NBA DFS Picks and Fantasy Basketball Building Blocks for Today, Saturday | 5/21/22

Saturday, May 21 features Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals with an 8:30 p.m. ET  tip off on DraftKings and FanDuel. Below, we will examine the player pool and break down the best NBA DFS picks today for DraftKings and FanDuel lineups.

DraftKings & FanDuel NBA DFS Picks Today (5/21)

Jaylen Brown: Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat

  • Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 39.82 | FanDuel: 38.06
  • Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings: 58.9% | FanDuel: 49.8%
  • DFS Salary: DraftKings: $9,400 | FanDuel: $14,000

Tonight the Eastern Conference Finals will be in Boston for the first time with both teams holding a 1-1 record. After another solid performance Thursday, Jaylen Brown saw a $500 salary increase on FanDuel, while his DraftKings figure maintained status quo. Brown was efficient in the Celtics romp contributing 24 points on nine-of-17 (52.9%) from the field and four-of-seven (57.1%) from behind the arc. Though he is still a tick behind Jayson Tatum when it comes to offensive opportunities, Brown should still see north of 15 field goal attempts tonight. From a point per dollar perspective, Brown is the fourth-best option on both DraftKings and FanDuel. If Robert Williams is ruled out, pounce on the over 6.5 rebounds as Brown has eight or more in four of his last five postseason appearances.

Jimmy Butler: Miami Heat at Boston Celtics

  • Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 43.63 | FanDuel: 44.01
  • Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings: 63.1% | FanDuel: 61.3%
  • DFS Salary: DraftKings: $10,800 | FanDuel: $15,500

Tonight the Awesemo projections are not looking favorably on Jimmy Butler, giving him a median point total of 22.89, though he is behind only Jayson Tatum when it comes to fantasy projections. It will be interesting to see how much Kyle Lowry is able to contribute after missing the last two weeks with a hamstring injury. Lowry has played only two games in the last month after missing the final two games of the Atlanta series and the first two games against Philadelphia in Round 2.

Butler should still be a big part of our DFS lineups, however, we can also look to hedge things by taking the under on his 26.5-point total being offered by most books. This is a tough road matchup against the best defense in the league who should be at full strength. It is hard to envision Butler with less than 20 points, however, 27 or more is going to be a tough ask.


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Miami Heat

  1. Dewayne Dedmon: There is no need to look to Dewayne Dedmon on FanDuel, however at just $1,800 on DraftKings he is a bargain, even if he only plays a dozen minutes.
  2. Gabe Vincent: Tonight, Gabe Vincent will likely move back to a reserve role with Lowry returning to action. Though his minutes will take a hit, he has played well enough that he should see 18-20 off the bench and there is a chance for more if Lowry is ineffective or aggravates his hamstring yet again.
  3. P.J. Tucker: Though he is long in the tooth, P.J. Tucker keeps chugging along with his steady production. While it is never exciting rostering or watching him, he provides a solid fantasy foundation.

Tonight, Tucker also looks like a strong option in the NBA player props market. He has a 4.5 over/under on his rebound prop and the Awesemo NBA player projections have him for 5.2 rebounds, which gives him a 58% probability of surpassing the over. While this is a slim margin, Tucker has had at least four boards in each of his last four games, including Thursday’s drubbing when he was limited to 22 minutes with a calf injury. As long he is in the starting lineup, this is an intriguing wager for parlays.

Boston Celtics

  1. Grant Williams: Even coming off the bench in the last game, Grant Williams still played 32 minutes. The Celtics can employ him as a jack of all trades and that keeps him firmly in the rotation, even if it does not always translate to fantasy production.
  2. Derrick White: After missing Game 2 to be with his wife for the birth of his son, Derrick White will be back in uniform tonight. Game log watchers are likely to be disappointed which should keep his popularity in check.
  3. Payton Pritchard: Now that White is back and Marcus Smart is healthy, Payton Pritchard will still see around 15 minutes and he should have several opportunities from downtown as well as potential mop-up action.

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[NBAPAGE]

Eric "EMac" MacPherson won the 2007 Fantasy Baseball grand prize (trip for two to the MLB All-Star game) in the Roto format on ESPN. He won again in 2008, this time in the H2H format. As one of the early adopters of daily fantasy sports, EMac has been providing content for baseball and basketball as well as both professional and college football since 2012 for a variety of websites including DraftKings Playbook, FanVice, RotoWorld, Daily Fantasy Bootcamp, and RotoGrinders. He is well into his third decade of fantasy sports and has a wealth of knowledge and experience. Follow him on Twitter @EMacDFS or contact EMac by emailing [email protected].

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