Tuesday, June 22, resumes the NBA Playoffs action with Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals in Phoenix. Let’s look at the Phoenix Suns vs. Los Angeles Clippers player pool and discuss the top NBA DFS picks for DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo lineups. Don’t forget to head over to the Awesemo NBA DFS home page for more great written daily fantasy basketball content, including the FREE NBA Deep Dive — the most in-depth article in the industry.
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NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks, Tuesday, June 22nd
Yahoo Play of the Day — Devin Booker: Phoenix Suns vs. Los Angeles ClippersÂ
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 46.85 | DraftKings: 49.94
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 95.5% | FanDuel 94.3% | DraftKings 86.6%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $37 | FanDuel $14,500 | DraftKings $11,800
It would be hard to draw up a better result than the actual Game 1 outcome for Devin Booker. He was solid off the ball, with the ball and actually pesky on defense. In a tick shy of 44 minutes, he scored 40 points with 13 rebounds and 11 assists, which was the first triple-double of his career. In the third quarter, he actually scored 16 straight points for the Suns. While we cannot expect another 70-Yahoo-fantasy-point game, even 70% of that production would be terrific as a building block tonight. Once again, Chris Paul will be out in the health and safety protocol, and Phoenix will be counting on Booker to deliver another top-shelf performance.
Paul George: Los Angeles Clippers at Phoenix Suns
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 51.33 | DraftKings: 54.92
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 95.5% | FanDuel 93.4% | DraftKings 88.3%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $43 | FanDuel $15,000 | DraftKings $12,000
Between May 28 and Sunday, Paul George played 12 games while averaging 40.7 minutes, including the last three without Kawhi Leonard. George has been excellent, averaging 26.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists an 1.8 combined blocks/steals, but those minutes are taking a toll. This will be his 13th game in 26 days, but, once again, he is a top target for our daily fantasy basketball rosters.
Deandre Ayton: Phoenix Suns vs. Los Angeles Clippers
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 33.5 | DraftKings: 33.56
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 55.5% | FanDuel 53.7% | DraftKings 41.7%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $28 | FanDuel $12,000 | DraftKings $9,200
The second-year player really stepped up on Sunday, managing to stay on the court for 37 minutes with only one foul. Deandre Ayton was 10-of-14 from the field, and while his fantasy backers would like to see him take more shots, he does have an absurdly high conversion rate. He also chipped in with nine rebounds and two assists. There is some rebounding upside and a highwater mark of a 15/15 game is very much in play with the patchwork Clippers frontcourt.
Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies
Los Angeles Clippers
- Rajon Rondo, $10: The veteran presence of Rondo was key in a 10-o run in the second quarter and an 8-0 run at the end of the fourth during desperation time. He should see 20 or 23 minutes tonight, and is a solid option for the minimum salary.
- Ivica Zubac, $10: Though not as fun to roster as DeMarcus Cousins, we at least know he is going to be in the rotation and it looks like 18 or 20 minutes are in the cards for Game 2.
- DeMarcus Cousins, $10: In a bit of a surprise, coach Tyronn Lue went to Cousins to start the second quarter, and he certainly was busy. In 13.3 minutes of action, he had 11 points, four rebounds, an assist and a block, along with two turnovers and five fouls. While he does have 20-fantasy-points upside, he is also a risk of seeing only a handful of minutes or, worst case, not leaving the bench. The Clippers were -11 with Cousins on the floor, and he only overlapped with Ayton for just over five minutes.
Phoenix Suns
- Cameron Johnson, $10: Game 1 was a bit of an anomaly as Johnson played the final 18:44 of the game. Generally, his rotation is for around eight minutes crossing over the end of the first quarter into the second quarter. While he usually sees a similar start time in the third quarter, the fourth quarter is a wildcard, and he ended up holding his spot through the end of the game. This is not something we can count on so anything more than 14 or 16 minutes is upside.
- Torrey Craig, $10: The energetic Craig was everyone managing just over a fantasy point per minute on Sunday. He will be a boom or bust play, but should see something in the low- to mid-teens for minutes and we have seen him flirt with 17 or 20 fantasy points when he is at the high end of that range. Single-digit fantasy points are also in play, making Craig a risky option, though one that the field is not going to be on with nearly the fervor of some other discount dandies.
- Dario Saric, $10: Once again Saric played the minutes that Ayton did not. That is going to keep him in the 10- to 13-minute range unless Ayton runs into foul trouble.
Final Thoughts on the Tuesday, June 22 NBA DFS Slate
Have realistic expectations on the single-game slates, and while the giant tournaments are fun, the smaller-field contests can be lucrative with fewer lineup duplications. Keep in mind that salaries and scoring formats differ across the various fantasy sites, and a slam-dunk play on Yahoo may be a below-average NBA DFS pick on DraftKings or FanDuel.
