We have three NBA games tonight as six teams play the second game of their playoff series. As has been the case for since the playoffs started, we are really attracted to the star plays at the top of the slate. Some studs are still being priced for the resting minutes they were playing at the very end of the season. We will talk about a few guys who are way too cheap here and your first options for cash games. We are going with a stars and scrubs lineup here, as there are a lot of stars that we want to talk about. We also have our eyes set on some nice value plays here, who are giving us the cheap minutes we need for the playoffs.
Here’s a balanced lineup For DFS Basketball 5/25/21 (using DraftKings Values)
| Point Guard | K. Irving | $8,800 | |
| Shooting Guard | K. Caldwell-Pope | $3,800 | |
| Small Forward | K. Leonard | $8,500 | |
| Power Forward | M. Kleber | $3,400 | |
| Center | |||
| Guard | |||
| Forward | – | $9,300 | |
| Utility |
We have a lot of great pay-up options tonight, so we recommend playing some different guys if you are running a few lineups. One guy who has a ton of potential in this spot is Kyrie Irving, as his $8,800 price tag is a lot cheaper than other superstars. Irving averaged 46.3 FPTS per game this season, so we are getting him at a good price under $9,000. Irving is somewhat scoring dependent, so he has a low floor. However, we really like him for tournaments as he has some fantastic upside. Irving could be in for as big a game as any of the 5-digit studs on this slate, so his upside is some of the strongest given the salary savings.
We have more value on the top of tonight’s slate then the bottom, so we must look for value plays who we know have solid floor time. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is not the best DFS producer in the NBA, but he gives us a ton of minutes for his $4,400 price tag. Last game we saw KCP play 34.6 minutes, he only scored 15 FPTS due to terrible shooting. However, this is a floor performance given the massive floor time KCP is playing. If he can put together even a mediocre shooting night, he should be able to give us some solid value in this spot.
Kawhi Leonard is easily the top play on tonight’s slate. Leonard’s price was obviously ridiculous going into game one, as we were able to roster him at $8,000. After a dominant 56 FPT outing from Leonard in game one, we are still able to pick him at a comical $8,300. The reason for Leonard’s joke of a price is the low minutes he was playing at the end of the season. However, we know he will play around 40 minutes a game in the playoffs, and his price should be closer to $10,000. Leonard took 22 shot attempts in his 41 minutes last game, which is the role we expect him to play for the playoffs. He must have a complete outlier to not hit value here, and we are getting a ton of upside with practically no risk. Leonard is a lock for cash games tonight, and we really like using him for tournaments as well.
Maxi Kleber is questionable for tonight but he is one of our favorite value options if he ends up in. Kleber has been dealing with some serious Achilles soreness, but he has been consistently playing massive minutes regardless. Kleber played 36 minutes last game and went for 23.75 FPTS. We are still getting Kleber for only $3,600 here, so we like him if he is good to go tonight. We want to squeeze in multiple studs tonight, so we are desperate for value. Kleber should be able to give us solid production for his price, and he allows us to pay up for our studs elsewhere. We do have to keep an eye on the news here, as Kleber could potentially be ruled out.
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DeAndre Ayton – C ($6,100 DK) This price tag on Ayton is ridiculous. Ayton was $6,200 going into last game, and he absolutely crushed. Ayton played 37 minutes last game and went for 44 FPTS. Inexplicably, Ayton has gotten even cheaper for tonight and he is totally priced for a floor game. We assume Ayton will see massive floor time again tonight, and he has so much potential when considering the price. Ayton should hit value easily here, and his upside is fantastic.
Marcus Smart – G ($5,800 DK) The Celtics were disappointing offensively last time out, however we still like getting to the Boston guys here. Smart looks great at this price, as we saw him play a massive role in game one. Smart played 40 minutes last game and took 13 shot attempts. Smart only scored 28.25 FPTS last game, but he has upside with a lot more if he can bring some more peripheral stats. Smart has a lot of upside between defensive stats and the high usage we have seen him take in the past. He is not expensive here, and he gives us a nice piece of the Boston usage.
Kevin Durant – F ($9,300 DK) Durant is our favorite of the Brooklyn studs to get to, and one of our favorite spend-up options on the slate in general. Durant is another stud who has been priced down despite a big game last time out. The one concern with Durant was he might still have some lingering injury issues, but we saw last game that he will be playing his full role for the playoffs. Durant played 39 minutes last game and got up 25 shot attempts. We saw Durant go for 52.5 FPTS last game, which is the type of production we expect to see from him in the playoffs. We are getting some great savings on Durant here, as he should not be significantly cheaper than anyone.
Nicolas Batum – Util ($3,800 DK) Batum is one of our favorite value options tonight, as he is too cheap for the number of minutes we expect him to play. We saw a fantastic role for Batum in game one, as he scored 24.25 FPTS in 32 minutes. Batum fits very easily into our lineups and he has a decent floor due to the floor time he is seeing. We need cheap plays who we can rely on to pay for our stars. Batum does not need to do much for us here, and it would be surprising if he hurts us with all the minutes he has been seeing.
Here’s a stars and scrubs lineup For DFS Basketball 5/25/21 (using FanDuel Values)
| Point Guard | K. Irving | $9,200 | |
| Point Guard | K. Walker | $7,000 | |
| Shooting Guard | M. Smart | $5,300 | |
| Shooting Guard | T. Hardaway | $5,100 | |
| Small Forward | K. Durant | $10,400 | |
| Small Forward | N. Batum | $4,300 | |
| Power Forward | K. Porzingis | $6,900 | |
| Power Forward | B. Griffin | $4,600 | |
| Center | D. Ayton | $7,200 |
Kemba Walker – PG (7,000 FD) Walker looks great at this price, as we like him a lot on both sites. He got into weird foul trouble last game, but we cannot expect that to happen again. He should be in for massive floor time here, and he is a huge usage guy for Boston. Walker has a lot of upside and we are getting it cheap tonight.
Tim Hardaway – SG (5,100 FD) The shooting guard position is quite weak on FanDuel, which is why we are getting to Hardaway here. Hardaway has great upside if his shots are falling, and we saw him play a pretty big role in game one. He is cheap here, and he could potentially give us some great value.
Kristaps Porzingis – SG (6,900 FD) Porzingis does have a somewhat low floor as we saw last game. However, his price has fallen dramatically, and he now has a ton of potential for tournaments. Porzingis has fantastic upside, and we should see him put out some big games if the minutes are there. At this price, we have a lot of potential to get a massive game for cheap.
Blake Griffin – PF (4.600 FD) The power forward position on FanDuel is tough tonight, but we like taking shots on Griffin. He should start at center again and we expect he could see more minutes than he got last game. He has some decent upside if the Nets start to rely on him more heavily for the playoffs.
Go win your lineup and tell us how you did. Twitter (@FantasyDFSX) is a good place for that.
