The Celtics find themselves in a very tough position as they face elimination from the New York Knicks while star player Jayson Tatum is injured. Although that’s the last person the Celtics want off the court for this game, other players will get more opportunities to shoot because of Tatum’s absence. That’s important to recognize from a DFS standpoint, because a couple of Celtics (one in particular) should be set up to have a huge game here. On the other side of the ball, the Knicks are playing great as a whole, so it’s hard to go wrong starting any of them.
Lock of the Game
Jayson Brown
Boston Celtics
VS
New York Knicks
(3-1)
While losing Tatum is tragic for the team, it’s good for Jaylen Brown’s numbers since he will be asked to carry the motherload of the work in Game 5. Brown is a threat at any point to attack the basket, being one of the fastest drivers in the league. Although the Celtics might want him to work in the flow of the offense more, if time starts winding down or the Celtics need a quick bucket, rest assured, Brown will rush the paint and score. If the defense tries to take away the paint from him, Brown is also a great shooter. He may not match Jayson Tatum’s numbers exactly, but he should get close.
Start ‘Em
Derrick White
Boston Celtics
VS
New York Knicks
(3-1)
Another player who has more pressure on him now is Derrick White. Fortunately for him, he’s been the most consistent three-point shooter on the team for a while. Even in Game 4, White went 6-11 from three-point range. That’s going to make him the number one look if Brown or Holiday attack the basket and need to kick the ball out. Tatum usually shoots the most three-pointers on the team (he shot 16 in Game 4), so with him gone, it’s likely White will shoot the most.
OG Anunoby
New York Knicks
AT
Boston Celtics
(1-3)
Even though it was less than his front-court buddy, Karl Anthony-Towns, the 20 points from Anunoby in Game 4 were very impressive. He was 4-8 from three-point range, which is remarkable, seeing as the rest of his points were almost all scored close to the basket. It’s tough to figure out which front man for the Celtics to pay attention to defensively, so right now it looks like they’re playing them man-to-man. That’s good for a dynamic forward who can spread the floor like Anunoby. At 5.9 K, he is also a really cheap pick-up for DFS.
Sit ‘Em
Mikal Bridges
New York Knicks
AT
Boston Celtics
(1-3)
Bridges is coming off of perhaps his best game of the playoffs. There is one very concerning stat for him from Game 4, though: he was 1-6 from three-point land. Given the way the Knicks’ offense works, Bridges’ main role is to catch and shoot from three-point range, so if he isn’t as consistent from there, he might have trouble getting his shot in otherwise. Plenty of DFS players might pick Bridges up after his 23-point game, but on average, Bridges scores around 12 a game. Let other players pick up Bridges and instead target a guard with higher upside for Game 5.
Al Horford
Boston Celtics
VS
New York Knicks
(3-1)
Horford deserves more credit than anybody for still being a factor in this league at his age. That being said, his 15 points in Game 3 were a playoff high for him. Horford’s job is to play lock-down defense and shoot when he is open. That didn’t happen too much in Game 4, where he only scored 5 points. Although Tatum is gone, that extra work is going to go to Derrick White and Jayson Brown, not Horford. He’s a great player, just not good for DFS, even though 5 K is a great price.
Fade of the Game
Mitchell Robinson
New York Knicks
AT
Boston Celtics
(1-3)
None of the Knicks’ bench players had a big impact on Game 4 of this series. In that respect, the six points that Mitchell Robinson scored doesn’t look to bad. The issue is that Robinson led the bench with 25 minutes played. Numbers like that are just going to force the Knicks to keep Anunoby out on the court longer. Praying for Robinson to pop off in Game 5 is too much of a longshot from a DFS standpoint.
