We have some great NBA Playoff matchups on the schedule for today’s MomentRanks Play games — daily fantasy using Top Shot Moments.
The Bucks look to continue their revenge tour against the Heat after losing to Miami in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals. Milwalkee takes a 2-0 lead into Game 3 and we should see a closer game than the most recent 34-point Bucks win. The other two games of the night, Nuggets vs. Trail Blazers and Suns vs. Lakers are both at 1-1 in the series with much at stake in the tiebreaker matchups.
When building a roster of five Moments for Daily Contest play, stars are your best way to truly stay competitive. That means you are probably looking to Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, and Damian Lillard as your main three players if their Moments are in your collection, as all of these players have been consistent fantasy options.
As you may be aware, each Moment can potentially unlock a Moment Boost by achieving over their last-ten game averages (L10) in the stat that corresponds to the featured play. This means choosing the correct Moment is crucial to your lineup’s success. So how are you supposed to know which is the best?
First, make sure to understand the updated scoring and bonuses for Play if you haven’t already, as a few things have changed since launch. Keep in mind: play type will dictate the Moment Boost if a player goes over their 10-game averages. Handles Moments now get boosts for assists.
Make sure to also participate in the First Round Head-to-Head Playoff Contest that MomentRanks launched. The contest runs from May 22 to June 6. At the end of the first round, the GMs with the top 50 records across public head-to-heads will be rewarded with Packs or Moments — including Cool Cats Drop 1 packs to the top three.
Core Moments
Nikola Jokic — Series 2 Common /35,000 Assist ($9)
Jokic is currently at 5.9 assists per game in his last 10 performances. His recent low passing output might make it hard to trust this play, but I do believe six is vert possible for Jokic and he is always a threat to go for a triple-double, which gives great upside here. Denver bodied Portland in the last outing and I think they return to that strategy since it worked well. Look for the Trail Blazers defensive intensity to pick up at home and for Jokic to pass a bit more, too.
Giannis Antetokounmpo — Series 2 Common /40,000+ Dunk ($5)
Giannis has an average of 28.5 points in the first two games of this series. Both of these totals would be enough to activate his Moment Boost in the points category with his last-ten points per game at 24.9. It’s safe to say he should again score in the same range and expect to get the bonus points on this Moment tonight.
If you are looking for a tournament winning play, consider his block moment as Giannis just needs a single block to activate the boost with a 0.5 block per game average.
High-Upside Pivot: S2 Common Block /35,000 ($8)
Damian Lillard — Series 2 Common /15,000 Handles ($16)
Damian Lillard needs 34 points or six 3-pointers to activate his boosts tonight. And although he racked up 42 points and nine threes last time out, these totals might make it tough to score Boost points on Moments of these types.
Therefore, I am using a Handles Moment to get to the Assist Moment Boost. Lillard has 10 and 13 assists, respectively, in the first two games of the series and will need nine to surpass his 8.2 assist per game average over the last ten contests. I feel confident that Lillard gets to double digits assists again tonight if this game stays close.
Sleeper Moments
LeBron James — Series 2 Common /40,000+ Block ($24)
The best way to play Lebron James is probably through a scoring Moment, as his last-10 average for points stands at just 21.9. However, the cost of the cheapest qualifying Moment is about $270. I am not going to recommend Moments at that price, but it’s good to discuss the strategy. The block is much more cost-effective and LeBron only has a 0.4 last-ten average for blocks, so just one block returns great value with Moment Boost potential.
Anthony Davis — Series 2 Common /40,000+ Dunk ($5)
Is it crazy to be listing the best players in the NBA as sleepers? Obviously yes, but that’s just how this game makes you play, and I love it!
Davis was not on my radar for Game 2 and that was a mistake. He went off for 34 points and I think he is able to keep his momentum going and be a dominant force in Game 3 as well. He is carrying a 24.1 points per game average over the last ten and should be able to surpass this easily. I still like the Core Moments more, as I think if the Lakers blow out the Suns on their own floor that Davis probably suffers the most. Davis can serve as a great fifth man on your team though and should have another strong night.
Have questions about setting your lineup on Play? Check out the Play FAQ, or send me a tweet, @JustinPerri8.