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Today we have Game 1 of the Western Conference finals between the Suns and Clippers, or at least shadows of the Suns and Clippers. The nightcap is the one everyone has their eye on. We have another Game 7 in the East in Philly to see who takes on the Bucks.
Embiid and Young will play. Kawhi and Chris Paul will not. Beyond that, we only really have a question about Bogdan Bodganovic's knee. He is worth a look with De'Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish still out if he plays. Danny Green and Serge Ibaka will also be out for today's tilts. Given the importance of this game for Atlanta though, I would say that Bogdan plays.
This article will supply you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for the DraftKings on 6/20/21. 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!
DraftKings DFS Guards
Trae Young - PG, at Philadelphia ($10,100)
I'm not going to sit here and badmouth Paul George. He is an excellent play as well. I'm just siding with Trae in a winner-take-all Game 7. Young has 184 DraftKings points in the last three games. He has single-handedly kept the Hawks in this series. Win or lose, you can expect Young to have another one of those huge nights.
Devin Booker - SG, vs. Clippers ($8,900)
We saw Booker have some big games with CP3 out during the regular season and we have seen him have some big games with CP3 in the lineup in these playoffs already. The only thing that worries me is that the Suns were on cruise control for the entire series against the Nuggets and the Clippers are coming in here will all the momentum after disposing of the Jazz.
Terrence Mann - SG, at Phoenix ($4,900)
Mann got first crack at replacing Kawhi. No one will need a second crack. Mann dumped in a career-best 39 actual points and 50.5 DraftKings points in the huge come-from-behind victory against Utah. Mann is almost exclusively a scorer and he may not outscore Paul George every game, but this kind of ceiling for this low of a price is too good to pass up.
Bonus Guards: Paul George ($10,300), Reggie Jackson ($6,100), Seth Curry ($5,800), Cameron Payne ($4,000)
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DraftKings DFS Forwards
John Collins - PF/C, at Philadelphia ($6,400)
It's tough to go back to Collins after a horrible Game 6. The only thing that was down for Collins was the shots and that was just because he wasn't making them. If Collins gets back into a groove, he'll keep shooting, and Game 6 will be a distant memory. Quite honestly, the Hawks have little chance without Collins. I'm expecting a nice rebound game from him here.
Nicolas Batum - SF/PF, at Phoenix ($5,700)
I'm torn between Morris and Batum here. I know I want one of them and I may want both. Batum's all-around play was tough on Utah, but the Suns held him in check this season. Marcus Morris was more effective against the Suns during the regular season. Look for the Clippers to run small again without Kawhi, leaving both Batum and Morris with extra minutes. I'm going to side with the more consistent Batum, but neither are a bad play.
Danilo Gallinari - PF, vs. Philadelphia ($4,700)
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 ($7,900), Marcus Morris ($5,500), Mikal Bridges ($5,400), Jae Crowder ($5,000)
DraftKings DFS Centers
Joel Embiid - C, vs. Atlanta ($10,900)
Embiid has gutted out the knee injury throughout the series, but it may be catching up with him. Despite the win in Game 6, Embiid was just 9-24 from the field and didn't do much else besides rebound. The high ceiling is still there, but if that knee keeps bugging him, Embiid may be more decoy than dominator. There's more risk with him than usual tonight.
Deandre Ayton - C, vs. Clippers ($6,500)
It has been a good playoffs for Ayton so far and he actually played fairly well against the Clippers in the regular season. Utah held Ayton in check with the size of Gobert, but he should fare well against the smaller Clippers squad. This looks like a matchup in which Ayton can excel if the Clippers run small like they did at the end of the Utah series.
Bonus Centers: Clint Capela ($6,900), Dario Saric ($3,300)
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