, while the Timberwolves are also looked at as likely to build on Game 2 momentum and continue to press the shorthanded Warriors without having to worry about Curry's three-point prowess.
Injury Situations to Monitor
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Stephen Curry, GSW (hamstring): OUT
In Curry's ongoing absence, Brandin Podziemski and Buddy Hield are expected to remain the starting backcourt duo, but whether Quinten Post remains on the first unit is uncertain after he only played three minutes in Game 2.
Other notable injuries:
Sam Hauser, BOS (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
Elite Players
The two highest-salaried players on Saturday's slate are Jayson Tatum ($9,900), and Anthony Edwards ($9,800).
Tatum was one of several Celtics to endure a nightmare of a shooting night in Game 2, going just 5-for-19 from the floor. However, he still managed 46.3 FD points thanks in part to his 14 rebounds, and he also supplied 55.2 FD points in Game 1. He continues to boast among the safest floors on the slate and will undoubtedly be aggressive given the circumstances.
Edwards has scored 51.8 and 49.3 FD points in the first two games despite shooting just 42.9 percent over that span. Like Tatum, he brings locked-in usage and is averaging 17.5 shot attempts in the first pair of contests in the series.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Jimmy Butler, GSW ($9,100)
Butler will continue playing an outsized role in Curry's absence and should remain very popular despite scoring a relatively modest 32.4 FD points in Game 2.
Jalen Brunson, NYK ($8,500)
Brunson is right up there with Tatum and Edwards in terms of offering DFS certainty, and he's posted 43.3 and 32.1 FD points in the first two games despite some shooting difficulties.
Karl-Anthony Towns, NYK ($7,900)
Towns boosted his production to 41.9 FD points in Game 2 following a 30.6 tally in Game 1 and will naturally garner a very high roster rate at his salary.
Jaylen Brown, BOS ($7,400)
Like Tatum, Brown will be looking to bounce back from a forgettable Game 2, but at his salary and with the urgency he should display, the star forward should be in plenty of lineups.
Julius Randle, MIN ($7,300)
Randle went off for 46.9 FD points in Game 2 and has the upside of a much higher-salaried player as that score corroborates, so he should be in an abundance of DFS lineups Saturday.
Key Values
Mikal Bridges, NYK vs. BOS ($6,300)
Bridges' defensive exploits have been one of the biggest stories of the series thus far, but the veteran wing has been offering strong all-around production overall. Bridges has scored 39.7 and 36.9 FD points in the first pair of contests against the Celtics, despite an abysmal 29.0 percent success rate from the field. He's actually shot a bit better (30.8 percent) from distance and is also contributing 6.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 3.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game, averaging 15.5 shot attempts as well. Given Bridges' pedigree as an above-average shooter, the efficiency should bounce back to an extent, making him a very enticing play at his salary at home in Game 3.
Draymond Green, GSW vs. MIN ($6,200)
While Butler is shouldering plenty of extra responsibility with Curry out, Green is also stepping up his contributions and comes into Game 3 with totals of 38.6 and 25.3 FD points in the first two games of the series. Green shot just 30.0 percent in Game 2, but he's naturally capable of much better performances on the offensive end and has now taken double-digit shot attempts in three straight postseason games. He'll be back on his home floor Saturday as well and should be in for another solid workload as Golden State looks to seize back momentum.
Naz Reid, MIN at GSW ($5,200)
Reid's salary is remaining very modest despite his solid average of 26.8 FD points in the first two games against the Warriors. The floor-stretching big has logged 34 and 30 minutes in those contests, which is certainly an encouraging development given Reid had seen 27 minutes or fewer in each of Minnesota's last four games in the first round. He's also shot 50.0 percent, including 40.0 percent from behind the arc, against Golden State in the second round thus far, and he's put up a robust 7.5 attempts from three-point range in the span. With that level of aggressiveness and opportunity, Reid could well deliver at least a 5x return on his salary again.
ALSO CONSIDER: Payton Pritchard, BOS at NYK ($4,000)
