NBA DFS Showdown Core for July 14, 2021

We have game four of the NBA finals tonight, as the Milwaukee Bucks look to even the series up against the Pheonix Suns. This is a huge game for determining the momentum of the series, as the Bucks will find themselves in the dreaded three to one hole with a loss. For DFS, we have started to see the best guys on both sides really start to take over as the series unwinds. Giannis Antetokounmpo has been in a league of his own since his return, so it is no surprise we love him again tonight. After that, we have some great price tags on other stars tonight, and a few solid value options. We really want to try and jam in as many stars as possible here, as we think they are going to try and do everything in this one.

Here’s a showdown core For DFS Basketball 7/14/21 (using DraftKings Values)

We mentioned in our introduction that Giannis Antetokounmpo has been smashing lately, as he has scored 71.5 and 69.25 FPTS respectively in his last two games. Antetokounmpo has had to take on a massive scoring role as his two co-stars have struggled to find there shot, and he is playing around 40 minutes a night. Antetokounmpo is in an interesting situation in this series, as there is no superstar like Kevin Durant who can come close to his production on a nightly basis. Antetokounmpo is our captain for Cash games tonight, as he has a massive floor and will be highly owned. We like Antetokounmpo a lot for tournaments as well, as he has been the captain you wanted the past few slates regardless of his price. We also really like using Chris Paul for captain in GPP’s, as his price allows for us to fit in three other stars alongside him.

We really liked getting to Torrey Craig last time out, and we still like him for tonight despite his miniscule production last time out. Craig only scored three FPTS last game, but he played 15 minutes and put up five shot attempts. Craig is only $1,800 here, and he is the only player under $3,000 we trust to see any floor time. He allows us to save a lot of salary for the stars we like so much, and we do expect him to have a better game tonight. If Craig is to see a similar opportunity and can shoot it a bit better, he should prove to be a decent value for us. Craig being the only guy we like under $3,000 makes him someone we are getting to a lot, which is why he is a core play for us.

Chris Paul has been fantastic this playoffs, and we have loved getting to him for DFS where he has consistently been too cheap. The Suns took a rare blowout loss last time out, so we only saw Paul play 34 minutes and go for 33 FPTS. However, we have typically been seeing him play closer to 40 minutes with a massive offensive role. We expect this one to stay a lot closer, and Paul should see a ton of floor time for tonight’s pivotal game four. Paul is priced at $9,600, which means he is significantly cheaper than his backcourt partner Devin Booker. The price tag on Paul is easy to use tonight, and we expect him to comeback with something special.

Here’s a showdown core For DFS Basketball 7/14/21 (using FanDuel Values)

Despite his disappointing shooting we have really liked getting to Jrue Holiday as he has been cheap on both sites for a while now. Holiday is one of our favorite options on FanDuel as his $12,000 price is fantastic. Holiday has scored well over 40 FPTS in each of his last two games, and he is amazing upside if he can get his shots to go down. Holiday fits easily into our lineup on both sites here as he is not really priced like a true star at this point.

Khris Middleton – ($10,000 DK) We always have some interest in Middleton, especially for tournaments. Middleton is the same story every game, we know he will see a lot of shots and he will turn out great if he can get them to fall. Middleton is consistently playing over 40 minutes a night, and he has had some huge games this post season. Middleton is not the best option for Cash games as he has a low floor and high price. However, he is a great option for tournaments as he brings a lot of variance and upside.

Deandre Ayton – ($8,400 DK) Ayton is a priority for us tonight at this price point, as he is significantly cheaper than the other studs on this slate. Ayton was great in the first two games this series, and his foul trouble was a huge reason why the Suns looked so bad last game. We expect Ayton to play around 40 minutes tonight, and he is so much cheaper than other studs we can pay up for. If he has a big game, he will be a must have at this price.

P.J. Tucker – ($3,400 DK) Tucker gotten significantly cheaper for tonight’s slate, as he is $800 less then we have seen him at any point this series. We know Tucker is going to consistently play over 30 minutes a night, which gives him some floor on his production. We do not have a ton of cheap options tonight, so Tucker is definitely our favorite option next to Craig. Tucker does not have the best upside, but his price allows us to fit a lot of upside in our lineup elsewhere.

General strategy 

Last slate was strange as the blowout limited the minutes for a lot of guys. One factor we were talking about before the last game was the shooting from Holiday and Middleton. Both continued to struggle from the field, and Antetokounmpo has had to take on a huge scoring role. Middleton and Booker are the guys we consider to be the highest variance here, so they are options we are only looking at in tournaments. For Cash games tonight we want to Captain Antetokounmpo and roster Paul, Holiday, and Tucker alongside him. We want a lot of exposure to Antetokounmpo at captain in tournaments as well, but we want to try and get a little bit of all the stars for tournaments here.

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