RADIO
Happy Tuesday, Rotoballers! Welcome to the play-in games—the NBA's newest concoction to build extra intrigue into the playoffs/not really the playoffs season. Tonight, we've got the first two games of the Eastern Conference on tap, with Charlotte facing Indiana in a loser goes home match, while Washington travels to Boston for the right to get smoked by Brooklyn in the first round.
As for DFS purposes, it would've been a lot more fun to see the Wizards and Pacers match up because of their absurd pace and offensive rating in the last 10 games. We may still get that on Thursday if the results go the right way. So I guess that means I'm pulling for the Celtics and Pacers to win tonight. Both home teams, Boston and Indiana, are favored by at least three points. However, if I'm honest with myself, I think the Wizards upset the Celtics. Then we get to see Domantas Sabonis, Malcolm Brogdon, and Caris LeVert attempt to send Jayson Tatum and the Celtics home to an early tee time later this week.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on 5/18/21. You can also check out today's FanDuel lineup picks. With COVID-19 a significant factor, remember to monitor injury news as the slate can completely change before lineups lock.
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DraftKings DFS Guards
Russell Westbrook - PG, WAS at BOS ($12,400)
Someone is going to be crazy enough not to play Russell Westbrook tonight. It may result in taking down a tournament, but I can't in good conscience go against Brodie. When I look at the rest of the slate, I legitimately think Westbrook could outscore everyone by 20 fantasy points. Westbrook averaged 27.8 points, 15.6 assists, 12.8 rebounds, 2.6 threes, and 1.6 steals in five games to close out the regular season. All those counting numbers came out to an astounding 74.6 DraftKings fantasy points per game.
The only thing stopping Westbrook from getting to those gaudy totals on Tuesday may be the game plan Brad Stevens creates. He is a far superior coach to Scott Brooks, and the Celtics may try to decrease the pace of the game drastically. Westbrook will still get his fair share of fantasy points, but it would be hard to get all the way to 75. Regardless, fade him at your own risk, but it's not a risk I'm willing to take.
Evan Fournier - SG/SF, BOS vs. WAS ($6,000)
Fournier came alive at precisely the right time for the Celtics after Jaylen Brown (wrist) went down for the season. After a mid-season trade brought him to Beantown from Orlando, Fournier dealt with a bout of COVID-19. However, he finally returned to the court and robustly finished the regular season. Over his last five tilts, the Frenchman is averaging 37.5 FPPG thanks to 20 points, 5.4 three-pointers, 5.2 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and one block per game.
The entire Celtics squad is in a favorable pace-up situation tonight because of Washington's league-leading 106.4 possessions per game. Fournier and Jayson Tatum will need those as they look to avoid the Celtics flaming out and landing in a win-or-go-home matchup versus Charlotte or Indiana later this week.
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DraftKings DFS Forwards
Doug McDermott - IND vs. CHA ($4,400)
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Dougie McBuckets coming to save the Pacers season. Okay, saving the season is a bit strong, but the 29-year old sharpshooter is playing some of the best basketball of his seven-year career. McDermott averaged career-highs in 2021 in points (13.6), rebounds (3.3), field-goal attempts (10.1), and true shooting percentage (63.5).
Over his final four games of the regular season, McBuckets averaged 19 points, three triples, two rebounds, and 1.5 assists for 26.4 FPPG. Another performance like that will give DFS managers a six-times return on value. McDermott is a solid cash-game play because of his rock-solid floor, but it may not be what tournament players want in their lineups because of the lack of upside.
Davis Bertans - WAS at BOS ($4,200)
Speaking of tournament plays, Davis Bertans probably deserves a spot in a wildcard lineup or two. It's been a lot more down than up for the fourth-year player in 2021, but he's still shown flashes of what he can do when the three-point shot is falling. The Latvian forward drained at least five three-pointers in nine different games this year, and eight of those tilts came in the second half of the season.
While the Wizards run through Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook, Bertans can be the third scorer this team needs if it wants to upset the Celtics in the Garden tonight and face the Brooklyn Nets. DraftKings doesn't think very highly of him with their $4,200 evaluation, but he could return five or six times his value against Boston and their bottom-10 three-point defense.
DraftKings DFS Centers
Domantas Sabonis - PF/C, IND vs. CHA ($10,000)
At the top of this article, I said that Westbrook would have the chance to outscore the rest of the slate by 20 points. Well, the exception to the statement is Domantas Sabonis. The big man is playing at an All-NBA level to close out the season after sitting a couple of weeks at the end of April. Since the calendar flipped to May, Sabonis is averaging 23 points, 14.1 rebounds, 10.7 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.1 three-pointers. Those are Nikola Jokic MVP-like numbers from the 25-year old. All those counting stats allowed him to average 62 fantasy points per game. That's some eye-boggling stuff from the Pacer's center and a huge reason he is someone to build your lineup around on the two-game slate.
Robert Williams III - C, BOS vs. WAS ($5,200)
It's tough to recommend a second center on a two-game slate, but Robert Williams will be in a pace-up environment and could get us a surprising 30 fantasy points against the Wizards. He's dealing with turf toe but isn't on the injury report for the game. Tristan Thompson ($4,800) would become a sneaky, discount play at the center position if something changed. As for Williams, he's scored at least 20 DraftKings points in seven of his last eight appearances. As I said, the center position becomes extremely murky after Sabonis. However, if you must play someone, take the cheapest center with the most opportunity for playing time in a faster-than-anticipated matchup.
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