FanDuel NBA Picks and DraftKings NBA Playoff Picks - Round Two Monday Preview
Sunday wrapped up an interesting day in the NBA with the Celtics thrashing the Bucks in a surprise win and the Rockets-Warriors game going down to the wire. For Monday, we get game two in the Philly/ Toronto series as well as the opener of Denver/ Portland.
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76ers (6.5) vs. Raptors (-6.5)
Vegas Projected Score: Toronto - 113.5 Philadelphia - 107
Over/Under: 220.5
Series: Toronto 1-0
Toronto took care of business in Game 1, disposing of the Sixers in with a 108-95 victory that saw the starters from both teams hit the bench with about four minutes left to go in regulation.
A lot will be made of how the Raptors were essentially a two-man team on offense between
Kawhi Leonard and
Pascal Siakam. This is true, though ignores the fact that it was relatively easy for these two in their respective matchups. The Raptors simply didn’t need to work at all to get anyone else involved. Kawhi and Pascal just roasted the Simmons/ Harris/ Butler defensive *schemes* the Sixers threw out there.
On the other end of the court, the Raptors played the kind of defense that we expected. Philly couldn’t get much of anything going in the half court and were constantly settling for poor shots and busted possessions. Personally, I don’t have a lot of confidence in Brett Brown to make adjustments going forward, though I’d be happy to be proven wrong on that so the series stays competitive.
Toronto Value
Kawhi Leonard FD - $9700
DK - $9000
Opponent -
PHIProj Pts
FD - 54.48
DK - 54.48
Pascal Siakam FD - $8300
DK - $7300
Opponent -
PHIProj Pts
FD - 45.53
DK - 45.43
Look, these two dudes dominated in Game 1 and came out with about as good fantasy performances as you could ever hope for. And even with those peak games, and the price increases they are still the go-to fantasy plays on this slate. You aren’t getting anything like discounts on the Portland backcourt, and I have some real concerns about paying top dollar for Jokic.
That kind of leaves us with these two. I’m confident in max minutes from both, and while I don’t think the scoring from Game 1 is necessarily repeatable, I do think both have such high floors considering what they both do in the all-around game.
Kyle Lowry FD - $7500
DK - $6800
Opponent -
PHIProj Pts FD - 36.65 DK - 37.77
Lowry was mostly forgotten man for Toronto in Game 1 simply because the Raptors really didn’t anything from him. He finished with nine points and eight assists on 4-10 shooting. But the real key from a DFS perspective (going forward) is it sure looks like he’s going to run max minutes. If that’s the case then his price stagnating on the Game 1 performance gives us a great time to buy on the Toronto point guard.
Marc Gasol FD - $5600 DK - $5000
Opponent -
PHIProj Pts FD - 30.84 DK - 30.56
On the defensive end, Gasol did basically everything he needed to do (and was brought here to do) against Embiid. The Raptors didn’t need to press him into minutes late because they had the game in hand and the Sixers didn’t seem particularly interested in capitalizing on the Embiid/ Ibaka matchup. Expect more minutes out of Gasol in Game 2 and his price in the middle tier is attractive for cash games.
Philadelphia Value
J.J. Redick FD - $4500 DK - $4700
Opponent -
TORProj Pts FD - 27.99 DK - 29.98
My main concern with Redick going into Game 1 was whether Toronto would play him off the court by just hunting him down over and over on the defensive end. This didn’t happen, mostly because the rest of the Philly defenders struggled so much with Leonard and Siakam that it wasn’t like JJ was necessarily exposed. He shot well and stayed on the court for a full run with the starters. I expect the same again in Game 2 as they’ll need him firing from three and running off Embiid high screens as much as possible.
Tobias Harris (FD $8500 DK $7200) and
Jimmy Butler (FD $7200 DK $6600) were almost nonexistent in Game 1. That will have to change if Philly has any chance in this series.
Trail Blazers (4) vs. Nuggets (-4)
Vegas Projected Score: Denver - 110.25 Portland - 106.25
Over/Under: 216.5
Series: 0-0
The Nuggets and Trailblazers finished their first-round series in very different ways.
Damian Lillard capped off a fantastic first round with a dagger three-point buzzer beater (and cold-blooded wave goodbye) that will be shown as a highlight for years to come. The Blazers came in exorcized some of the demons that followed them after an embarrassing first-round loss to the Pelicans last season.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets hung on by the skin of their teeth (and some weird end-game mistakes by the Spurs) to advance through the first round in the only series that went seven games. Now they’ll host a Portland team that’s dealing with some injury issues but still a tough matchup.
Denver Value
Gary Harris FD - $4800 DK - $4900
Opponent -
PORProj Pts FD - 27.27 DK - 27.52
Game 7 of the Spurs-Nuggets series showed you just how much Harris means to this team and their chances of winning. He’s one of their best defenders and if the shot is dropping they can start counting on his offensive contribution as well. But the defense is what gives him such a high minutes’ floor. And because Portland’s main source of attack is through their backcourt tandem then I think Harris’s minutes are safe in the 40+ range for Game 1.
Portland Value
Enes Kanter FD - $6700 DK - $6100
Opponent -
DENProj Pts FD - 30.72 DK - 32.84
OR
Zach Collins FD - $3800 DK - $2900
Opponent -
DENProj Pts FD - 13.02 DK - 12.87
Meyers Leonard FD - $3500 DK - $2800
Opponent -
DENProj Pts FD - 8.45 DK - 8.83
Possibly the most relevant piece of injury news for this slate is the status of
Enes Kanter. I can’t believe it’s 2018 and the second round of the playoffs and I’m uttering those words, but here we are. Kanter had a separated shoulder near the end of Game 5 against the Thunder (possibly from the celebration after the Dame shot) and his status is up in the air for Game 1 of this series. If he plays, then he makes for a solid DFS value on the short slate. If he sits, then we could see
Zach Collins or
Meyers Leonard all of a sudden running a ton of minutes at the five. Here’s to hoping we get this news in advance of lineup lock on Monday.
View Comments
T. Harris was on fire in game 1 definitely not nonexistent. Also it’s 2019 it 2018 and Kanter is playing. Too much wine and song this weekend?
On fire? He scored 14 points on 17 shots. Maybe non-existent was a bit harsh, but he was far from having much of an impact in the offense.
And good catch on the Kanter year, mostly just shocked he's playoff relevant.
Thanks for reading!
tobias nearly had a triple double...
Harris had 39 fps. which is far from non-existent. He had more fpts than Siakam...
Sorry for the confusion here. I wasn't speaking on a fantasy point plane as much as if the Sixers want to really compete here he needs to have more of an offensive impact.
Doug, I get what you're saying but I think everyone else other Harris needs to score.. Just as long he gets boards and feeds Embid and Reddick he's doing what he was brought there to do but we all know he can easily put up 20 pts also. Good luck tonight!