NBA DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Primer: May 22
With a win on Monday the Denver Nuggets will advance to its first NBA Finals.
It’s pretty wild how these Conference finals have developed. We had no idea who would win coming in, but both have fell to 3-0 deficits with the Lakers and Celtics staring down the barrel. The Nuggets and Heat still need one more win, and we’ll be talking about the Denver-LA Game 4 here.
Core Plays
Anthony Davis (PF/C – LAL): $11,600 DraftKings, $16,500 FanDuel
Davis has scored at least 52 DraftKings points in six of his last seven games, averaging nearly 60 DK points per game in this series. A 50-point floor and 60-point average are genuinely absurd, but both of those could be even higher since Davis is looking at 45 minutes in this potential elimination game.
Jamal Murray (PG – DEN): $10,400 DraftKings, $15,000 FanDuel
Murray is averaging more than 40 DK points per game this postseason, which is on par with his career playoff average. It’s clear this kid plays his best when the lights are the brightest, but it’s less surprising since Los Angeles surrendered the second-most fantasy points to opposing point guards in the regular season.
Cash Game Considerations
Nikola Jokic (C – DEN): $13,600 DraftKings, $17,500 FanDuel
Jokic struggled in Game 3 and still finished with 24 points, six rebounds, and eight assists. That shows just lofty this guy’s floor is, scoring at least 71 DraftKings points in nine of his previous 10 games. No player has presented a 70-point floor, and we’re genuinely witnessing a historical stretch from the two-time MVP. We also don’t mind that the Lakers own a 26th OPRK against opposing centers, with Joker averaging nearly 65 fantasy points per game in their seven matchups this year.
LeBron James (SF/PF – LAL): $12,000 DraftKings, $14,500 FanDuel
LeBron has been the best player in the NBA over the last 20 years, and we know he’ll go off in this elimination game. In 25 career elimination games, King James is averaging 33.5 points, 10.7 rebounds, 7.5 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. More importantly, he’s attempting over 24 shots a game while playing nearly 45 minutes a night. We don’t expect him to duplicate that, but he’s scored at least 52 DK points in each of his last four fixtures.
GPP Targets
Michael Porter Jr.(SF/PF – DEN): $7,200 DraftKings, $11,000 FanDuel
This youngster is playing some of his best basketball right now. Porter Jr. has scored at least 35 DraftKings points in five of his last seven outings while posting a 32-point average over the last two months. That makes him a heck of a value in this price range, especially since he’s averaging 34 DK points per game against Los Angeles this year. He’s also scored at least 26 fantasy points in all five of their matchups, and he’s a great pairing with the aforementioned studs.
D’Angelo Russell (PG/SG – LAL): $7,000 DraftKings, $8,000 FanDuel
This guy has too much upside to be this cheap. The former All-Star had at least 25 DraftKings points in seven of his previous eight outings before this series, averaging 29 DK points per game in that span. He also had a 33-point average during the regular season, and all you need is 25 DK points for Russell to be an immense value. This is risky, but it’s worth a shot in a GPP!
Value Plays
Rui Hachimura (SF/PF – LAL): $4,600 DraftKings, $7,500 FanDuel
Hachimura has scored at least 21 DraftKings points in all three games against Denver, generating a 24-point average. That’s all you can ask for from such an affordable player, and we’re seeing his minute total creep closer to 30 with his play on the rise. They also need him out there for his defense, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see Rui register 30 minutes and double-digit shots in this elimination game.
Bruce Brown (SG/SF – DEN): $6,600 DraftKings, $10,000 FanDuel
Brown has been one of the best bench players in this postseason outside of Miami and has been tasked as the primary ball-handler whenever Murray is on the bench. That’s allowed Brown to score at least 24 DK points in five consecutive outings, totaling a 29-point average across his last 23 games. We also love that Los Angeles owns a 26th OPRK against opposing wings, and Brown should continue to play big minutes as one of the team leaders.
Advantageous Pricing
LeBron James (SF/PF – LAL): $12,000 DraftKings, $14,500 FanDuel
D’Angelo Russell (PG/SG – LAL): $7,000 DraftKings, $8,000 FanDuel
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (SG – DEN): $6,400 DraftKings, $9,000 FanDuel
Aaron Gordon (SF/PF – DEN): $6,800 DraftKings, $8,500 FanDuel
Jeff Green (PF – DEN): $2,200 DraftKings, $6,500 FanDuel
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Joel Bartilotta is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Joel, check out his archive and follow him @Bartilottajoel.
