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 three games starting at 3:30 ET.
POINT GUARD
Chris Paul – Oklahoma City (at Houston) – Yahoo: $34, DK: $8100, FD: $8200
Paul is the most logical PG play today. He’s been very consistent in the bubble, averaging about 40 fantasy points per game. He racks up stats in every category, so even when his shot is off (like going 0-for-5 from three-point range in Game 4), he makes up for it with his peripheral production and ability to get to the line. His salary is also nice relief from Russell Westbrook, who returns tonight (see below).
Also Consider: Eric Bledsoe
SHOOTING GUARD
CJ McCollum– Portland (at LA Lakers) – Yahoo: $32, DK: $8100, FD: $8000
I have nothing against James Harden except his salary and perhaps the effects of having Westbrook back. McCollum is thousands less and is going to have additional ball-handling duties with Damian Lillard back in Oregon. He often takes over the offense when Lillard is out, so I’d expect to see his assist and steal numbers tick up tonight. Portland desperately needs a win tonight and McCollum is key to that happening.
Also Consider: James Harden, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
SMALL FORWARD
Carmelo Anthony – Portland (at LA Lakers) – Yahoo: $21 (PF), DK: $5900, FD: $5500
Forward has been the sticky point of this first round of playoffs. Depending on which site you’re on, you may struggle more with SF (Yahoo) or PF (FanDuel) but you’re forced into a star or scrub approach somewhere. Anthony is the compromise on FanDuel and DraftKings. Like McCollum, he is in position to see increased usage with Lillard out. He does have a wide range of outcomes, but it feels like that is very baked into his salary, more so than others. Our NBA DFS Optimizer has him as the best dollar per fantasy point F option.
Also Consider: LeBron James (FD, DK), Giannis Antetokounmpo (FD), Khris Middleton (Yahoo – basically your only solid choice there…)
POWER FORWARD
Anthony Davis – LA Lakers (vs. Portland) – Yahoo: $51, DK: $10,500, FD: $11,000
Davis broke his consecutive double-double streak in Game 4, but given the scarcity of the position, he’s still one of your more consistent options here. It’s worth noting that the Lakers voted against the continuation, and it’s possible that some players’ hearts won’t be in the games today. I tend to believe that the Lakers’ mindset will be winning – if they’re going to be in Orlando, they’re playing to win it all. That means Davis is in my lineups tonight.
Also Consider: Giannis Antetokounmpo (DK, Yahoo) or see bargain options
[[ad:athena]]
CENTER
Brook Lopez – Milwaukee (vs. Orlando) – Yahoo: $20, DK: $5200, FD: $5700
Center really depends upon how you build your lineups tonight. Including Davis, Antetokounmpo or James along with Paul and McCollum is hard enough to do, but if you’re trying to roster a stud center, it’s not going to work. Enter Lopez. I love the Bucks tonight. They started the boycott/strike, they’re pissed, and they’re going to end this series tonight. Expect everyone to be playing aggressive for Milwaukee tonight, and that means Lopez should meet or exceed his 25-ish fantasy point average in this series.
Also Consider: Jusuf Nurkic, Nikola Vucevic (they’re hard to afford)
Bargains of the Night
Markelle Fultz (PG - ORL) I think investing in Orlando tonight is a risky way to go given that I genuinely believe Milwaukee could hold them under 100 points again tonight. Still, as a second PG or G, Fultz at $18 (Yahoo), $5100 (DK), or $5400 (FD) is easy to fit in and offers the multi-category production that gives him a solid floor in 26-30 MPG as well as the upside to hit 6-7X value.
Gary Trent Jr. (SG – POR) Trent is the other cheap Portland option that stands to benefit from Lillard’s knee injury. He’s minimum salary on Yahoo ($10), and just $4800 on DK, $4500 on FD. He’s had some great games in the bubble, but hasn’t been taking as many shots or getting his hands on the ball as much during this series. With Lillard’s single-handed determination out of the picture, I could see Trent taking 15-plus shots and approaching 25-30 fantasy points tonight.
Robert Covington (PF - HOU) Covington answers some of the forward problems with a boring, but sound fantasy profile. This is the game to watch tonight, with the series tied, the game total the highest of the night and the spread the closest. Covington is a mid-low salary path to a solid 20-30 fantasy points as your second F.
Also Consider: Gary Clark, PJ Tucker, Dwight Howard, Luguentz Dort, Anfernee Simons, D.J. Augustin
GPP Pivots of the Night
Russell Westbrook (PG – HOU) I don’t expect many to trust Westbrook in their cash game lineups the first game back from injury, and he’s hard to afford ($43 Yahoo, $9900 DK, $9400 FD). Those factors make him an ideal pivot player today. In the regular season, Westbrook averaged 54 fantasy points per game vs. the Thunder (three games), with 29 PPG, 8 RPG, and 9 APG. He has as much fantasy upside as any star on the slate.
Also see Louis Cangiano’s GPP Pivot article today!
