Two great games are coming up this evening and I can not wait to sit on my couch and yell at the players in my lineup to score another basket. Such was the case last night as I placed seventh in the Play Daily Contest, just needing a little bit more from Jae Crowder to get to second.
Another day, another opportunity — and there’s two playoff games on the schedule.
Giannis Antetokounmpo will have to battle against the Nets tonight to try to avoid the dreaded three-game deficit to Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the Nets. The Bucks are 3.5-point favorites to win according to the Vegas odds at the time of writing this. I personally think that the Nets take this one, but we will see.
The second game tonight is the Jazz and the Clippers in their Game 2. This one is going to be a heated battle between Kawhi Leonard and Donovan Mitchell. The Jazz are looking to win their sixth straight game, but they could be in for a loss, especially with how close the first game was. Kawhi is a bad bad man and I expect he puts on a show to steal a win.
Today will be another fun day to build a MomentRanks Play lineup, especially with the Conference Semifinals Head-to-Head Contest still just starting to pick up steam. Make sure you’re competing in that as there will be some great prizes — including Cool Cats Drop 1 packs! There’s also today’s Play Daily Contest for another chance to win Top Shot Packs and Moments.
Always remember that when building your team on MomentRanks Play, each Moment can 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. You can also watch this quick tutorial on Play scoring if you ever need a refresher.
Let’s get started!
Core Moments
Giannis Antetokounmpo — Series 2 Common /40,000+ Dunk ($6)
You’re likely going to be between the dunk and the block for Giannis tonight. His L10 average for blocks sits at 0.7, so if he gets one block he would net 9.2 bonus points and 25.2 bonus points if he records two blocks. I don’t think he gets two, so to pass the bonus from one block he would need just 9 points more than his last ten points per game. Lucky for us, he has a measly 22.8 L10 points average. So if you think Giannis goes over 32 points tonight and under two blocks like I do, you play the scoring Moment.
Kevin Durant — Series 2 Common /15,000 3-Pointer ($76)
We could get into the math here but this one is more straightforward. Durant has a 2.1 average of 3-point shots made over his last ten contests. This is lower than his season average and he’s been shooting from deep a good amount in the playoffs. He only has scoring Moments otherwise, so lock this one in without much doubt.
Kawhi Leonard — Series 2 Common /15,000 3-Pointer ($22)
Kawhi is another star that is marred by the lack of potential Moment types. At a decent budget you are stuck between scoring Moments and this three point shot. I can not wait until we have more options with more Moments next season, but in the meantime you’re probably locking this one in without hesitation as well
Kyrie Irving — Series 2 Common /40,000+ Jump Shot ($6)
Again including the scoring Moment here just because of the scarcity of top players and the scarcity of other Moment types for Irving. Not going to spend long on this one, the first non-scoring Moment is close to $200. James Harden has already been ruled out for Game 3, which should boost Kyrie’s production. Only reason to fade this is if you think this game blows out. If you want to use Kyrie this is how you have to do so.
Donovan Mitchell — Series 2 Common /10,000 Handles ($46)
Going back to this one again since Mike Conley has already been ruled out of tonight’s contest. Mitchell does have a good number of Moment types but 4.7 assists per game in his last ten being under his regular season average. So with Conley out the ball should be in his hands enough to surpass the somewhat low number. This is my play of the day.
Sleeper Moments
Brynn Forbes — Series 2 Common /12,000 3-Pointer ($5)
If the Bucks are going to win, they will need some scoring help. Forbes has been deadly accurate this postseason and could again hit 6+ shots from deep, which he did in both Games 2 and 4 of the series against the Heat. High-risk, high-upside play here.
Rudy Gobert — Series 2 Common /40,000+ Block ($4)
Not too much of a sleeper here but also not one of the five must-start players, as his base score comes in around 30 points most nights. If you’re hoping for a big game from Gobert, it will start with his blocks; and if he gets more than three, you will likely need a Gobert block Moment to win the daily contest.
Have questions about setting your lineup on Play? Check out the Play FAQ, or send me a tweet, @JustinPerri8.