NBA DFS Picks, Projections & Ownership DraftKings & FanDuel Lineups

Every first-round series has played one game, and tonight there will be the first of the Game 2s. This makes some of minutes a little easier to figure out for the best NBA DFS picks on FanDuel and DraftKings. The teams should run players out for the same minutes that they played in the first games from over the weekend.

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Guard Stud

Damian Lillard ($9,500 DraftKings/$10,100 FanDuel) — Lillard played a substantial role in the first game of the playoffs. While this statement itself doesn’t come as a surprise, he played a big role relative to the role he normally plays. Lillard’s usage waned a bit down the stretch of the regular season and rebounded in a big way to open the postseason. He posted a 35.3% usage rate, which is the most possessions he’s used since a game against the Celtics on April 13. This is no coincidence. With the playoffs underway, Lillard projects for more usage and playing time since he also got 40 minutes of run in the Game 1 victory.

Guard Value

Austin Rivers ($3,800 DraftKings/$4,400 FanDuel) — It looks like Rivers’ minutes are here to stay. With Denver short-handed, Rivers started to open the playoffs and played 33 minutes. He should offer similar, and there is not much value on this two-game slate with tighter rotations and a wealth of players to pay up for. Eventually Rivers’ minutes could be pinched, but that will not happen today. P.J. Dozier and Will Barton are both out, and it looks like the Nuggets have opted to make Rivers their guy to fill in for Jamal Murray in the interim.

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Forward Stud

Giannis Antetokounmpo ($10,800 DraftKings/$10,900 FanDuel) — The Bucks handled their playoff rotation so poorly last season that it was tough to know if their star players would play extended minutes in the postseason. Mike Budenholzer was on the record last year saying that he didn’t think Milwaukee deserved to win in the postseason if it required playing his starters extended minutes. It seems he changed his tune for this season. Antetokounmpo played 45.5 minutes in Game 1, and even though the game went to overtime, he played over 40 minutes in regulation. Given how strong of a per-minute fantasy producer he is, Antetokounmpo is the highest-upside play on the slate and carries the top point total in our Awesemo NBA daily fantasy projections at 58.89.

Forward Value

Robert Covington ($4,400 DraftKings/$4,600 FanDuel) — Covington likely won’t see a ton of usage since he shares the court with Lillard, C.J. McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic. For tonight, this isn’t too much of a worry because offers something most cheap options don’t and that’s minutes. He played 34 minutes in the first game of the series. Some of the field might want to jump on Carmelo Anthony because of his scoring outburst in Game 1, but Covington is much safer. He played 13 more minutes than Anthony, and he’s the No. 6 overall value play on the slate, according to Awesemo NBA daily fantasy projections.

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Center Stud

Nikola Jokic ($10,700 DraftKings/$10,700 FanDuel) — The only knock on Jokic is a minor one. While he is in a good spot to produce since he should play massive minutes following a Game 1 loss, Antetokounmpo is still better as a pay-up option. It is hard to get away from potentially getting 40 minutes out of Antetokounmpo. Jokic is the second-best pay-up choice, although the lack of value makes it difficult to fit multiple stars into lineups together. The upside here is still substantial enough to make Jokic a secondary choice to spend up for, and he did carry a 39% usage rate on Saturday since the teammates didn’t offer much help to start the playoffs.

Center Value

Paul Millsap ($3,600 DraftKings/$4,100 FanDuel) — Finding a cheap center to roster tonight is not easy. Guys like Millsap and JaMychal Green all look like very similar plays. The best course of action is spreading around and getting a bit of exposure to multiple cheap options. With that said, Millsap is the best of the values. While his minutes have fluctuated this season, Millsap still averages about a fantasy point per minute and has upside relative to his price if Denver opts to play him a bit more as the backup center tonight.

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Author

Greg Ehrenberg

Greg is a former stand up comedian who quit telling jokes to pursue a career in the world of DFS. He started playing fantasy sports in 6th grade when Greg and his friends would skip classes to meet in the bathroom for 20 team fantasy basketball drafts. Considering his current career path, it was the best education he could have asked for.