The regular season has come to a close and postseason basketball is set to begin Tuesday night. The first play-in slate is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET as four teams hit the hardwood in a two-game offering. Are you looking to key in on the most productive players in each matchup? We've got you covered with one player to watch from each of the featured teams here.
Miami Heat
This one a no-brainer. Butler was a driving force behind the Atlanta Hawks' 2022 elimination, as he averaged 30.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 5.3 assists against them in a first-round sweep. He carried that momentum over to the 2022-23 regular season and averaged 25.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game against his Eastern Conference rivals across three matchups. Butler has totaled 23.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per contest in home playoff games since joining the Heat. Get him into your DFS lineups
Atlanta Hawks
Trae Young and Dejounte Murray have been inconsistent against the Heat this season, so rolling with a more consistent option seems best here. While Hunter missed four games with knee pain before playing in the Hawks' final two games of the season, he's posted strong numbers against Miami in all four meetings. Hunter's averaging 16.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists on 33.8 minutes a night against the Heat. Rotations will shrink in the postseason and he should reclaim his starting spot from Saddiq Bey. He's one of the better value options on DraftKings and FanDuel.
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves suspended Rudy Gobert for one game following his altercation with Kyle Anderson, so Towns will likely need to do some heavy lifting against the Los Angeles Lakers. He's averaged 22.3 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game in the two contests he appeared in without Gobert during the regular season. KAT has faced Anthony Davis four times since he moved from the New Orleans Pelicans to the Los Angeles Lakers and boasts averages of 24.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists in the matchup.
Los Angeles Lakers
Russell has struggled with injuries since rejoining the Lakers, but his averages with them are almost identical to his averages with the Timberwolves. He posted 12 points and 10 assists in his first game against his old team on the last day of March. Russell's averaged 21.5 points, 6.5 assists, and 2.5 rebounds per game in four meetings with Mike Conley this season. Russell's logged 33 or more minutes in 10 of the 15 games he's played in alongside Dennis Schroder. He exited two of those games early with injuries. Fantasy managers should expect a hefty workload from the floor general on Tuesday.
Still deciding who to lock in for your DFS roster? We'll identified some great trios to stack ahead of the action. You can get those plays by heading over to SportsLine.
