The Celtics easily handled the Mavericks in the 2024 NBA Finals opener, thanks, in part, to cold shooting from Dallas. Loading NBA DFS lineups with Mavs certainly didn't lead to winning many NBA DFS contests as the Mavericks knocked down just 25.9% of their 3-point attempts. As a result, Luka Doncic had just a single assist, which is his fourth-fewest across 446 career regular season plus postseason games. Can you expect a regression to the mean for the likes of Kyrie Irving and PJ Washington -- who went a combined 0 for 8 -- in Sunday's Game 2, making them ones to utilize as NBA DFS picks?
Dallas ranked second in 3-point attempts in the regular season, so it likely won't veer away from its strategy of relying on the outside shot. As for your NBA DFS strategy, should top Boston options like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown again figure prominently in your daily Fantasy basketball lineups with the Celtics playing so well at home? Before making your NBA DFS picks for Game 2 of Mavericks vs. Celtics, be sure to check out the NBA DFS advice, player rankings, stacks, and top daily Fantasy basketball picks from SportsLine's Jimmie Kaylor.
Kaylor is a DFS and betting expert for SportsLine, who won a DraftKings Millionaire Maker contest in 2022. He uses a combination of his background as a former college and professional athlete and his keen eye for statistical trends when making his picks and locking in his DFS lineups. Kaylor enters the 2024 calendar year with multiple five-figure tournament cashes on his DFS resume.
Kaylor's approach allows him to find the best NBA DFS values and create optimal lineups that he only shares on SportsLine. They're a must-see for any NBA DFS player.
In Game 1, Kaylor highlighted Mavericks point guard Doncic as one of his top picks in his NBA DFS player pool on both sites. The result: Doncic had 30 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and an assist, returning 49.5 points on DraftKings and 45.5 points on FanDuel. Anybody who included him in their lineups was well on the way to a profitable day.
Kaylor has turned his attention to Game 2 of the 2024 NBA Finals and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks.You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.
Top NBA DFS picks for Sunday, June 9
For Game 2 on Sunday, one of Kaylor's top NBA DFS picks is Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis. After missing 37 days due to a calf injury, Porzingis showed no ill-effects from either the injury or the lengthy layoff. He was dominant on both ends of the court with 20 points, six rebounds and three blocks in just 21 minutes of action. Porzingis came off the bench for only the second time in his career, and he became the first player since Celtics great Kevin McHale in 1984 to have 20 points and three blocks as a reserve in a Finals Game.
Whether he starts or not on Sunday, given his Game 1 performance, Porzingis should see much more court time going forward. Game 1 was not only his first NBA Finals game, but it was Porzingis' first-ever postseason game after the first round, so any belief that nerves could affect him were quickly eliminated. The Latvian has feasted on Dallas since being traded from the team in Feb. 2022, as he's scored at least 20 points in all three meetings, including a 24-point, six-rebound outing versus Dallas in his lone regular-season matchup against it this year.
Another part of Kaylor's optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Washington. Despite his outside shot not falling, he was one of the few bright spots for Dallas in the series opener, as both his 14 points and eight rebounds ranked second on the team. Washington has now scored in double-figures in each of his last six games, averaging 12.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.8 blocks over that stretch.
This marks the third time in the 2024 NBA playoffs that the Mavericks have dropped Game 1 in a series. Washington has done his best to keep Dallas from going into 0-2 holes as he's had some of his best performances in these situations. Dallas also lost Game 1 versus the Clippers in the first round and the Thunder in the second round, and Washington then averaged 23.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks in the ensuing Game 2s. He's also shot at least 50% in both of those contests, adding a high efficiency to his production.See Kaylor's other NBA DFS picks right here.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Sunday, June 9
Kaylor is also targeting a player who could go off for massive numbers on Sunday because of a dream matchup. This pick could be the difference between winning your tournaments and cash games or going home with nothing. You can only see who it is, and get the rest of Kaylor's picks, here.
Who is DFS pro Jimmie Kaylor putting in his optimal NBA DFS lineups for Game 2 of Mavs vs. Celtics? Visit SportsLine now to see optimal NBA DFS picks, rankings, advice, and stacks, all from a professional DFS player who has a Millionaire Maker win on his resume, and find out.
