NBA DraftKings DFS Lineup Picks 5/25/21
Contents
Point Guard
James Harden ($10,200) vs Celtics- James Harden comes into tonight’s action as the 2nd highest-priced player and for good reason. He opened up his Nets playoff career with a good stat line of 21 PTS 9 REB and 8 AST, although he didn’t shoot the ball well going 5/13 from the floor. I wouldn’t expect the poor shooting to continue and overall the Nets offense should knock down some more shots. This is one of the most explosive offenses in the league and James Harden is at the helm as the main playmaker and is a superb shot maker. The price is steep but Harden is a consistent triple-double threat and will stuff the stat sheet every night.
Shooting Guard
Jalen Brunson ($4,300) vs Clippers- Brunson finished 4th in the 6th man of the year voting this season and for good reason. He has been effective off the bench for Dallas and instrumental in scoring the ball when Luka is off the floor. In the last 3 games, Brunson is averaging 16.3 PPG 3.0 APG on 60% shooting from the field. He doesn’t shoot a lot of threes, but he hits them at a high rate. With 13+ points in 5 of the last 6 games, I like Brunson to continue his hot streak of play as the Mavs look to go up 2-0 on the Clippers.
Small Forward
Mikal Bridges ($5,300) vs Lakers– Mikal Bridges didn’t shoot the ball well in game 1 vs the Lakers, 4/12, but he was still able to muster up 22 FPTS. He did this with great defense and a couple of three-pointers. Bridges is shooting the 3 at a 57% clip over the last 4 games and 42.5% for the season so I don’t expect him to have issues for a 2nd straight game. With the Lakers running consistent double-teams at Devin Booker I expect Bridges to have somewhere near the 12 shots that he got in game 1. At only $5,300 I think Bridges has a lot of value here if he continues to get shots and big playoff minutes guarding LeBron.
Power Forward
Kristaps Porzingis ($7,800) vs Clippers- There are a lot of things people don’t like about Porzingis from a pure basketball perspective, but as a fantasy option he is pretty solid. In the last 3 games, he is averaging 30.2 FPPG and has shot the ball at a 53.3% clip from the 3 point line. He probably hangs around behind the arc too often but that’s neither here nor there. For a 7’3 player, he doesn’t grab a lot of rebounds but we have seen him top double digits a couple of times in his last 10 games. He averaged 8 RPG in 3 games vs the Clippers this season so if we can get closer to that number tonight I feel confident in Porzingis on my roster.
Center
Deandre Ayton ($6,100) vs Lakers- It’s probably unlikely that Ayton plays as well as he did in game 1 again, but that doesn’t mean he can’t offer you value. Ayton was electric in game 1 putting up 21 PTS and 16 REB on 10/11 from the field. Ayton is a double-double guy but against Anthony Davis, we can expect that to change as the series goes on. At $6,100 Ayton offers a lot of value in a 3 game slate that is pretty weak at the center. With the constant double teams things could open up for Ayton to have another good offensive night and we already know what he can do on the glass.
Sleeper Play
Nicolas Batum ($3,800) vs Mavericks- Nicolas Batum surprisingly played big minutes in the Clippers first playoff game vs the Mavs. He finished with 11 PTS 7 REB and 24.25 FPTS on the night. Usually, we see more from him with steals so that could be a plus coming into game 2. Batum is very versatile which is why he saw 32 minutes of action and could continue to see that throughout this series. At under $4,000 you’re not going to find a player who plays that much so I am going to ride with Batum in this one vs the Mavs.
