Welcome back to the 2020 NBA Playoffs! This article aims to highlight some of the best plays at each position for today’s main NBA slate. Keep in mind that the following player write-ups were constructed earlier in the day, and sometimes injury/rest situations can alter the fantasy landscape. Monitoring our NBA News & Headlines Feed throughout the day will keep you in the loop. Today’s main slate on FanDuel, Yahoo and DraftKings includes two games starting at 6:30 ET.
POINT GUARD
Goran Dragic – Miami (at Milwaukee) – Yahoo: $23, DK: $6600, FD: $6500
Dragic’s and the Heat’s task gets exponentially harder this week as they take on the top seed Bucks, who rank first in defensive efficiency. However, they also offer a significant pace bump (Milwaukee is the fastest team in the league), which is of benefit to opposing point guards. Dragic has been one of the most consistent guards overall but especially when considering his salary. Our NBA DFS Optimizer loves him as the best dollar per fantasy point option at PG tonight. He’s my top build-around player tonight.
Also Consider: Chris Paul, Eric Bledsoe
SHOOTING GUARD
Eric Gordon – Houston (at Oklahoma City) – Yahoo: $20, DK: $6100, FD: $6000
I was somewhat concerned about what the return of Russell Westbrook would mean for James Harden on Saturday, and though Harden’s scoring was still terrific, his peripheral production tool a big hit, leaving him only 45 fantasy points. Gordon survived the impact of Westbrook’s return far better, and like with Dragic, it’s hard to find his kind of consistent 30-ish fantasy point production for the salary. I don’t mind paying up for Harden in a large field tournament, but Gordon is the SG I’d build around tonight.
Also Consider: James Harden, Jimmy Butler, Dennis Schroder
SMALL FORWARD
Khris Middleton – Milwaukee (vs. Miami) – Yahoo: $29, DK: $7900, FD: $6800 (SG)
As always, the SF position is very site dependent. Use Antetokounmpo in one of the SF slots on FanDuel, by all means. Middleton was instrumental in the closeout Game 5 vs. Orlando, and now has back-to-back games with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Miami is a similarly slow-paced, but talented team on both sides of the ball. I expect Middleton to continue to provide solid value, with an especially attractive FD salary.
Also Consider: Giannis Antetokounmpo (FD), Eric Gordon
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POWER FORWARD
Robert Covington – Houston (at Oklahoma City) – Yahoo: $24, DK: $5800, FD: $5600
This is another point to note that Antetokounmpo fills the PF slot on Yahoo and DraftKings, and I have no problem using him in all lineups tonight. Covington should also be solid as a F or Utility play on those sites, nearly making the bargain list today. He is coming off his best game of the series, a 22-point, 7-rebound, 3-assist and 3-steal effort. Those numbers were instrumental in getting DFS lineups into the black on Saturday, and could be again today.
Also Consider: Giannis Antetokounmpo (DK, Yahoo), Bam Adebayo (FD, Yahoo)
CENTER
Brook Lopez – Milwaukee (vs. Miami) – Yahoo: $20, DK: $5300, FD: $5700
Center is a barren wasteland today. You’ve got to have one, and Lopez is my pick, thanks mostly to that DraftKings salary. You might choose Adams, who admittedly has slightly more upside than Lopez, on FanDuel (he’s $200 less than Lopez), but Lopez had four good games in a row to close out the first round. He produced a 30-fantasy point line against the Heat during the seeding games.
Also Consider: Steven Adams, P.J. Tucker, Bam Adebayo (DK)
Bargains of the Night
Tyler Herro (G - MIA) Herro had a 20-point, five rebound, four assist game against the Bucks during the seeding phase of the restart. This is his typical line, and what makes him a top bargain-range option. He’s shown his 40-50 fantasy point upside, but the value here is the 30-fantasy point consistency. With a salary of $5500 DK, $5200 FD, and $18 Yahoo, Herro is a nice sidekick to Dragic and should benefit from the same game factors. He’s also projected as one of the best guard values by our Optimizer.
Jeff Green (F/C – HOU) It’s hard to peg the correct Houston forward (Danuel House Jr., Covington, Green, Gordon, Tucker…) in DFS, but Green has varied between good and great in this series, making him one of the safer ways to save. He’ll get you a good amount of points or rebounds, or both, and has played between 31 and 38 MPG in the last five games. Cheaper than Covington and Gordon ($5400 DK, $5100 FD and $16 Yahoo), Green should continue to net you about 5X value.
Jae Crowder (PF - MIA) Crowder lets you save a bit more than Green or Covington at the tricky forward positions ($4500 DK, $4700 FD, and $16 Yahoo), while still offering a solid return on investment. In the last three games, he’s played about 25-27 minutes, and produced close to a fantasy point per minute. In two games vs. Milwaukee this season, including the one in the bubble, the veteran Crowder averages almost 28 fantasy points.
Also Consider: P.J. Tucker, Luguentz Dort, George Hill
GPP Pivots of the Night
Russell Westbrook (PG – HOU) He’s still a heck of a gamble in his second game back, and his high salary is either the same or down a miniscule amount. He played only 24 minutes in Game 5, an easy win for the Rockets. In a more competitive game, I think he’d be closer to 30 MPG. Still, his triple-double upside is undeniable, and his low ownership percentage makes him an intriguing pivot in large multi-entry tournaments.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SG – OKC) The Thunder were awful Saturday. Gilgeous-Alexander scored four points. He’s had some down games in the bubble, but not like this. For the last three games of the series, he’s been incredible, averaging over 40 minutes and almost 50 fantasy points per game. I’m betting on a nice rebound for SGA tonight, but that dud will scare more than a few people off given the other SG options on this slate.
