Finally, playoff basketball! Our days of tanking teams and strange rotations are over, and we can finally talk about some competitive games. We are going to be breaking down the two-game night slate, and we have a lot to talk about. We are going with a stars and scrubs style build tonight, as a lot of the studs on this slate are very appealing. We expect to see key guys have their minutes extended tonight, so we have a lot of potential in our stars. We are going to be talking about all the teams on this slate, as we have some good options everywhere. With playoff basketball we are a lot more focused on starters and we do not have as much value as we had during this past regular season.
Here’s a stars and scrubs lineup For DFS Basketball 5/22/21 (using DraftKings Values)
| Point Guard | |||
| Shooting Guard | J. Harris | $4,700 | |
| Small Forward | A. Gordon | $5,000 | |
| Power Forward | P. Millsap | $3,500 | |
| Center | N. Jokic | $10,600 | |
| Guard | |||
| Forward | – | $5,700 | |
| Utility |
We certainly expect Joe Harris to play a big role for the Brooklyn rotation tonight. Shooters typically find themselves playing heavy minutes in the playoffs, and Harris is a key role player for the Nets. Harris is a little too cheap here at $4,700, as we expect him to play well over 30 minutes. Harris is a good tournament, as he has a lot of upside and can smash if he is hitting his three’s. However, he does have a low floor as he needs his shots to fall to put any decent DFS production together.
Aaron Gordon has not been great since joining the Denver Nuggets, but we expect him to be a huge part of the playoff rotation. For the playoffs, we are not going to have strong value plays under $4,000 that we saw in the regular season. Instead, we must rely on value plays like Gordon who is priced at $5,000. Gordon is a solid defender which is why we expect him to see a lot of floor time in the playoffs. He should be in for at least 30 minutes here, which makes him a strong value option at this price point.
Another cheap Denver forward we are interested in tonight is Paul Millsap. Millsap gives us the cheap option which we ironically just mentioned is rarely found in the playoffs. Millsap is only $3,600 and we expect him to have a significant role in the playoffs. Millsap averaged over 20 FPTS this season and has been good lately, so we don’t really know where this price came from. Furthermore, there is a good chance that the veteran is to see more floor time for the playoffs, as his defense could be relied on. Millsap has a ton of upside here, as he has a nice minute’s ceiling for what we are paying. With that said, we only need him to put up around 20 FPTS to give us solid value here.
Our favorite superstar on the slate and the last Nugget we will mention is Nikola Jokic. Jokic was fantastic last season in the playoffs, and he should have to do a little more this year as Denver has a few injuries right now. We are getting Jokic at a solid price of $10,600, tonight as we are used to seeing him a few hundred more expensive. Jokic led the league in FPTS per game this season and it would not be a surprise if he leads the league in the playoffs. Portland is a solid matchup and Jokic looks a little better than our other superstars available.
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Kemba Walker – PG ($7,500 DK) Walker is one of the best plays on this slate given how cheap he is here. Walker should be in for around 40 minutes for the Celtics, who are still missing some offensive options. Walker will have to be a main offensive cog for Boston tonight, and he is only $7,500. Walker is way too cheap no matter how you slice it here, he has been fantastic in the big games to close out the regular season, and we have seen him consistently score in the high 40’s of FPTS. Walker has a fantastic matchup against the Nets here, and he is way cheaper than the other Boston stud in Jayson Tatum.
Damian Lillard – G ($9,400 DK) Lillard is one of our favorite studs to pay up for, as his price tag allows us to easily fit another superstar. Lillard has been a playoff beast in the past, and we know he will be playing around 40 minutes a game. We expect Lillard to take a ton of shots here and he has about as much upside as anyone else on the slate. With that said, Lillard is significantly cheaper than other superstars, and he will be a must if he has a big game. $9,400 is cheap for Lillard and he fits easy into lineups tonight.
Norman Powell – F ($5,700 DK) Teams tighten their rotations for the playoffs, key guys like Powell play closer to 40 minutes, and we expect their prices to rise a bit. Powell is too cheap at $5,700 for a full playoff minutes load, frankly he is cheap for a regular season minutes load. Powell will be in for a fair share of shots tonight and if he has a good shooting night he will crush this price tag.
Nicolas Claxton – Util ($3,500 DK) Claxton is a gamble here as we have no idea what the Nets center rotation will look like for the playoffs. If it seems that the veteran big men are going to get the start tonight, we may look elsewhere for value. However, if Claxton ends up being the go-to big man for Brooklyn he is way too cheap at $3,500. Claxton is a smash play if he gets the start, but a solid GPP play regardless.
Here’s a stars and scrubs lineup For DFS Basketball 5/22/21 (using FanDuel Values)
| Point Guard | K. Walker | $7,800 | |
| Point Guard | D. Lillard | $9,700 | |
| Shooting Guard | M. Smart | $5,700 | |
| Shooting Guard | C. McCollum | $7,500 | |
| Small Forward | C. Anthony | $3,800 | |
| Small Forward | N. Powell | $6,400 | |
| Power Forward | P. Millsap | $4,200 | |
| Power Forward | N. Claxton | $4,100 | |
| Center | N. Jokic | $10,700 |
Marcus Smart – SG (5,700 FD) We are getting Smart at a great price on FanDuel tonight. He averaged just shy of 30 FPTS per game this season, and we expect him to play a much bigger role for the playoffs. We saw Smart play massive run last playoffs, and we expect his defense is relied on heavily tonight. The Brooklyn Nets have a gluttonous amount of elite offensive creators and Smart is one of the only Celtics with a chance of defending those guys. We expect Smart to play closer to 40 minutes tonight and he has a ton of upside for a huge performance.
CJ McCollum – SG (7,500 FD) We have a tougher shooting guard spot on FanDuel tonight, and we are happy filling that spot with McCollum. McCollum will play around 40 minutes for Portland tonight and he always has massive usage. He has a somewhat low floor as he is very scoring reliant, however his upside is fantastic. He could go for a massive scoring night and we are not paying much for him. He is one of the only shooting guards on FanDuel with great upside which is why we are so interested here.
Carmelo Anthony – SF (3,800 FD) Anthony is cheap here and he fits another tough position. We expect Anthony to see some nice run for the playoffs, and we saw last year his price rose far past where it is now. Anthony has a lot of upside if his shot is falling, but we do not need a big score for him to fit our lineup here.
Go win your lineup and tell us how you did. Twitter (@FantasyDFSX) is a good place for that.
