NBA DFS Picks for May 19 2021

Going into the second night of play-ins, we have what should be a great night of basketball ahead of us. We only have two games tonight. A must-win matchup between the Spurs and the Grizzlies, followed by a Lakers-Warriors battle for the eighth seed. The first thing you will likely notice for tonight’s slate is the ridiculous prices on all the San Antonio guys over on DraftKings. The Memphis guys are also cheap, so we are more interested in the first game tonight on both sites. We are going with a balanced build again here, as the midrange priorities from San Antonio somewhat force us into that style. We have a lot of interest in most of the studs on this slate, so we must make some tough decisions for who we want to go with. 

Here’s a balanced lineup For DFS Basketball 5/19/21 (using DraftKings Values)

Were starting with an obvious one here, as Dejounte Murray has no business being priced at $6,300. As we mentioned in the introduction, a lot of the San Antonio guys are about $1,000 to cheap tonight. Murray averaged 35.9 FPTS per game throughout the regular season, and we typically saw him priced in the low $7,000’s range. There is really no reason why DraftKings did this with the San Antonio pricing, but it makes this play an easy one. If the Spurs lose tonight their season is over, so naturally we expect Murray to play for almost the entire game. Murray gives us a ton of upside and production in general, without sacrificing any salary. Murray is effectively the same price as our average salary per player, which is just ridiculous. He is simply not an average player, but he is being priced like one. 

The Lakers finally have some games that really matter, and we expect to see this team absolutely transform. From a rotation perspective, we are expecting reduced minutes for some of the young guys, and more minutes for the playoff vets from last year. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope plays an essential role as a three-and-D option, and we saw he was used heavily last years championship run. Caldwell-Pope should be in for a lot of minutes here and at $4,000 we certainly do not need lights out shooting for him to give us some decent value. With that said, we do not have the great value plays we had a week ago, so there is some risk with budget options like Caldwell-Pope.        

Another obvious Spurs stud we are getting to tonight is DeMar DeRozan, who is rocking a comical $7,000 price tag here. DeRozan has not seen too many minutes the last few games, as the Spurs were locked into the tenth seed. However, he is the first option on San Antonio, and we expect him to play closer to 40 minutes for this huge game. DeRozan averaged 39.1 FPTS on the season, so like Murray he is about $1,000 to cheap. We can play both the Spurs studs here and still pay up for some exciting plays elsewhere. At this price DeRozan has a ton of upside and he really needs to put out a bad game to not hit value. We have no problem taking both the Spurs studs here, as they can both be needed at there price points. For Cash games tonight, we are looking to lock in DeRozan, Murray and one or two more Spurs. 

Along with the Spurs, we are getting some great price tags on the Memphis Grizzlies tonight. Jaren Jackson Jr looks good here at $5,900. Jackson is a great per minute DFS producer, who we did not get to see too much this season due to injuries. Regardless, he has shown us what he can do over the past month, and we like what we see. Jackson has been playing increased minutes, as we saw him play over 30 for the last game of the season. We expect Jackson is healthy enough to play a complete minute’s load going into the playoffs. He has been great lately and he is very capable of stuffing the stat sheet, Jackson has a ton of upside that we do not have pay much for, which makes him a priority for us.

Jakob Peoltl – C ($4,900 DK)Although he is not as glamorous a play, Peoltl is about $1,000 too cheap just like DeRozan and Murray. This price might be the most egregious of the whole lot, as Poeltl is in for a lot of floor time in tonight’s big game. Poeltl has been great lately, averaging over 30 FPTS across the past ten days. The Spurs will likely play Poeltl massive minutes for the matchup against the Grizzlies, and he does not need to do anything special to walk into value here.  

Steph Curry – G ($10,100 DK) One challenge on this slate is choosing between very enticing pay up options. We do not have Lebron James or Anthony Davis in our lineups, but that is not because they are terrible plays. Curry is our priority as he will have to do everything for Golden state to win tonight, and we expect him to go down swinging. It is certainly viable to play Curry alongside one of the Lakers studs, however we prefer sticking to just one with all the midrange priorities on the slate. Curry has a ton of upside here and it is easy to imagine him having a big game. However, if you are playing a bunch of lineups it is a good idea to get some exposure to James and Davis.

Rudy Gay – F ($4,000 DK) We cannot be entirely sure what rotation coach Popovich is going to play for the big game tonight, but a lot of the guys are too cheap. This is a fantastic price tag for Gay and he should be in for some good value if he is used in the rotation at all. It is likely some of the Spurs veterans are in for more run come playoff time, which would make Gay a fantastic play here. A few of the Spurs role players look great here, and we are happy going with most guys who typically see solid run.

Jonas Valanciunas – Util ($7,600 DK) If you have been following Valanciunas since he was on Toronto, you will remember that he is an absolute beast in the playoffs. We are expecting him to play a lot of minutes tonight, which is typically a question mark for him. Valanciunas has been great lately, and he is way too cheap considering his recent production. We expect him to see a boost in minutes tonight, and he has the upside to be needed at this price tag. 

Here’s a balanced lineup For DFS Basketball 5/19/21 (using FanDuel Values)

Ja Morant – PG (7,500 FD) It is a tale of two sites tonight for Morant, as on DraftKings it is hard not to go with the savings from Murray and DeRozan. However, Morant looks great here and he is way too cheap on FanDuel. He is going to do a lot to try and get Memphis into the playoffs, and we expect him to play almost the entire game. Morant has a ton of upside and we have a lot of salary to play around with over on FD.

Patty Mills – PG (3,600 FD) Mills is a solid play on both sites, as he is cheap and has some decent minutes upside. We could see the Spurs give more run to there veterans who have been in the playoffs before, which would mean a big role for Mills. At this price, we do not much for him to work out as a decent value play. 

Kyle Anderson – SF (6,200 FD) Anderson is a great play on both sites as he is way too cheap over on DraftKings. On FanDuel, Anderson fills a tough sf position, with some nice upside. We expect him to play a ton of minutes for the desperate Grizzlies tonight, and we know he is a solid per minute producer.

Go win your lineup and tell us how you did. Twitter (@FantasyDFSX) is a good place for that.