RADIO
We had an absolutely wild ending in a Game 7 on Wednesday night, with James Harden blocking Lu Dort's 3-pointer (and some more ensuing chaos) in the final seconds to give the Rockets the series win over the Thunder. You could tell Harden reveled in that blocked shot, especially since his shot wasn't falling all night. Tough one for CP3 and the promising Thunder team, but they have a solid core and will be back in the thick of things next season.
Miami pulled off another upset over the #1 seeded Bucks as they're now up 2-0 on the prohibitive favorites in the East. They did it behind an extremely balanced effort - they had all five starters (and two bench players) hit double-digits in the scoring column. Goran Dragic led the way with a 23/5/4 game, adding two steals to his increasingly impressive playoff run. We'll see if the Bucks have what it takes to fix what's plaguing them and rebound to make this a competitive series.
Here are our daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on 9/3/20. You can also check out today's FanDuel lineup picks. Remember to monitor injury news as the slate can completely change before lock.
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DraftKings DFS Guards
Kyle Lowry - PG, TOR vs BOS ($7,500)
Lowry has seen 35 minutes and 40 minutes in the series so far, recording 36.5 and 41.75 DK points in the process. He hasn't shot the ball well yet, especially from three where he's shooting a putrid 1-for-12 through two games. His shooting will regress to the mean as he shot over 41% from the field and 34% from three-point land this year. He's a 1.12 fpts/min player for the season, and he racks up peripheral stats well as he's averaging 5.2 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 1.5 steals per game in 2020. Expect him to exceed 5x value at his somewhat-depressed salary tonight.
Jaylen Brown - SG/SF, BOS vs TOR ($7,400)
Brown, with dual-position eligibility and affordable pricing, is the utility man you're going to want to take a hard look at fitting in on today's slate. He's going to play a ton of minutes, maybe even pushing 40, and that makes him appealing as he holds a 23.9% usage rate and 1.01 fpts/min on the year. Brown, like Lowry, hasn't been particularly effective as a shooter in this series as he's 11-for-31 (35.5%) from the field. He piled up five blocks+steals in Game 2 of the series and if he can put up some of those and regress to the mean with his shooting, he'll provide some great value and versatility on this slate.
Marcus Smart - PG/SG, BOS vs TOR ($6,300)
Smart has been hot from three to begin the series as he's shooting 11-for-20 from downtown through two games. He has just three blocks+steals so far, but he averaged 1.6 steals and 0.5 blocks per game on the season, so those hustle stats should positively regress to the mean sooner than later. The main reason Smart looks good in this spot is his massive minute projection - he's projected to get 38 minutes today after seeing 39 minutes in Game 2. He's a 0.90 fpts/min player in 2020, and that'll get it done with the amount of time he'll see the court. Watch ownership here, though. He's not a particularly high-ceiling player and if he's looking to be one of the higher-owned players on the slate, pivoting to someone like Fred Vanvleet, Jaylen Brown, or Lou Williams makes sense.
DraftKings DFS Forwards
Paul George - SF, LAC vs DEN ($8,200)
PG13 came crashing back down in Game 6 after seemingly breaking out of his slump with a 35-point night (on 12-of-18 shooting) in Game 5. However, he remains a large part of the offense at a 29.4% usage rate and 1.26 fpts/min on the season. He's going to continue to get minutes in the high-30's to low-40's, and he hasn't taken less than 14 shots in his last 10 games played. The Nuggets are an advantageous matchup for him as they rank 11th in DVA and 27th in DEFF against SG's in 2020. They also rank 13th against scoring wings and 23rd against shooting wings this season.
OG Anunoby - SF/PF, TOR vs BOS ($5,100)
OG is a low-usage, higher-variance type player, so you have to know what you're getting involved with before clicking on his name. That being said, he's a potential GPP-winner at this price and with his positional eligibility. He's projecting to receive 35 minutes and he's coming off a 20-point, 7-rebound performance in Game 2. He has shot 6-for-12 from three in his last three games, which could be huge for his DFS impact if he keeps it up. It won't take a ton to reach value and with Anunoby's minute projection and seemingly increased role in the offense, he could easily be a must-have in the optimal lineup for tonight.
Daniel Theis - PF/C, BOS vs TOR ($5,300)
Theis has been solid in his last three games as he has taken over the small-ball center role in Boston. He's a 0.98 fpts/min player for the season and he's seeing anywhere from 25-30 minutes recently, which makes him an attractive value option at the PF and C spots on DraftKings. He was great in Game 1 of the series, putting up a 13/15/1 line and adding two blocks and steal as he made his presence felt on the offensive end. He went just 1-for-5 with no free throws attempted in Game 2. Expect him to bounce back with a strong performance here in his advantageous matchup against Marc Gasol.
Note: Jayson Tatum also profiles as a great Pts/$ play today as the offensive focal point from a usage rate and scoring standpoint.
DraftKings DFS Centers
Ivica Zubac - C, LAC vs DEN ($4,800)
Zubac has seen his minutes fluctuate in the playoffs but he's generally hovering around 20-30 minutes per contest. It'll be interesting to see how the Clippers role out rotations in this series, as Nikola Jokic is a bruising, versatile center who likes to play point and operate on the perimeter at times. This directly conflicts with Zubac's game, but it seems likely that he'll see his normal allotment of minutes with the Clippers severely lacking in legitimate size. Zubac had an empty 15/11 game his last time out, but he still provided 5x value on his salary as he scored 29.75 DK points. We're looking for something along those lines again, and it's certainly possible with the Nuggets ranked 19th in DVA against centers and their defense will be focused on stopping everyone else.
