FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Thursday 6/10/21
The NBA scene changes on a week-to-week, day-to-day, and -- depending on injury news -- even a minute-to-minute basis, making every slate a unique one that requires an ever-changing approach.
With so much changing so quickly, we're here with plenty of tools to help you out. We have daily projections, a matchup heat map, a lineup optimizer, and a bunch of other great resources to help give you an edge.
Daily fantasy NBA is very reliant on opportunity, so you'll need to make sure that you're up-to-date with key injuries and COVID-19 situations. Our projections update up until tip-off to reflect current news and we also have player news updates.
We'll also be coming at you with this primer every day, breaking down a few of the day's top plays at each position.
Please note: When I'm referencing a player's value figure, it is the number of fantasy points scored for every $1,000 in salary. Typically, a value figure of 5.0 (meaning, 5.0 FanDuel points for every $1,000 in salary) is the minimum baseline we'll be targeting.
Let's take a look at who you should target on tonight's two-game playoff slate, which locks at 7:30 PM Eastern.
All injury updates are via the NBA's official injury report or numberFire's player news.
Point Guard
Jrue Holiday ($8,200) - If the Milwaukee Bucks are going to get back into this series, they're going to need more from Holiday, and our algorithm sees that happening. numberFire has Jrue projected for 41.3 FanDuel points tonight, making him the second-best point-per-dollar play at point guard. For what it's worth, Holiday averaged 41.7 fantasy points against the Miami Heat in the opening round.
Mike James ($4,800) - James is our algorithm's top-projected value play at the point position. With James Harden out of the lineup for the first two games, James has racked up 24.9 and 21.1 FanDuel points -- and the latter total could have been more if not for the blowout. With the series turning to Milwaukee, a more competitive game could mean a higher ceiling for the 30-year-old.
Shooting Guard
Donovan Mitchell ($9,500) - See if you can spot the trend here -- 28.4, 39.9, 49.4, 52.2, 59.1. Those are Mitchell's FanDuel performances since he returned for the Utah Jazz in Game 2 against the Memphis Grizzlies. The All-Star dropped 45 real-life points on the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 1, and the Jazz will need another explosive outing from him in the second game, especially if Mike Conley is out again. Our model projects Mitchell to be the top scoring two-guard tonight.
Joe Ingles ($4,600) - If Conley is out, we can turn to Ingles for value. The veteran saw 32.3 minutes of action and a 20% usage rate in Game 1 with Conley inactive, and a similar role should be in store for him in Game 2. If Conley does suit up, we can pivot to Bryn Forbes ($3,900) or Luke Kennard ($4,300). Kennard racked up 20.4 fantasy points in 29.3 minutes of action in the series opener.
Small Forward
Kawhi Leonard ($11,000) - Paying a salary this high for Kawhi might not be a popular move tonight, but with the Los Angeles Clippers down a game in the series, I expect that he'll show up in a big way. The Klaw tends to have his most explosive performances when his back is up against the wall (see: Game 6 and 7 versus the Dallas Mavericks), and I'd imagine Los Angeles does not want to go down 0-2 against a squad as potent as Utah. Leonard is likely to be far less popular than any other studs on tonight's two-gamer, so there's potential for some leverage here,e as well.
Bojan Bogdanovic ($5,400) - Bojan amassed 28.5 FanDuel points in Game 1, which was the third time in six postseason games that he'd eclipsed 28. Like the rest of Utah's starters, Bogdanovic will likely have to carry a larger role if Conley were to be out. That said, the sharpshooter can still be a solid play even if the veteran point guard is active.
Power Forward
Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,300) - The Greek Freak busted in Game 2 with only 37.2 FanDuel points, but two-time MVP should be in a great position to rebound as this series returns to Milwaukee. Giannis dropped 59.1, 60.9, and 65.6 FanDuel points in three of the four games against Miami in the last round, and his ceiling could very well be even higher tonight. Milwaukee's implied total of 119 is the highest of the four teams in action on Thursday, and if the Bucks are to get there, they'll need Antetokounmpo to be at his best.
Blake Griffin ($5,500) - Griffin has recorded 42.3 and 24.1 fantasy points in the first two games of the series, and the latter likely would have been considerably higher had the Nets not blown the Bucks out of the water. Brooklyn's thin frontcourt means that Griffin should have a large role for the remainder of this series, especially if Harden remains inactive. Our algo projects the 32-year-old to be the second-best point-per-dollar play at power forward.
Center
Ivica Zubac ($5,000) - You're not going to feel good about any of the choices available at center, but Zubac might be the most palatable option. The Clippers elected to go with a bigger lineup for Game 1. Zubac's 20.4 minutes were the most he'd seen since Game 2 of the opening round, and he responded by putting up 11 real-life points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks, and 31.7 FanDuel points. Considering that he needs just 25 FanDuel points to accrue five-times value (or 5.0 fantasy points for every $1,000 in salary), the Croatian is certainly in play.
