Fantasy Basketball Picks: Top DraftKings NBA DFS Lineup Strategy for Celtics vs. Heat Showdown on May 21

Jimmy Butler is the buzzsaw that has broken Boston. He’s sliced through team after team in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Game 3 is a home game for the Heat and they hold a 2-0 advantage in the series. It’s not over but the hour is near.

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Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat

Captain’s Picks

Jimmy Butler ($18,000 CP): This has been Jimmy Butler’s playoffs. The Heat were a play-in team. They knocked out the No. 1 seed with ease and glided through the second round. The Eastern Conference Finals haven’t been much different. Butler beat Boston at Boston in Game 1 and 2. He scored 63.3 DKFP in the Game 1 win and 54.5 DKFP in the Game 2 win. Grant Williams is going to regret his Eskimo Kiss in Game 2 and Boston fans know it. Jimmy Butler was already unstoppable and now the Celtics are on his bad side. Another 70-point explosion could be on the horizon in South Beach on Sunday.

Jayson Tatum ($18,300 CP): The playoffs have been up and down for Tatum but mostly up. The old mercurial Tatum has returned recently. He scored 83.3 DKFP in Game 7 vs. the 76ers after a 5-for-21 performance in Game 6. He laid another egg by scoring 40.8 DKFP in Game 1 vs. the Heat. He bounced back with 34 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists (62.8 DKFP) in the Celtics’ Game 2 loss. Down 0-2 in the series, Tatum has to step up. Game 3 will be a challenge on the road, but the Celtics cannot be avoided in DFS. The Celtics and Tatum cannot afford to have an off night in Miami.

UTIL Plays

Caleb Martin ($6,200): Jimmy Butler is the story but the Caleb Martin sub-plot is fascinating. Martin did not do anything in the regular season. In the playoffs, he has risen above being a role player. He is playing significant minutes and producing points. In Game 2, he was 11-for-16 and scored 25 points. For the second contest in a row, he made three 3-pointers and grabbed four rebounds. It was his ninth double-digit point total of the playoffs and the 11th time that he has scored eight or more points in the last 14 games.

Bam Adebayo ($9,400): The Celtics don’t have an answer for Adebayo. Al Horford ($6,600) is old and Robert Williams III ($5,000) is overrated. Adebayo grabbed 17 rebounds in Game 2. Williams III had three rebounds and Horford had four. In Game 1, Bam was not as active on the glass but finished with a game-high +18 Plus/Minus. He has scored over 20 points in each of the first two games of the series. Another 20 points and double-digit rebounds should be on deck Sunday. Miami is running a deeper rotation than most teams in the playoffs, but Adebayo is still getting over 40 minutes per game.

Malcolm Brogdon ($6,800): The Heat are spreading minutes out, so the Celtics’ bench players should have a DFS advantage. They’re getting more minutes and more opportunities. Unfortunately, they have failed to capitalize thus far. This is a buy-low spot. Brogdon has not exploded in this series but he has not imploded either. His usage rate is north of 20% in this series, and he played 36 minutes in Game 1 and 26 minutes in Game 2. The result was 23.5 DKFP in the series opener and 26.5 DKFP in fewer minutes in Friday’s loss. Brogdon’s output has not changed for months. Those are great totals off the bench in the playoffs. He provides a safe floor and there is upside with this pick if the threes fall like they did in Game 2 vs. the 76ers — six 3-pointers.

Fades

Grant Williams ($3,800): This is narrative driven but it’s not a tin-foil hat concept. Williams poked the bear. Speaking of bears and poking bears, how did that work out for the Grizzlies’ Dillon Brooks? Jimmy Butler has plenty left in the tank. He has the energy to drop 60 DKFP, beat Boston in Miami and embarrass Grant Williams. Have you seen Jimmy Butler walk into a locker room? Doesn’t he strike you as a person that might hold a little bit of a grudge? Williams has to press and Butler is going to press Williams.

THE OUTCOME

Boston better get those golf clubs ready. Their season is over. No offense to the Celtics, they’re a good team, but they’ve run into a buzzsaw. Jimmy Butler and a balanced blend of Spoelstra soldiers are the sports equivalent of a decorated general and a relentless battalion. When these troops show up in town, you better lock the doors. Do you hear that Denver?

Final Score: Heat 110, Celtics 102

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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is greenflagradio2) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.