RADIO
We have a busy day in the NBA playoffs today with four more games going on. Philly, Atlanta, and Utah can all close out, which would leave Friday a very light day. The show will go on for Dallas and the Clippers no matter who wins this one. Dallas has blown a 2-0 lead though. Can they come back? Will Capela's trash talk light a fire under the Knicks? We have a lot to look forward to!
The questionable tags don't mean much here. Luka, Maxi Kleber, De'Andre Hunter, and Seth Curry will play. Embiid and Serge Ibaka will not. Any questions? Davis Bertans will join Mitchell Robinson and Cam Reddish in street clothes.
This article will supply you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for the DraftKings on 6/2/21. You can also check out today’s FanDuel lineup picks. It’s also important to monitor injury news as a result of COVID-19 as the slate can completely change before line-up lock. Without further ado, let’s dive into the picks!
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Russell Westbrook - PG, at Philadelphia ($11,400)
The fans pelted Russ with popcorn and he pelted the Sixers with 72.75 DraftKings points to keep the Wizards alive. This was despite an atrocious 3-19 night from the floor. Westbrook racked up the points with 21 rebounds and 14 assists, both series highs for him. Expect more of the same in Game 5, especially with Embiid not clogging up the middle of the court. Russ is a guy we can count on for a big score, win or lose.
Ja Morant - PG, at Utah ($8,600)
Morant struggled a bit in Game 1, but he has 153.75 DraftKings points over the last three games of this series. Even if he hasn't shot well, the assists are up to what we would expect from a point guard in the last three games. The volume is clearly there. Morant has taken 91 shots in four games. If he starts hitting them at a better clip, his ceiling is even higher.
Derrick Rose - PG/SG, vs. Atlanta ($7,300)
With all of the talk about the physical play of the Knicks in this series, I'm just hoping the guards don't start taking any of these shots. Both Rose and Trae Young are on the smaller side for guards in this league. Rose especially can't take the sort of beating that he took every game for his first three years or so in the league. I could see that as a reason to fade. If you choose to pursue this, Rose hasn't been under 30 DraftKings points in any game in the series and is now rolling with the starting five.
Reggie Jackson - PG/SG, vs. Dallas ($4,700)
I hate playing guard roulette with the Clippers, but that's where we are for value guards tonight. There aren't a lot of them. Jackson has been the best of the three over the last couple of games, the games that the Clippers won in this series. I tend to think that they'll keep playing Jackson a few more minutes than the others, but this is by no means a sure thing. We are in dangerous territory here.
Bonus Guards: Trae Young ($8,900), Donovan Mitchell (8,200), Bogdan Bogdanovic ($6,700), Ish Smith ($4,400)
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DraftKings DFS Forwards
Kawhi Leonard - SF, vs. Dallas ($9,600)
It was another strong game for Kawhi in this series. What else is new? He doesn't have the giant upside that some of the other higher-priced guys do, but his floor is the best on the slate. Kawhi has between 55 and 60 DraftKings every game is this series. You can write that down in ink. It's happening. There's no better cash play that Kawhi right now.
Tobias Harris - SF/PF, vs. Washington ($7,800)
Ben Simmons is actually worse with Embiid off the court. It's Tobias Harris that gets the all-around boost to the stats. Harris put up another 47.75 DraftKings points in Game 4, giving him 178.25 DraftKings points in the four games. Most of the prices are adjusted by this point, but not on Harris. Like Kawhi, he has been pretty consistent in this series. That had led to a gradual increase in pricing instead of a big leap. That means we still get them at a bit of a discount. I'll take it!
John Collins - PF/C, at New York ($6,100)
Collins put up a playoff career high 22 actual points in Game 4 en route to 34.5 DraftKings points. That was by far his best performance of the series and Atlanta's most dominant game of the series. Can it be done again? With all of the chatter going on on and off the court, I think the officials are going to call this one kind of tight. That means Randle can't bully everyone and it favors the somewhat undersized Collins. Of course, if is goes the other way, Collins will wind up in the hospital. I'm not sure there's middle ground here.
Royce O'Neale - SF/PF, at Memphis ($5,100)
Royce is one of the most boring DFS plays on the planet, but he is priced right. O'Neale had another strong performance with 29.25 DraftKings points in Game 4, but what has me going back is that he was just a point and a rebound shy of a double-double. Jackson has more upside, but looking at my builds, that extra $500 is pretty difficult to come up with tonight. O'Neale is not a bad plan B at all.
Bonus Forwards: Luka Doncic ($10,800), Julius Randle ($9,000), RJ Barrett ($5,800), Jaren Jackson Jr. ($5,600)
DraftKings DFS Centers
Jonas Valanciunas - C, at Utah ($7,700)
Center is kind of rough tonight. With Joel Embiid out, Jonas is the only guy that we can really count on for a sure 5x value. Gobert's price has crept up to the point that he wont always hit that mark. Jonas has between 31 and 37 DraftKings points in every game this series, so we at least know what we're getting out of him. The lack of upside is kind of unfortunate which likely leaves Valanciunas as a better cash game play. Still, the lack of elite options make him a decent GPP play as well.
Rui Hachimura - PF/C, at Philadelphia ($4,800)
Embiid went down after just 11 minutes in Game 4. It's not coincidence that we saw Rui's best game of the series by a long shot in that game. The 45.75 DraftKings points show how high the upside can be if he doesn't have anyone in there that can knock him off the glass the way Embiid was. Hachimura feels underpriced here and I plan on taking advantage.
Dwight Howard - C, at Washington ($4,300)
Howard will see a nice uptick in minutes with Embiid sidelined as will Mike Scott. Neither one of them made much of an impact in Game 4 after Embiid went down and both of them played about the same number of minutes. That does nothing to help us figure out who the better play of the two will be. During the regular season when Embiid was out, it was usually Howard. However, with the price difference and the minutes being split equally, Mike Scott is not a bad option if you need to go really cheap.
Bonus Centers: Rudy Gobert ($8,000), Clint Capela ($7,600), Daniel Gafford ($4,700)
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