It’s time for the two best words in sports: Game 7. The Celtics have battled back from an 0-3 series deficit, making them just the fourth team in NBA history to force a Game 7 in that scenario. None of the previous teams have managed to actually win the series, but few have ever had the talent advantage that the Celtics do in this series. They were the best team in basketball in net rating during the regular season, while Miami barely squeaked into the playoffs via the play-in tournament. The fact that the Celtics were even in this scenario to begin with was shocking, but now that they’re here, they’re poised to make history. They’re listed as 7.5-point favorites at home, making them sizable favorites to advance to the Finals for the second straight year.

Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $1M Game 7 Special [$200K to 1st] (MIA vs BOS)

Captain’s Picks

Jaylen Brown ($13,800 CP): Jayson Tatum and Jimmy Butler are the top two players in this contest, but they’ve reached a point where their salaries hinder the rest of your lineup significantly. Both players will run you more than $20,000 at Captain, and if you want to play the other at utility, it’s going to cost nearly 69% of your total salary cap. The massive salaries also eliminate some of the upside that both players possessed earlier this postseason. Butler was unable to crack the optimal lineup in Game 6 despite 53.25 Dkfp, while Tatum was an optimal utility despite leading the slate in fantasy scoring.

Meanwhile, Brown’s price tag continues to decrease. He’s as cheap as he’s been all postseason, and after a rough start to the series, he’s turned things around over his past two games. He shot 50% from the field in Game 5, and he followed that up with 46.5 DKFP and a double-double in Game 6. Brown stands out as a better pure value at his price tag than Butler or Tatum, so saving a bit of salary at Captain is advised.

Bam Adebayo ($13,500 CP): As much as I like Brown, Adebayo might be an even stronger option at Captain. He’s had an up-and-down series, but his ceiling is definitely a bit higher when things break in his favor. He has the ability to rack up stats in every category across the board, including on the defensive end.

He had a double-double in Game 6, resulting in 40.25 DKFP. That said, he didn’t even play particularly well in that contest. He shot just 4-16 from the field, so with a better shooting performance, he could definitely improve his fantasy output in Game 7.

UTIL Plays

Jayson Tatum ($13,800): While I may be a bit down on Tatum as a Captain, there’s no doubt he has the highest ceiling on this slate. He’s been excellent in the Celtics’ three wins, scoring at least 51.5 DKFP in each, and he was incredible in Game 7 vs. the 76ers in the previous round. He completely took over on offense, scoring 51 points and racking up 83.25 DKFP. I don’t see that kind of production coming vs. the Heat, but another 55-65 DKFP is certainly possible.

Gabe Vincent ($5,200): The Heat have had some unlikely heroes during the postseason, but Vincent has been one of the most consistent. He’s racked up at least 23 DKFP in four of his past five games, and he played 41.3 minutes in Game 6 after returning from a one-game absence. He has increased his production to 0.73 DKFP per minute during the postseason, and he should be locked into another monster workload in Game 7.

Grant Williams ($3,400): Williams has emerged as one of the Celtics’ most important role players of late. He’s played at least 22.1 minutes in five straight games, and he’s scored at least 17 DKFP in each. That includes 30.5 DKFP in Game 4, giving him a solid ceiling for his price range. Williams should continue to play a big role off the bench, giving him a great chance to return value.

Fades

Caleb Martin ($7,000): Martin can’t continue to play like he has been, right? He’s shot the lights out all playoffs, and the team moved him into the starting lineup for Game 6. He responded brilliantly, scoring 21 points with 15 rebounds while shooting a pristine 7-for-13 from the field and 4-for-8 from 3-point range. Martin also played more than 40 minutes in that contest, and his expanded role makes him a bit easier to trust than it was when he was coming off the bench earlier this series.

Still, $7,000 is a pretty massive salary for Martin. He’s been priced as low as $4,600 during the postseason, so it represents a significant increase. Martin has looked like an adopted member of the Splash Brothers during this series, shooting 58.3% from the field and 46.2% from 3-point range, but he was far from a lethal shooter during the regular season. He’s going to come crashing back to reality at some point, and at an elevated salary, he’s going to bust pretty hard when he does.

THE OUTCOME

How in the world does Miami bounce back from such a heartbreaking loss in Game 6? They were three seconds away from advancing to the NBA Finals. All they had to do was get one stop — which they did — but they were unable to keep Derrick White from scoring the game-winning putback.

The Celtics have pretty thoroughly dominated this series since putting themselves behind the 8-ball. They won Game 4 in Miami by 17 points and followed that up with a 13-point victory in Boston in Game 5. They even built up a 10-point lead in Game 6 before collapsing down the stretch, and they led for 41.1 of a possible 48 minutes.

The Heat undoubtedly have a ton of heart, and they’re not just going to roll over and die. Still, the talent disparity between these squads has been too much to overcome. It’s going to take another outlier shooting performance from the Heat to keep this one competitive, and those kinds of outings are tough to ask for in a Game 7. I like the Celtics to win this one pretty comfortably.

Final Score: Celtics 119, Heat 97

Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $1M Game 7 Special [$200K to 1st] (MIA vs BOS)

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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is mlamarca) 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.