DFS Alerts
Austin Rivers (illness) out Sunday
Rivers is a late addition to the Rockets’ injury report and won’t play in Sunday’s Western Conference Semifinals Game 1 matchup against the Golden State Warriors due to an illness. Rivers managed to record at least 19 minutes of action in three of the five games in the Rockets opening round series, so his absence certainly does thin out the bench and should enable Gerald Green to step into a more expanded role with the second unit, though Iman Shumpert could just as easily join the rotation after accumulating three consecutive DNP-CDs to close out the first round series against the Utah Jazz.
As reported by: Craig Ackerman via Twitter
Rising Up
Kevin Durant is starting to elevate his play as we go deeper into this year’s playoffs. If Steph Curry is still dealing with a lingering ankle issue like I expect, Durant will have to yet again put this team on his back and carry them to the finish line. For the price on DraftKings, he becomes a top overall option for me. This game should play at a pretty fast pace, and the opportunities will be there for him to dominate.
A Very Quiet 30
Kawhi Leonard is a superstar in the NBA and a force to be reckoned with. He is the unrivaled leader of this team as he went out and dominated the Orlando Magic in games 2-5. Today he is getting a matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers and I’m not expecting anything different. This will be a very quiet 30+ point real life game and he has tremendous upside due to the defensive stats he will rack up along the way. On a small 2-game slate where we have a few stars he has to be included in your player pool.
Consistent All Series Long
Even in bad games this series (as evidenced by his 43 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists the last game), Jokic has been as productive and stable as they come from a fantasy perspective. In a close out game at home against the Spurs I expect him to be in rare form. He should continue to contribute in all categories and will most certainly be putting the ball through the hoop a few times too. The usage and minutes have been there and is one of the top plays on the slate. Just play the man.
Shaun Livingston is expected to play
Livingston being inserted into the starting lineup is an adjustment to the Clippers starting lineup and going small, and will allow Andrew Bogut to match up with Montrezl Harrell off the bench. This shouldn’t mean too much in terms of DFS impact, as Livingston is not equipped at this point of his career to play more than the 15 minutes he’s already been getting. It may impact the effectiveness of Harrell, who to this point in this series, has not had much resistance on the defensive end.
As reported by: Mark Medina
JaMychal Green is expected to play
The Clippers will use the same starting lineup they did in game 4, which means JaMychal Green at the 5 matched up with Andrew Bogut. There’s little hope for this Clippers lineup to keep pace with the Warriors and they are 14.5 point underdogs, but Green getting starting run at his reduced price could end up being a valuable salary saver in your lineup. He isn’t expected to play more than 25 minutes and hasn’t done so in any game this series, but he is a valuable enough point per minute producer to get the job done even if the minutes are limited, due to blowout or otherwise.
As reported by: Andrew Greif Keep Going Back to the Well on DraftKings at this Price Tag
This price tag is just flat out too cheap on DK. I hope game log watchers look at his past three games and shy away so that ownership stays at least somewhat muted on a two-game slate. He shot awfully in Game 4 and was still able to squeak out 41.5 DK points. Foul trouble and a blowout kept the minutes WAY down in Game 3 (played only 20 minutes), so it’s no surprise the lack of fantasy production followed (failed to crack 30 DK points). Fade this price tag at your own risk; I think Steph absolutely goes off tonight.
THE Center Play Tonight on FanDuel
We basically have three center options to roster tonight on FanDuel. Only Bogut, Clint Capela, and Rudy Gobert can be reasonably projected for minutes at this position. With so many other good places to spend up tonight, Bogut is the logical choice to plug in at center. Not only is he the best point per dollar play at the position, but his salary relief helps you fit in the more expensive price tags of Durant, Harden, Curry, etc. Bogut’s salary relief is very useful on DK as well, but I fall short of calling him an absolute must play.
The Place to Go for Salary Relief
P-Bev is my favorite source of salary relief on this slate, making him a priority for me in all formats tonight. In Game 4, the Clippers started JaMychal Green and split the center minutes between he and Montrezl Harrell (completely removing Zubac from the rotation). With them going smaller, that had a trickledown effect on the minutes for the guards. Beverley was the big winner, playing 36 minutes. Even if you are a little more conservative on the minutes, he still looks good at these price tags considering he was a 0.82 fantasy point per minute player in the regular season. If we are going to be fitting in guys like Durant, Curry, Harden, etc., Beverley’s salary relief is going to be a necessity on this slate.
A Stud to Prioritize on a Two-Game Slate
KD is a priority for me but for different reasons depending on the site. On FD, the price is more appropriate ($10,500), but the position as a whole isn’t that great. Since we have to roster two small forwards there, he makes a ton of sense to plug in from the get-go. On DK, he ($8,200) and the rest of the Warriors continue to be priced way too cheap for life without Boogie. As such, it is extremely difficult to get away from that price tag on DK. I’d even consider giving it the old lock button if you are making a bunch of lineups.
Joel Embiid is expected to play
Joel Embiid will play Tuesday, get him in your lineups!
As reported by: Keith Pompey Ed Davis has been ruled out
Davis was playing in a backup role, but his absence means that if Jarrett Allen can stay out of foul trouble, he should see significant run. If he can’t, it will be Rondae Hollis-Jefferson that takes up the role as the only other body large enough to attempt to slow down Joel Embiid. Depending on how that scenario plays out, one of Allen or RHJ should have a strong night, and Embiid shouldn’t see much resistance from Allen who knows he has to avoid foul trouble.
As reported by: Anthony Puccio The Best Point Guard Option
I will continue to come back to Dame in cash games based on the savings he gets you down from Russ ($1,500 on FD; $1,400 on DK). While Dame’s price tag on FD ($10,000) is more appropriate, the position as a whole is really lacking when it comes to pricing inefficiencies. So he makes a ton of sense there since we are forced to lock in two at the position. And then on DK, the price has fallen back below $9,000. I just love the combination of floor and upside he provides you, especially at that depressed DK price tag. They don’t come much safer than him for cash games, and there is still plenty of meat left on that bone on DK for tournament formats.
Which Expensive Center to Take in Cash Games?
Game-log watchers will be loving them some Joel Embiid tonight after he broke the slate on Saturday. However, he still only logged 31.5 minutes in that game. I’d much rather get my cash game exposure with a steady commodity like Jokic. All he has done this series is churn out mid to high 30’s minutes every night and 50+ fantasy points. The one exception was in Game 3, in which he lost his last four minutes of court time due to a blowout. By all means, get you plenty of Embiid in tournaments. But if you are playing cash games tonight, Jokic should be the preferred option.
Finally A Cheap Play We Can Feel Good About on DK
Craig drew the start in Game 4 (playing 37 minutes) in place of Will Barton, and I don’t see any reason why they’d go away from it in Game 5 tonight. Since the price only went up a few hundred bucks on DK to $3,400, that easily makes him the best salary relief play on the slate on that site. He is not the greatest per-minute contributor (0.71 DK on the season), but the minutes he should see tonight should more than make up for it. On FD where they aggressively raised his price ($4,600), I would prefer to keep my exposure to him only in tournament formats since the shooting guard position is pretty deep.