NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks: LeBron Saves the Series (May 20)

Saturday’s NBA slate brings the Western Conference Finals to Los Angeles for Game 3 for the first time this series. The action will get underway tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET on DraftKings and FanDuel. There are several options in the player pool worth analyzing to find the top NBA DFS building blocks and NBA DFS picks for DraftKings and FanDuel lineups, including LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, Anthony Davis and more.

NBA DFS Picks Today: Saturday, May 20

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Core Play of the Day — LeBron James – Los Angeles Lakers

Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 50.64 | FanDuel: 48.84
Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings 45.1% | FanDuel: 46.2%
DFS Salary: DraftKings: $10,100 | FanDuel: $15,500

The Lakers are staring down an 0-2 deficit in the Western Conference Finals, but for the first time this series, they will be on their home court. Pressure is nothing new for LeBron James. He has won more playoff series (41) in his career than any other player, and since 2005, that is actually more than any other team. Fun note: he played for three of the franchises in the top six Miami (26), Golden State (25), Boston (23), Cleveland (21), San Antonio (20) and the Lakers (19).

Clearly, LeBron is a force unto himself, but he is now 38 years old and will need help. Fortunately, he has gotten plenty of help this season. Anthony Davis has been a force on defense and the glass while also scoring 20-plus points more often than not. He actually projects slightly higher than James from a fantasy perspective, but James still wins out when looking at projected fantasy points per dollar.

The last five games have been a breakout for second-year wing Austin Reaves. He has averaged 37.5 minutes, 20.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and, most importantly, perimeter shooting, averaging 4-of-7 on 3-point attempts for an absurd 57.1% success rate. While his DFS salary continues to soar, he has been backing it up.

Things get a little murky with the rest of the Lakers. Coach Darvin Ham has been tinkering with the starting five with both Jarred Vanderbilt and Dennis Schroder getting chances as the fifth option. Vanderbilt was back for tip-off on Thursday, though he is out there to rebound and add defense in the paint to save some of the wear-and-tear on Davis. Double-digit fantasy points would be a shock, though if he starts, he should at least be on the court for 12-14 minutes. That gives him the chance to catch lightning in a bottle for a solid night despite his limited run.

Schroder is going to get some offensive opportunities. Even though he’ll likely come off the bench, he should see at least 26 minutes with a chance to flirt with 30, depending on the closing lineup and game flow. D’Angelo Russell wins when Vanderbilt starts because of the latter’s low usage rate. That means Russell and Reaves will work the perimeter and get plenty of catch-and-shoot opportunities when Davis and James are working their two-man game.

Rui Hachimura seems to have a 26-28 minute role in the rotation this series an the Lakers desperately need his offense. He and Vanderbilt can play alongside each other, but that really only has a chance of happening when Davis gets a quick break. Even then, there is no guarantee that one of these two will be on the court in those situations.

Finally, we have Lonnie Walker IV. While his minutes have slipped this series, he should be a threat for 10 or so fantasy points with upside in the mid-teens if he is dialed in from downtown.

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Nikola Jokic – Denver Nuggets

Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 66.06 | FanDuel: 62.08
Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings 70.1% | FanDuel: 65.2%
DFS Salary: DraftKings: $11,700 | FanDuel: $17,500

Once more the biggest question facing fantasy gamers will be how many lineups to build before (1) Nikola Jokic is not in the highest multiplier slot and (2) who will dare to leave him completely off of a tournament entry.

James and Davis are the only players who have a median projection within 20 fantasy points of Jokic, and Jamal Murray is the only other player inside of 30 fantasy points. Playing this trio and leaving Jokic off those lineups is one potential way to create some significant difference over the Masses in the ridiculously large-field, top-heavy tournaments.

Murray is finally healthy after knee issues and his subsequent rehab derailed the last couple years, but Denver fans know it has been worth the wait. After two stellar series, Murray has taken things up a notch in the Western Conference Finals by averaging 39.9 minutes and 22.0 field goal attempts, good for 34 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5 assists and a fantabulous 4 combined blocks and steals. It will be fun to see how he plays away from his home court tonight.

Michael Porter Jr. has been a much-needed tertiary scoring option for the Nuggets. He has also added 17 rebounds in the first two games. Of course, if he can’t hit his threes or get stops on defense errors, coach Michael Malone won’t hesitate to sit him. Unfortunately, that risk is no longer factored into MPJ’s salary.

Aaron Gordon, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown Jr. can play multiple positions and all provide just enough fantasy production across the different statistical categories to be tournament difference-makers. They are also competing for some of the same minutes, which makes this a tricky situation to select the best option prior to tip-off.

Veteran Jeff Green and rookie Christian Braun are the desperation punt options, but they should at least be on the court for a dozen minutes, albeit as fifth options on offense. Green could always splash a couple of 3’s, but he caps out at around a dozen fantasy points even in the rosiest of scenarios. Braun has a wider range of potential playing time. He could be glued to the bench or get a major minutes booster if he is needed for mop-up duty in a lopsided game in either direction.

Additional NBA DFS Building Blocks Pick – Sports Betting Opportunities

Dennis Schroder is someone to consider in the sports wagering arena with his 13.5 points + rebounds + assists (PRA) prop. Even though he has bounced between roles over the last five games, including entering the starting lineup twice, the nomadic guard has still averaged 30.2 minutes in this stretch.

Schroder will turn 30 this offseason, but he has been a starting point guard and shooting guard throughout his career. He just falls behind Davis and LeBron for looks, like most of his teammates. In the last five games, Schroder has averaged 7.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists for 14 PRA.

NBA Bet Pro currently has Schroder projected for 29.6 minutes, 9.14 points, 2.34 rebounds and 3.04 assists for 14.52 PRA. This wager is likely to go down to the wire, and while this wager has just a 58% expected success rate, at odds of -115 at BetMGM, you can still get a nice 3.2% expected ROI. Keep in mind that pickings are slim with only one game on the docket, so play within your means and be mindful of your bankroll.

Did you know that you can get one free month of Stokastic+ Platinum for signing up and making your first bet at BetMGM? Claim here today!

Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today

When you start to build your DFS lineups, be sure to let us do the heavy lifting for you by tuning into the Stokastic NBA Deeper Dive and Live Before Lock shows at 7:30 p.m. ET on YouTube, brought to you by Prize Picks — new customers who sign up via this link will receive 30 days of Stokastic+ Premium AND a first deposit match up to $100.

Author

Eric MacPherson

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].