DraftKings Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks (5/26/21): NBA DFS Lineups

May 26, 2021

The top daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on May 26, 2021. Mike Marteny provides NBA DFS analysis and sleeper picks for building optimal DFS rosters.

We finish up the Game 2's tonight with three more games. The Wizards stay in Philly and try to take a game back down the coast with them. A half hour later the Hawks tip in the Garden trying to poison the Big Apple a second time. We finish in Salt Lake City with Memphis trying to take a 2-0 lead back across the Mississippi.

The injury situation is fairly straightforward as it has been in the playoffs. Cam Reddish and Deni Avdija remain out. The only place we really have to watch is the interior for the Knicks. Both Mitchell Robinson and Nerlens Noel are questionable. Noel seems the most likely to play. If both are out, we could see Randle start at center tonight.

This article will supply you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for the DraftKings on 5/26/21. You can also check out today’s FanDuel lineup picks. It’s also important to monitor injury news as a result of COVID-19 as the slate can completely change before line-up lock. Without further ado, let’s dive into the picks! 

DraftKings DFS Guards

Bradley Beal - SG/SF, at Philadelphia ($8,800)

The price is coming down on Westbrook, but not nearly fast enough. He had a solid-but-unspectacular game against Philly just like the first three times during the regular season. It was Beal who kept the Wizards in it, scoring 33 real points and putting up 55.5 DraftKings points. That was the most for Beal since May 8 and only the third time he broke the 50 threshold in May. Beal still feels like a bargain here.

Ben Simmons - PG, vs. Washington ($7,300)

I almost never play Simmons in DFS, but he has taken apart Washington in all three games he played against them this year. Simmons racked up 51.75 DraftKings points against the Wizards in Game 1 despite scoring just six real points. He is Draymond Green on steroids when it comes to high-level production across multiple categories. Not only that, but he has frustrated the hell out of Westbrook and made Beal take over the game for the Wizards. We can get both at outstanding discounts here.

Mike Conley - PG, vs. Memphis ($6,700)

Do we really know what we are going to get out of Donovan Mitchell? He was a surprise scratch on Sunday. What's to say that wont happen again? This is the NBA, after all. Mitchell hasn't played in 42 days. There is bound to be some rust and maybe even a minutes limit. Conley played well in all three games against the Grizzlies, regardless of Mitchell's status for those games. Conley is a lock if Mitchell is out, but even if he's in there, I like Conley more for the price. I want to see something out of Mitchell first before I pay that price.

Derrick Rose - PG/SG, vs.Atlanta ($5,900)

Rose continued his strong play down the stretch with a 8-16 shooting night in Game 1, ending up with 32.75 DraftKings points. His salary is slowly creeping up there, but not to the point where he still wont get us 5x value. Rose played 38 minutes in Game 1. His minutes are locked in, and so is Rose right now.

Bonus Guards: Trae Young ($8,500), Donovan Mitchell ($8,400), Dillon Brooks ($6,300), Ish Smith ($4,700)

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DraftKings DFS Forwards

Julius Randle - PF/C, vs. Atlanta ($9,400)

Randle was dreadful from the floor in Game 1, hitting just 6 of his 23 field goal attempts. That led to a lackluster DraftKings points total. I expect a rebound from Randle here. You can count how many poor shooting nights he had like that on the season on one hand. Game 2 will be better for Randle. He still put up 37 DraftKings points with that horrendous shooting line. I'll buy low here.

Tobias Harris - SF/PF, vs. Washington ($7,000)

Harris had pedestrian totals against the Wizards during the regular season, but he turned it on against them in Game 1. When the dust settled, Harris had 51.5 DraftKings points and shot a whopping 29 times, sinking 15 of them. If Philly keeps using Harris like this, he will crush value for the price. However, consistency has been an issue with Harris since he got to Philly. There are a lot of mouths to feed, leaving him as a GPP option for most of us.

Alec Burks - SF, vs. Atlanta ($4,600)

DraftKings has been asleep at the wheel with Burks for much of the season. He put up 37.75 DraftKings points in Game 1, his third game over 7x value in the last four games. Burks is only playing about 25 minutes per game, but he is very active when he's in there. Thibodeau has his rotations working well. The Knicks really should have won Game 1. I think they come out swinging tonight. Most of the players, especially guards, for the Knicks are underpriced. There are a lot of spots I like for them tonight.

Bonus Forwards: Bojan Bogdanovic ($6,400), RJ Barrett ($6,200), Kyle Anderson ($6,000), Davis Bertans ($3,800)

DraftKings DFS Centers

Joel Embiid - C, vs. Washington ($10,100)

I can see an Embiid fade here. He hasn't been close to 50 DraftKings points since May 7. He is still putting up strong numbers, but the huge games from Harris and Ben Simmons cut into his production some. Embiid is content to let others help with the scoring load. What concerns me was the six rebounds in 30 minutes. We need better if we are shelling out five figures for Embiid. The good news is that he can hit value if he gets back into double digits in boards regardless of what Harris and Simmons are doing.

Rudy Gobert - C, vs. Memphis ($7,700)

Rudy had a solid 35.75 DraftKings points in Game 1, but he only played 25 minutes because of foul trouble. Gobert ended up fouling out after only taking four shots. If he can cut down on the fouls and play his normal 32-35 minutes, he's cheap for what he could do tonight. Rudy never has ceiling games, but he should be a strong play in this price range.

Taj Gibson - C, vs. Atlanta ($3,300)

Gibson has played very well when given minutes this year. With both Noel and Mitchell Robinson nursing injuries, we could see a lot of Gibson at a very low price. His floor is 8x value if Gibson draws the start here. Keep and eye on this situation. His ceiling is well over 10x should both Robinson and Noel miss this game.

Bonus Centers:  Jonas Valanciunas ($8,000), Clint Capela ($7,800), Daniel Gafford ($4,100)

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