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The top daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on June 15, 2021. Euan Leith provides NBA DFS analysis and sleeper picks for building optimal DFS rosters.
Happy Tuesday, Rotoballers! Because Phoenix obliterated Denver into the offseason, we are down to one game tonight. Therefore, it's SHOWDOWN TIME! Milwaukee and Brooklyn meet for a pivotal Game 5, which will swing the entire series. While the Bucks only looked impressive for five quarters in the series, they have a legitimate chance to stun the NBA world and win three in a row versus the juggernaut Nets. Unfortunately, Brooklyn's downfall is coming on the backs of critical injuries to James Harden (hamstring) in Game 1 and Kyrie Irving (ankle) in Game 4. While I fully believe (and half expect) Kevin Durant to level up and win this series, it'll be a challenging task against a mostly healthy Bucks team.
As for what Vegas thinks, they are making the Bucks three-point favorites on the road. Meanwhile, they've set the over/under at 218 points for Game 5. Milwaukee is averaging 96.5 points per game for the series, and the Nets sit at 104.75 due to their massive Game 2 blowout victory. It's tough to gain too much from these Vegas lines because this Eastern Conference matchup is the only game on the schedule. However, Vegas missed big in Game 3 with a 236 point over/under where the total didn't even get to 170 points.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on 6/15/21. 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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Milwaukee Bucks (-3) (110.5 total)
Giannis Antetokounmpo - PF/C (CPT: $17,700, UTIL: $11,800)
It's easy to take Antetokounmpo's greatness for granted at times. On the surface, the two-time MVP is playing a great series. Through the first four games of this Eastern Conference Semifinal, Giannis averaged 29.8 points, 12 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and one block while hitting 54.2 percent of his shots. However, he's taking a lot of threes and mostly missing them (19 percent behind the arc), and he's psyching himself out at the free-throw line (37.9 percent from the charity stripe).
Antetokounmpo's stats are phenomenal, and we will take that any day of the week in DFS, but it still feels like he hasn't kicked it into high gear for this second playoff series. Hopefully, he realizes what's at stake tonight and ditches his terrible three-point shot. If he keeps driving to the basket as he did in games 3 and 4, Giannis can finish or distribute successfully. However, if he's settling for pull-up threes, he is playing right into the Net's hands. It's because of his three-point and free-throw woes I'll be using Kevin Durant over him as my captain.
Khris Middleton - SG/SF (CPT: $14,700, UTIL: $9,800)
It was looking pretty bleak for Middleton during the first two games of this series. However, he turned it around at home and did enough to have the Bucks two wins away from the Conference Finals. In Games 3 and 4, the 29-year old averaged 27 points, 9.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, three three-pointers, a block, and a steal. He hit 42.9 percent of his attempts behind the three-point line and hit the Game 3 winner. With Giannis and KD going toe to toe, and the Nets getting banged up, Middleton will be the third-best offensive player on the floor tonight. If he lives up to his billing, the two-time All-Star will reward his DFS managers with a good night. However, he was abysmal in the first two games of this series in Brooklyn, and it does have me toying with the idea of fading Middleton in some lineups on Tuesday.
Brook Lopez - C (CPT: $11,400, UTIL: $7,600)
While the Bucks are now tied 2-2 with the Nets, their overall strategy confuses me at times. They are a massive team, but they don't seem to use that strength to their advantage as much as they should. During this series's third and fourth games, Lopez attempted 13 shots, and 11 of them were three-pointers. I realize there's a seven-footer on the other team that hits threes, but that's Kevin Durant. This isn't groundbreaking analysis, but Brook Lopez is not Kevin Durant.
Regardless, Lopez is still racking up those elusive fantasy points for our DFS squads, thanks to some peripheral stats. In Game 3, he swatted six blocks, and Game 4 saw him swipe four steals. If Lopez can combine those other stats with a double-digit scoring evening, he could be a surprising key to winning an entire contest.
Other options: Jrue Holiday - PG/SG ($9,000), Bryn Forbes - PG/SG ($3,600)
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Brooklyn Nets (+3) (107.5 total)
Kevin Durant - SF/PF (CPT: $18,000, UTIL: $12,000)
I mentioned it in the intro, but I believe (and half expect) Kevin Durant to evolve from Charmander KD into Charizard KD as long as James Harden and Kyrie Irving remain on the sidelines. First of all, I know Charmander evolves into Charmeleon before Charizard, but I was trying to make a point. Second of all, the 2014 MVP is averaging 31.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.8 blocks through nine games this postseason, and it feels like he is playing some of the best basketball of his career.
When he turns up the intensity, there's not a single player on Milwaukee's roster to defend him. They can try, but, more often than not, they will fail. With their playoff and championship hopes hanging in the balance, I trust Head Coach Steve Nash to orchestrate and put together a game plan centered around Kevin Durant. In a one-off showdown slate, it's extremely tough to fade him even at his lofty $18,000 price tag to be your captain. But, if I'm playing in a cash game, there's no way I'm getting away from the 11-time All-Star.
Bruce Brown - SF (CPT: $9,300, UTIL: $6,200)
With Harden and Irving out for Game 5, the man, the myth, the legend Bruce Brown will be getting a green light to rack up the real-life and DFS points against the Bucks. In Games 2 and 3 combined, Brown averaged 14.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 31.7 minutes. He'll see a similar amount of minutes tonight, but he'll also move up in the pecking order for taking shots with all of Brooklyn's injuries. Brown's scored at least 25 fantasy points in four of his previous six playoff games, and he will have the opportunity to make it five in seven against Milwaukee in Game 5.
Blake Griffin - PF/C (CPT: $10,200, UTIL: $6,800)
Griffin was outstanding in Game 1. He took 13 shots and made seven of them, but in games 2-4, he attempted 17 shots combined. Brooklyn will need his Game-1 aggression to return in a critical Game 5 matchup. During the first game of this series, Griffin tallied 18 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, and two steals for a whopping 46 fantasy points. There haven't been any injury reports, but it's possible the five-time All-NBA forward is fading a bit down the stretch. I'm not concerned with the Bucks frontcourt defense. It's why I selected Griffin over Joe Harris as my third Net's pick today. I'd rather roster Griffin against Brook Lopez and PJ Tucker than Joe Harris against Jrue Holiday. With so many injuries, there's no excuse for Griffin to end the evening with less than 10 shot attempts, and it should lead to productive fantasy results.
Other options: Joe Harris - SG/SF ($8,400), Jeff Green - PF/C ($4,000)
