We’re down to a two-game slate Monday night with the Bucks having eliminated the Heat on Saturday. With just four teams in action, we naturally have a much tighter player pool to work with, one that’s made even narrower by the fact rotations are usually more compact during the postseason.
That said, we should have a very motivated Russell Westbrook-Bradley Beal duo facing off against the 76ers as the Wizards strive to avoid elimination, while the Jazz and Grizzlies face off in a series that’s featured an abundance of impressive DFS performances thus far.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel on 6/3/21. I’ll be providing multiple player suggestions for players at guard, forward and center on FanDuel, aiming to highlight one option apiece at the high, middle and lower end of the salary scale. You can also check out DraftKings lineup picks and injury news before lineups lock. Good luck, RotoBallers.
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FanDuel DFS Guards
Damian Lillard, PG – vs. DEN ($11,000)
Just the name would arguably suffice, but I’ll go through the motions of making Lillard’s very obvious case. The All-Star put up 55 points in a superhuman effort in Game 5’s wild double-overtime contest, and he’s now averaging 58.5 FD points per game in the series after his tally of 88.2 in Game 5. Lillard is also averaging a whopping 22.8 shot attempts per game and averaging 47.8 percent from three-point range, and with Portland fighting to stave off elimination Thursday, there’s no question he’ll be a principal component of the attack yet again.
Devin Booker, SG – at LAL ($8,400)
Booker went off for a series-high 47.9 FD points over 33 minutes in Game 5, shooting 13 of 23 from the field on his way to 30 points. That snapped a three-game shooting slump where he posted an abysmal 36.0 percent success rate from the floor, including 16.7 percent from three-point range. Booker should be aggressive once again in Game 6 as the Suns look to clinch the series, and the Lakers check in surrendering the sixth-most points (26.3) and fourth-most assists (5.7) per game to shooting guards over the last seven.
Austin Rivers, SG – at POR ($5,000)
Rivers has had an up-and-down series, but he’s scored 21.3 to 31.8 FD points in three of those contests. The veteran had an impressive 28.7 in Game 5, and he’s shot a blistering 48.3 percent from three-point range overall. The Trail Blazers have yielded a 42.1 percent success rate overall from distance over the last three games of the series, and Rivers sports a salary that’s he’s already proven capable of delivering over a 5x return on in three games against Portland.
Also consider: C.J. McCollum ($8,000); Dennis Schroder ($6,300); Monte Morris ($5,800)
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FanDuel DFS Forwards
LeBron James, SF- vs. PHO ($10,600)
James appears likely to take the court without Anthony Davis (groin) again Thursday, as the big man is a game-time decision. James turned in a valiant effort in the lopsided Game 5 loss, posting 24 points, seven assists and five rebounds across 32 minutes, and he’d scored over 45 FD points in three of the first four contests of the series with much more normal game scripts. With the defending champ’s title defense on the line Thursday and the Suns allowing the sixth-most FD points per game (47.7) to small forwards over the last seven games, James and his massive usage rate are certainly the way to go if you’re paying up at forward.
Michael Porter Jr., SF – at POR ($7,600)
Porter was one of the heroes of Game 5 for the Nuggets, draining a clutch three-pointer in the second overtime to help push Denver over the hump. The second-year wing racked up 47.9 FD points over 48 minutes, and he also posted tallies of 39.8 and 29.3 FD points in two prior games in the series. Porter has shot 54.1 percent overall in the series while averaging a solid 12.2 shot attempts per game, and with Denver looking to close out what’s been a fairly grueling series, he should have plenty of opportunities Thursday.
Aaron Gordon, PF – at POR ($5,600)
Gordon was a key contributor in Game 5 as well, compiling 32.0 FD points on the strength of a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double. He also scored 22.3 to 29.1 FD points in Games 1-3, with the only outlier in the series for him so far a Game 4 dud where he only managed 10.8 FD points in 18 minutes. The Blazers are allowing the seventh-highest offensive efficiency (26.3 percent) to power forwards while yielding 48.0 percent shooting to the position, and Gordon should also benefit from the fact Portland has given up the fourth-most rebounds per game (54.2) of any team on its home court.
Also consider: Norman Powell ($7,000); Robert Covington ($6,200); Jae Crowder ($5,300)
FanDuel DFS Centers
Nikola Jokic – at POR ($10,800)
As alluded to in Harris’ entry, Embiid has basically run roughshod over the Wizards over the first three games of the series, with the only limits on his fantasy production coming as a result of game script shortening his playing time. The star big man is averaging 44.1 FD points on an average of just 28.0 minutes per contest, putting up 29.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 steal. The big man is even shooting an outstanding 54.5 percent on an average of 3.7 three-point attempts per contest, taking full advantage of the Wizards’ breakneck pace of play and often suspect defense. Nothing should change Monday, and although there’s the possibility Embiid’s minutes are abbreviated yet again, he’s simply too good to pass up if you have the salary.
Deandre Ayton – at LAL ($7,800)
Those who can’t quite pay the freight for Jokic can certainly pivot to Ayton, who scored 34.5 to 43.4 FD points in the first four games of the series before playing only 27 minutes in the Game 5 blowout win and posting 19.4 FD points. If he’s back to a more normal workload Thursday, he could certainly approximate a 5x return considering his body of work in Games 1-4, and the fact he averaged a solid 11.8 shot attempts per contest while shooting 80.9 percent during that span.
Also consider: Jusuf Nurkic ($7,500)