NBA DFS Picks for May 8 2021

Another crazy slate for us to breakdown tonight. We have a ton of injury news to talk about for this one, and even more stuff that is still left up in the air. Yesterday’s slate was all about the Houston Rockets, as you need to play multiple Rockets with all the injuries they had. For tonight’s slate, most of the guys that were out yesterday for Houston are currently questionable. We will have to keep track of the news coming in, as Houston is a massive priority again if they have the same injuries. The other Team we are looking to a ton for tonight is the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors are missing both Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet are both listed out. We expect a huge boost for the active Toronto guys and are rostering multiple plays from them. This is a tough slate, as we have to choose between a few amazing directions to go with our lineup. We are going with a studs and duds lineup built for massive upside, as we will need a huge score to win big in tournaments tonight.

Here’s a stars and scrubs lineup For DFS Basketball 5/8/21 (using DraftKings Values)

Like last slate, we are waiting eagerly on the Houston Rockets news to know who the real value priorities will be tonight. The Rockets only had eight healthy guys last night, and some of them were easily the best value options on the slate. If Kevin Porter Jr remains sidelined for tonight, Armoni Brooks is an easy priority for us. Without Porter, Brooks is the only guard available for the Rockets. The role he plays with Porter off the floor is massive, as we saw just last night. He played 34.3 minutes last game and scored over 40 FPTS. We expect the opportunity to remain the same if Porter is out, which would make him one of the best value options on the slate. 

We mentioned that we are all over the Raptors tonight, as there is a huge opportunity without Lowry or VanVleet. The Toronto offense is going to be missing a lot of weapons here, we expect the rotation guys must take on a lot more usage then usual. Gary Trent will likely be high owned for tonight, and for good reason. Trent is $5,500 tonight, but he scored over 34 FPTS in his one game back from injury. When the Raptors had a ton of injuries about a month ago, we saw Trent have some massive games with all the extra usage laying around. Trent has the upside for a massive game if his shot is falling, as he should be in for some ridiculous usage tonight. 

Coach Nurse is going to have to dig deep to find 240 minutes out of this gutted Toronto squad.Deandre Bembry looks very enticing here, as we have seen him take massive minutes when Toronto was missing guards in the past. Bembry is only $3,500 here, and we expect him to be in for some solid floor time. Bembry went for 21.8 FPTS last game, and we saw how he got a nice boost with OG Anunoby and Lowry out. With VanVleet joining the sideline, we expect Bembry to play more minutes and do a bit more offensively. Bembry is a bit too cheap here, and we don’t need much for him to produce some great value.

Anthony Lamb is among many Rockets guys who are a priority if Houston ends up with all the injuries they had last game. Lamb played 34.5 minutes last game and scored 27 FPTS. If all the Rockets are out, Lamb is a no brainer for value as he is still only $4,100 for this huge role. However, we do want to mention that if Christian Wood and other Rockets are able to return to the floor tonight, Lamb is not as strong of a play and we are looking elsewhere. If the Rockets guys end up playing, we are looking to less Rockets and more Raptors for value.

Nikola Jokic – C ($10,900 DK)We do have a lot of opportunity cost with us spend up plays tonight, as there are some great studs we will not be able to fit in. Pascal Siakam is one guy who we were not able to get while also rostering studs like Jokic, but Siakam looks great and is a guy you want some of in multiple lineups. However, Jokic here is a play we cannot pass up, as he is in the perfect situation for a big game. Jokic is the top DFS producer in the league, and it does not take much for him to have a massive game. Jokic consistently scores around 60 FPTS, with some of the best upside in the league. The Nuggets have a fantastic matchup against the Nets tonight, who are the worst team in the league at defending Centers. Jokic should be in for a feast in this spot, which made us find the salary to fit him in.

Russell Westbrook – G ($11,100 DK) After averaging around 70 FPTS for over a month, DraftKings has taken the bold action to price up Westbrook $100. Westbrooks’s price is an absolute joke here, and it makes him a quite easy play. Westbrook is averaging over 70 across the past ten days, and no one in the league is close to him in either floor or ceiling. Westbrook’s median production over the past month and a half is good enough for a ceiling game from literally anyone else in the league. Jokic looks fantastic tonight, but he is nowhere near Westbrook for cash games. It just does not make sense that Westbrook is practically the same price as other superstars, given that he is producing over 10 more FPTS per game then anyone right now.

KJ Martin Jr. – F ($5,300 DK) like other Houston plays, Martin is easy to figure out what to do with tonight. If Houston has the same injuries they had last night, we are going right back to Martin here. He is way too cheap for how good he has been the last few slates, and we must expect another gigantic opportunity if those guys are out. Martin has scored 50 and 47.3 FPTS in his last two games.  

Malachi Flynn – Util ($4,700 DK) Flynn is a smash play with both Lowry and VanVleet out for Toronto. The Raptors are missing the two guards who usually play north of 30 minutes and run the offence. This is the perfect situation for Flynn who is the only guard the Raptors will have for tonight. We saw some massive games from Flynn earlier when these guys were out, and we expect some great value from him at this price.

Here’s a stars and scrubs lineup For DFS Basketball 5/7/21 (using FanDuel Values)

Norman Powell – SF (5,800 FD) Powell was the last man in for this lineup. We have no problem exchanging him for a higher value play that opens. However, Powell is affordable here and he does have some great upside. Powell has a lot of upside through his scoring, and he is an all-around good dart throw here.

Isaiah Stewart – PF (6,000 FD) Stewart has fantastic upside here and he usually looks good on FanDuel due to the power forward eligibility. Stewart can smash this price tag easily as we have seen consistently out of him. Detroit could be ruling out a lot more guys here, which would open more value for Stewart. Regardless Stewart is a strong play with this price and position.

Have fun with this one, watch for the Houston news, as we are once again waiting on that to be able to finish our lineups.

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