NBA DFS Switch And Hedge: What Will Mitchell Do For An Encore?

The NBA playoffs are underway and there is NBA DFS on DraftKings, FanDuel and SuperDraft. Greg Ehrenberg breaks down some of the key news in his Switch and Hedge article.

Tired of the industry consensus and of the hot take machine? How about a data driven approach for a change? The world’s No. 1 daily fantasy player has put his projections talents to work, creating Awesemo’s first ever Fantasy Football Draft Kit. In it, users will receive access to:

Awesemo’s Fantasy Football Rankings
The Draft Wingman
Breakouts, Sleepers and Busts Table
Awesemo Cheatsheets
Customizable Strength of Schedule Tool
Awesemo’s Live Mock Drafts (coming soon)

All this for just $29.95 and that includes a $35 credit for new users at FFPC. Sign up HERE!

NBA DFS Switch And Hedge | August 19

Donovan Mitchell Set To Carry The Load Again

With Mike Conley still out for the Jazz, Mitchell will play with the ball in his hands for most of the game. In the same situation on Monday, he put up a record setting performance. Mitchell scored 57 points, the most in a playoff game since Michael Jordan dropped 63 points on the Celtics in 1986. This was the best fantasy performance in the bubble thus far and is almost certainly means inflated ownership for Mitchell in Game 2.

In a vacuum, Mitchell is a good play. It’s hard to deny that his upside is massive after what happened on Monday. Despite this, I don’t think Mitchell will end up in my GPP player pool today. Per dollar, I don’t think he rates out as a great play and I am looking to get leverage on the field by rostering other players in his price range. Paul George is one player who I think makes for sensible pivot. I am well aware that staying off of Mitchell can ruin my day, but the Nuggets’ defense is solid and I doubt Mitchell makes more than half his shots again. Not to mention that he greatly benefited from overtime last game and another extra frame today is unlikely.

Kristaps Porzingis, Ejected And Now Questionable

Porzingis getting tossed from Monday’s game was total nonsense. Both technicals he picked up were extremely weak and it sucks to see a playoff game decided on something like that. However, what is done is done and now the Mavericks face a new issue. KP popped up on the injury report with a knee issue. It’s not clear if he’s in actual danger of missing tonight’s game, but he is listed as questionable.

If Porzingis can’t play, Luka Doncic will have to do everything for Dallas. He might play over 40 minutes with a usage rating north of 40% in that scenario. Even though the matchup isn’t ideal, he scored 65.75 DraftKings points on Monday against the Clippers. It looks like he can still score plenty of fantasy points against the elite Clippers’ perimeter defense. As value plays, Maxi Kleber could slide into the starting lineup and Seth Curry would likely gain extra usage without Porzingis. Unfortunately, this is the last game on the slates so an update on KP likely isn’t coming until after a game or two locks.

Will Barton Out Indefinitely

This is a rough blow for the Nuggets, but great for the fantasy value of Michael Porter Jr. Even though Mike Malone said MPJ will stick as the starting small forward, his word typically isn’t great for anything. Now without Barton, Denver has no choice other than starting Porter. As good as he is on offense, the defense is an issue. In fact, Porter actually had to get pulled from Game 1 down the stretch since he was getting targeted on switches. This is a huge playoff concern. If Porter is this much of a liability on defense, his playing time is tough to count on. For GPPs, his upside is still apparent and he’s worth getting shares of although he is much too risky for cash games. Gary Harris also remains out because of a hip injury.

Gordon Hayward Expect To Miss Four Weeks

Hayward’s injury luck is unreal. I can’t remember another player to suffer so many bad luck injuries. This doesn’t look like a structural problem, but Hayward has been incredibly unfortunate to land on feet after jumping a handful of times over the last few years. He finally looked back to decent form after his devastating injury from Opening Night two seasons ago. Now, he might not play again this season if Boston isn’t able to go on an extended playoff run. I expect Marcus Smart to enter the starting lineup while Jaylen Brown, Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum to all get some extra usage. Of these guys, Tatum sees the biggest uptick sans Hayward. He has a 31.7% usage rating this season with Hayward off the court.

Follow us on all of our social channels! Check out our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for more great Awesemo content.

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.