RADIO
We have a couple of Game 6's tonight. Philly has their backs to the wall in Atlanta after blowing a 26-point lead at home in Game 5. Utah has their backs against the wall in L.A. after they elected to hold out Mike Conley again when Kawhi was announced as out. It backfired, so you can bet that Conley will be out there tonight, but may have a minutes limit.
Embiid and Young were fine in Game 5, so their listing on the injury report is just dumb at this point. The Clippers are being conspicuously quiet about the extent of Kawhi Leonard's knee injury. Therefore, most are concluding that his ACL is torn. At the very least, It would be very Willis Reed-like if Kawhi were to return in this series. Kawhi will be in street clothes with Danny Green, Cam Reddish, Serge Ibaka, and De'Andre Hunter for this one.
This article will supply you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for the DraftKings on 6/18/21. 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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Paul George - SG, vs. Utah ($10,100)
Utah has had a tough time handling George so far. It was even worse with Kawhi out. George took over for the Clippers, racking up 71 DraftKings points in the win and adding $1,500 to his price tag. George is still worth it if Kawhi Leonard is indeed out like it seems he will be. George hasn't been at his best in elimination games whether he's facing elimination or not. This is his chance to exorcise those demons. Considering how well he has played in this series, it can't be ruled out.
Ben Simmons - PG, at Atlanta ($7,900)
Simmons had a dreadful night from the foul line. He missed ten of his 14 shots from there. Those extra ten points from missed foul shots were the difference between him being a big disappointment and clearing 5x value. This tells me that so long as Simmons plays his game, he's still a decent cash game piece. That said, the 5-19 from the foul line over the last two games is more than just a little concerning. How long will the 50% shooting from the field last if he can't make a damn free throw?
Seth Curry - SG,at Atlanta ($5,400)
That's five straight games of at least 24 DraftKings points for Curry, and arguably one of the best games of his career on a night when Tobias Harris had one of his worst. Curry did everything he could for Philly, racking up 36 real points and 51.75 DraftKings points. He's not going to score 36 again, but Curry remains one of the better value plays out there. He's still a lock for 5x value and we've seen how high the ceiling is.
Bonus Guards: Trae Young ($9,900), Donovan Mitchell ($9,300), Terrence Mann ($3,200), Lou Williams ($3,200)
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DraftKings DFS Forwards
John Collins - PF/C, vs. Philadelphia ($6,300)
Collins has 107 DraftKings points over the last three games and he'll only cost you $700 more than he did in Game 2, his low mark of the series with 25.5 DraftKings points. If that's the floor, which it seems to be, I'll be all-in on Collins again. After struggling with fouls in each of the first three games, Collins has only committed four fouls in the last two games combined while putting up consecutive double-doubles. Collins is underpriced here and he's eligible at center. He's the most versatile lineup piece we have on this slate.
Marcus Morris - SF/PF, vs. Utah (5,100)
Morris was one of the main guys who helped shoulder Kawhi's load. Of course, George was the main scorer, but Morris still dumped in 25 points and played a staggering 40 minutes. Morris now has 73.5 DraftKings points in the last two games with Kawhi out. He's in for another big game here, but he's not priced like it. Lock in Morris for the best value on the entire slate.
Danilo Gallinari - PF, vs. Philadelphia ($4,500)
Gallinari's floor is tough to swallow, especially on a slate with so many good, cheap forward options. However, his upside and price point could be enough to vault you into the top 100 of a large field GPP tournament. His 28.5 DraftKings points in Game 5 didn't come out of nowhere. He put up 37.75 back in Game 2 of this series. The ownership on Morris, Batum, and Terrence Mann will steer many away from the Hawks. Running Gallo out there at low ownership with a nice ceiling could be a huge leverage piece.
Bonus Forwards: Tobias Harris ($7,700), Bojan Bogdanovic ($5,900), Royce O'Neale ($5,000), Nicolas Batum ($4,900)
DraftKings DFS Centers
Joel Embiid - C, vs. Atlanta ($11,000)
Embiid took the same amount of shots in Game 4 as Game 5, but he made eight more of them. He also stuffed the stat sheet in every category and played his most minutes of the series, but Philly still lost. You can bet Embiid will be front and center in this game know matter how much the knee might be bugging him. Embiid had 72.75 DraftKings points on Wednesday. Don't be shocked if he does it again.
DeMarcus Cousins - C, vs. Utah ($3,000)
Both Capela and Ivica Zubac have mostly been non-factors in their respective series because these aren't good matchups for them. Not in any way, shape, or form. Instead, punting with Cousins may be a better idea. Boogie has 22.25 DraftKings points in just 15 minutes in this series. That's a hell of a lot better than Zubac. Don't look for Boogie to be a huge part of this game, but he has given the Clippers a lift off the bench when they have desperately needed it. If I'm basically taking a stab in the dark at center anyway, Boogie for minimum price is tempting. The downside is that he may not even play.
Bonus Centers: Rudy Gobert ($7,500), Clint Capela ($6,700)
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