NBA DFS Night Picks for May 23 2021

We are on to our second night of playoff basketball, and we have a strange night slate here. We only have two games to breakdown today, in what promise to be two slower gritty matchups. We do not have a lot of bona fide superstars playing tonight, so we are getting a little more creative here. With that said, we have some great targets and a there are a few guys we really like getting to. We are going with a balanced build here, as the most expensive player on the slate is only $9,200. We can fit in a lot of guys who have great upside as we do not have to commit too much salary to one superstar. Our favorite team tonight is the New York Knicks as they some solid value, however we are looking at guys all over the slate.

Here’s a balanced lineup For DFS Basketball 5/23/21 (using DraftKings Values)

We like getting to Dillon Brooks tonight as we expect him to play around 40 minutes with high usage. Brooks is not too expensive at $6,200, and we know he has some fantastic upside. We saw Brooks score over 43 FPTS in one of the play-in games, and he will certainly see the opportunity for that kind of production. The Grizzlies rely heavily on Brooks defense and scoring abilities, which is why we are so confident in his minutes. We expect he continues to shoot twenty-plus shots a game, which makes him a fantastic option for tournaments. Brooks is somewhat scoring dependent, and we do need him to hit his shots, but he will definitely have the opportunity for a big game.

One of our favorite value plays on the slate is going to be Deandre Hunter, who has an interesting situation here at only $4,000. Hunter got hurt in March and has only played three games since returning. His minutes were scaling back up, and we saw Hunter play 24 minutes in the starting lineup for his most recent game. We already know that his minutes restriction will be higher for the playoffs, so we could easily see him hit 30 minutes tonight. Hunter averaged 26.6 FPTS per game this season, and we saw him play over 33 minutes per night before getting hurt. Hunter is one of the only strong defenders for Atlanta, so we are confident he will play as many minutes as possible. 

On this two-game night slate it is going to be hard to get away from Julius Randle. We mentioned that we do not have any bona fide superstars playing tonight, and Randle is by far the top DFS producer on the slate. Randle is our most expensive option tonight, but he is way too cheap at only $9,200. Randle averaged 48.7 FPTS per game this season, and he scored well over 60 FPTS in each of his three outings against the Hawks. We do not have a lot of high-end options here, and it is likely Randle is the top producer on this slate. Randle will play a crazy minute load here and we can easily see him play over 40 minutes if things stay close. Randle will probably be high owned here, but we are getting different with some of our other plays. 

We are seriously lacking value plays on this slate, and we must find some cheap guys who will be in for solid floor time. Nerlens Noel works very well here, as we expect him to play some massive minutes. The Knicks do not have too many center options and Noel has been playing north of 30 minutes the past few games. He is only $4,100 tonight, and he should be in for solid value if he gets that kind of run. Noel is not the most enticing DFS play as he does not have fantastic upside, but he will likely give us the solid value we need to pay up elsewhere.

Trae Young – PG ($8,500 DK)With only four teams, it is hard not to go to Young at this price. Young averaged 46 FPTS per game this season, which means he should be priced at around $9,200 here. Going into the playoffs, we love getting to Young as we are confident he will be doing everything to try and will Atlanta to the next round. We expect Young to play around 40 minutes with a massive usage rate. Young has some of the best upside on the slate, and we can afford a few of these midrange studs. 

Derrick Rose – G ($5,500 DK) We are all over Rose for the playoffs, as we expect to see some huge minutes from him. Rose has shown some great upside all season and he is coach Thibodeau’s favorite option at point guard. We expect to see some great floor time for Rose here, and he has a good matchup against the Hawks. We want to watch if Rose cracks the starting five tonight, and he is even more of a smash play if that is the case. However, we like getting to Rose regardless of if he starts.

Desmond Bane – F ($4,400 DK) Bane was the last guy in for us and he certainly comes with some risk as we have seen him fail to produce in the past. However, we are looking for cheap minutes here, and we expect to get that in Bane. Bane played around 30 minutes last time out, and we expect him to see similar floor time tonight. Bane does need to do much to hit value at this price, and he showed some decent usage last game. 

Jonas Valanciunas – Util ($8,100 DK) Valanciunas is one of our favorite tournament options tonight, as he has upside as good as anyone else on the slate. We expect Valanciunas to go under-rostered here as he has an gritty matchup against the Utah Jazz. However, Valanciunas should be in for huge floor time in this matchup, which is the main concern with his production. Valanciunas very rarely fails when the minutes are there, which we expect them to be tonight. Valanciunas could go for a massive game, as we saw him score over 60 FPTS in one of the play-in games.

Here’s a balanced lineup For DFS Basketball 5/23/21 (using FanDuel Values)

Bojan Bogdanovic – SF (5,600 FD) We are not interest in Bogdanovic on DraftKings, but on FanDuel his price is a lot more appealing. Bogdanovic has some fantastic upside and we saw him have a few huge games towards the end of the season. We are interested in the Jazz starting lineup here, as we are a lot higher on Bogdanovic if he gets the start.

Jaren Jackson – PF (6,300 FD) Jackson is a guy you should be avoiding for your cash game lineups, as he has a low floor. However, his upside is just as relevant as he could be in for some huge games if he can get the run. The only thing that prevents Jackson from playing huge minutes is the foul trouble he has been seeing a lot lately. If Jackson can avoid fouls tonight, he will be an important play on this slate.

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