DraftKings Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks (8/21/20): NBA DFS Lineups

The top daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on August 21, 2020. Kev Mahserejian provides NBA DFS analysis and sleeper picks for building optimal DFS rosters.

Friday funday is here and so is a new batch of DraftKings picks for you readers to hopefully take to the bank. Last Friday was quite the unfortunate set of events as players across the board were benched in favor of reserves in order to rest starters for the playoffs. Now, we have a natural idea of who is playing heavily and who is not due to the nature of high-leverage games and having a two-game sample to potentially guide us to victory.

With the games rotating day-to-day in a carousel fashion, the same teams play every other day. Today, we have the typical series' of Dallas/Clippers, Raptors/Nets, Jazz/Nuggets, and Celtics/76ers. With Mike Conley's return to the bubble and the general unpleasantness of the Celtics/76ers series, there are no recommendations from either side. Pricing did factor into that decision but so did my discomfort with projecting both games given the matchups.

Without further ado, here are our daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on 8/21/20. You can also check out today's FanDuel lineup picks. Remember to monitor injury news as the slate can completely change before lock.

DraftKings DFS Guards

Lou Williams - PG/SG, LAC ($5,600)

With Patrick Beverley doubtful to play, Williams is a safe option at his price. Although his minutes hardly fluctuated with Beverley out for Game 2, Williams remains a safe play given the thin backcourt depth and his consistent role as a ball-handler. Landry Shamet is still recovering from a foot sprain he suffered at the end of the regular season and has not performed well thus far leaving plenty of shot opportunities to go Williams' way today.

Note: Keep an eye on any reports of limitation for Houston's starters

Seth Curry - SG, DAL ($3,900)

Patrick Beverley's absence benefits the opponent given that Lou Williams, Landry Shamet and Reggie Jackson will be on guard duty. Curry is unlikely to see as much of Paul George/Kawhi Leonard while Doncic and Hardaway are on the floor leaving opportunities to get open and find uncontested shots. His $3.9K price tag is very palatable given that he had been between $5K and $6K at points during the season. This price has gone up incrementally over the past two playoff games but not enough to turn anyone off. He's returned good value over his past two games and has 30 DK point upside.

Luka Doncic - PG/SF, DAL ($10,800)

The man, the myth, the legend. Doncic is a fantasy monster by all means and will be in control all game as long as it is relatively close. The Mavericks handily beat the Clippers by double-digits on Wednesday and Doncic only played 28 minutes. While the Mavericks have been impressive thus far against LAC, it is very possible that today's matchup is closer than last time and Doncic is forced to do more. With so much at stake as we head deeper into the series, his minutes will hit the low-40's if necessary. He already hit a tasty 65.8 DK point mark in their first game in just 38 minutes and his price is exactly the same. Play him with confidence.

DraftKings DFS Forwards

Kawhi Leonard - SF, LAC ($9,600)

Kawhi Leonard is a proven force in the playoffs and has not disappointed to this point in the series. Leonard is playing around 40 minutes per game and has over 50 DK points in both. His price tag is consistent with his play and worth buying given that he has a 40-point floor and a 60 point ceiling. The Mavericks do not have a match for him on the perimeter. The only case in which he "fails" to return is if either team gets blown out and Leonard sits for the fourth quarter.

Marcus Morris - SF/PF, LAC ($5,000)

Marcus Morris has "beaten" his price tag over the past two playoff games and while it may be inflated to $5K for the first time in the series, he should continue to produce given his minutes and shot volume. Morris has played 30 minutes in almost every game since entering the bubble. The only game in which he didn't was the opening matchup versus New Orleans in which the Clippers blew them out by 23 (Morris still played 26 minutes). While Dallas's frontcourt could trouble Morris any night, he is a major beneficiary of playing next to multiple superstars regularly as he is often left open. The only concern is that over the past two games, he has six steals which may be inflating his value. Nevertheless, this is not enough cause for concern to avoid him at cost.

Garrett Temple - SG/SF, BKN ($5,100)

Garrett Temple has played 34 and 35 minutes in both of the Nets playoff games thus far. One was a blowout and the other was relatively close as Brooklyn went into the 4th quarter with a lead. This allows us to presume a high minute floor for Temple whose matchup may not be ideal but all that matters for DK is volume, not so much efficiency (aside from TOs). Temple has 13 and 15 FGA over the past two playoff games, with 11 and 10 of those attempts from three. He has one turnover over his past 4 games (all high-minute totals) and can mix in assists, rebounds and steals. At $5.1K it makes sense to buy-in, especially with how limited the Nets roster is and their comfortability working Temple.

DraftKings DFS Centers

Serge Ibaka - C, TOR ($5,300)

Ibaka's played 26 minutes in each of the past two playoff games and that's comforting knowing that it is very possible that the Raptors blow Brooklyn out again. They are so much more talented than them that it could not be much of a contest by the third quarter. Of course, if the game gets TOO out of hand, the risk is run of guys like Chris Boucher and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson seeing expanded PT. Despite the blowout in game one, the Raptors only went into the 4th quarter with a nine-point lead. If that lead is doubled today, Ibaka takes a hit. Regardless, at $5.3K, his projection is still favorable, especially if he can get more of his shots inside rather than from three (four 3PA per game in series).

Montrezl Harrell - C, LAC ($4,100)

This is a risky play but one that could pay major dividends. Harrell is now coming into his third game in the bubble and his price has dropped each time due to unimpressive statistical performances/low minute totals. His absence from the bubble absolutely left him a little rusty but it is fair to presume that now, two games in, he may be back to "full" go. His rebound and scoring have been unspectacular to this point but it remains to be seen whether he has his feet under him or not. Harrell was never a heavy minute total guy anyway and now, at $4.1K you are getting the best value on him in a long time.

Good luck to everyone in their NBA DraftKings contests!

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