NBA Fast Break Classic | Conference Semifinals | Day 9
Today’s Objective(s): 20 Assists & 2 Steals
Recap & Overview:
Game 5 Thriller Ends in Devastating Injury
Game 5 between the Celtics and Knicks lived up to expectations, with both teams trading baskets throughout and neither pulling away by a significant margin. Heading into the fourth quarter, the Knicks held a slim five-point lead. At the six-minute mark, Jayson Tatum tied the game at 102, bringing his point total to 42 for the night.
Then, disaster struck.
With four minutes remaining and Boston trailing by seven, the Celtics’ win percentage plummeted as Tatum suffered a non-contact injury. He is likely out for the remainder of the playoffs—and possibly longer. Down 3-1 in the series and missing their biggest star, Boston’s championship hopes have taken a major hit. Unless New York suffers a historic collapse, they will advance to face the winner of the Indiana-Cleveland series.
Minnesota Takes Control
In the nightcap, the Warriors and Timberwolves were tied with eight minutes left in the third quarter—then Golden State went ice cold. The Warriors failed to score for five minutes, while Minnesota poured in 17 points. The Warriors would remain down by double digits throughout the majority of the fourth quarter. With about 4 minutes remaining, Steve Kerr subbed out his starters as his team was down 21 points.
Although the final score looked closer than it actually was, the Warriors clearly felt the absence of Steph Curry. With this loss, Golden State heads back to Minnesota down 3-1. As of now, Curry’s availability for Game 5 remains doubtful, making this Minnesota’s series to lose.
Fast Break Recap
Yesterday’s Fast Break objective focused on points in the paint and offensive rebounds, with 61% of participants securing a win. Karl-Anthony Towns, the most-utilized player (58%), delivered 20 points in the paint and three offensive rebounds, earning him the Fast Break Stud of the Day award.
On the other hand, Luke Kornet was included in 29% of lineups (5th highest), played just seven minutes and contributed zero points and zero rebounds. His empty stat line made him the unanimous Fast Break Dud of the Day.
Pivotal Game 5s
Tonight, Indiana has the chance to eliminate the No. 1 seed in the East and continue their hot streak. In their last game, the Pacers exploded for 80 first-half points against a less-than-100% Cavaliers squad, despite Cleveland having all their top players available.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets and Thunder are tied 2-2, with Game 5 set in Oklahoma City. This is the only series guaranteed to go at least six games, meaning Day 11 may feature only players from these two teams if Indiana closes out Cleveland.
Will Cleveland bounce back from their Game 4 thrashing? Can Jokic recover after shooting just 31% last game? Or will Indiana complete the upset and Oklahoma City hold serve at home?
Game 5s tend to bring out the best in teams—expect today’s matchups to deliver.
Today’s Objective(s):
Fast Break Day 9 requires five (5) players who will distribute 20.0 or more assists and accumulate 2.0 or more steals, which means each player will need to average at least 4.0 AST & 0.4 STL per player. There are four (4) teams in action today and one game could be the last of the series (if Indiana beats Cleveland again). If that happens, your availability of Indiana & Cleveland players would cease today; however, if Cleveland extends, they’ll play on May 15th (Day 11).
Little of Both: Nikola Jokic, Tyrese Haliburton, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray, Jalen Williams, Darius Garland
Distributors: Nikola Jokic, Tyrese Haliburton, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Darius Garland, Jamal Murray, Jalen Williams
Thieves: Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Alex Caruso, Jalen Williams, Jamal Murray, Tyrese Haliburton, Donovan Mitchell, Christian Braun, Andrew Nembhard, Cason Wallace
Top Five (5) Players in Classic Lineups: D. Garland (67%), T. McConnell (63%), T. Haliburton (45%), R. Westbrook (35%), A. Nembhard (34%)
NBA Playoffs:
Source: NBA.com, 2025.
Looking Ahead:
Tomorrow: 25 Rebounds & 3 Blocks (5.0 REB & 0.6 BLK)
Objectives Frequency (after today):
2x: AST
1x: BLK, REB, 3PM, 3PA, STL, PTS, PITP
Considerations:
With yesterday’s outcome, three of four matchups could end in Game 5
Denver & Oklahoma City are the only tied series at two games apiece
Statistical Approach:
Top players in projected Assists & Steals according to Rotowire & NBA.com, which is available in the table(s) below. Overall rank is based on daily projections, playoff average, and rest of playoffs projections, which is stack ranked amongst peers for each objective. When there is a single objective, the three data points are still used to stack rank the players vs. ranking solely on projections. For tome+ subscribers, projected rest-of-playoffs stats are available in the provided data file. Omission of certain players would be based on injuries at the time of data pull.
Classic Run Rewards:
Daily Reward: Top 200
Milestone Reward: 7 Wins
Run Reward: Top 100
Pro Run Rewards:
Daily Reward: Top 50
Milestone Reward: N/A
Run Reward: Top 100
Additional Links & Resources:
nbatopshot.com/fastbreak - set your lineup
Flowty.io - find/rent moments for your Fast Break roster
OwnTheMoment Fast Break Planner - connect your collection & map out your lineups
Tome+ Exclusive: Witty’s Player Targets Guide - players organized by Fast Break utility & rare/legendary prices
Tome Collective’s Fast Break NBA Playoffs Line-Up (Commons Only Challenge):
Many Fast Break participants do not have an extensive collection of rare or legendary moments, so they are limited to single use commons. Even with a limited lineup, participants have found a way to reach the maximum rewards. Follow along as the Tome Collective account participates in Fast Break without using any player more than once - in both our success and failures.
A blind squirrel finds a nut and we earned our second win of this run! There is no chance at earning the 7th win, but happy to earn a green bubble yesterday. Today’s lineup looks less than ideal.
The top players for today’s Fast Break objective(s). Source: Rotowire & NBA.com, 2025.
Projected Assists
Interested in daily sortable and filterable data tables with all players included (beyond the top 10)? Join Tome+
Projected Steals
Projected AST & STL
NBA Fast Break Grid
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May 2025 Promotions (2):
Send any rare NBA or WNBA Top Shot moment to TS: TomeCollective for two (2) months of access to tome+.
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