NBA DFS Playbook: April 21

When healthy and at full strength, we all know what Doncic is capable of. The fact that the Mavericks evened out the series leading up to Game 3 is a good sign for not pushing the point guard, but from a DFS perspective, is that what we really want? There is a solid possibility that Doncic does play tonight, but under that assumption, I would only target Doncic from a GPP perspective if you are going to be entering multiple lineups as there is the possibility he is limited or on a minute limit. There is also the possibility that there are no restrictions on Doncic and he doesn’t miss a beat. 

In a blowout victory to even the series on Tuesday, Morant finished a rebound shy of a triple-double. Morant only needed 30 minutes to score 23 points and hand out 10 assists in what has become a typical performance for him. There’s no reason not to expect him to continue on the same path tonight. 

It’s unclear when Curry will reenter the starting lineup, but after what we saw from him on Monday, he is ready from a performance perspective and I’m sure it even matters on the DFS side either. Although, if Curry can keep up the same pace that he scored off the bench with, then we will really be in good shape as he made 12 of 17 shots from the field which was good for 34 points. 

The price we are paying for Poole is assuming that he will be in the starting lineup once again, but he has also brought his performance up to a high level as of late. In the first two games of the playoffs, Poole has 30 and 29 points, respectively and that came with eight assists and five rebounds on Monday. Poole certainly has earned as large a role as the Warriors are willing to give him, but there is some risk involved if Curry begins to eat into his playing time, but I’m thinking it will Poole taking from someone else.

Regardless of whether or not Doncic returns, Brunson isn’t going to score 41 points again like he did on Monday. The problem is that we are paying for that offensive outburst as Brunson’s price has jumped substantially since the end of the regular season. 

Quite simply, nothing was working for Conley on Monday as he missed all seven of the shots he took in 22 minutes of action. Conley did finish with four rebounds and three assists, and I’m willing to chalk this up as a random occurrence as Utah will need to rely on Conley tonight and through the rest of the postseason. 

Beverley’s shot wasn’t falling on Tuesday, but he should play close to 30 minutes once again tonight while chipping in with some rebounds and assists. As long as he makes a few more shots, we are looking at 5x once again. 

Clarkson picked up the slack for Mike Conley offensively as he made eight of 11 shots in 23 minutes which was good for 21 points. The guard is a one-dimensional player from a DFS perspective, but the price is right here as we know Clarkson will be busy offensively in the 20 to 25 minutes he’ll likely play tonight. 

Once again, Morris scored in double figures (12 points after 10 in Game One) to go along with three assists and four rebounds as he has a steady role in Denver’s backcourt. I’m not sure how much upside we’ll get here, but the floor isn’t too bad and the does fit nicely into most lineups. 

Through the first two games of the postseason, Mitchell is doing all that he can to ensure that Utah is victorious. After taking 29 shots in Game One (making 10) he followed that up by taking 30 shots on Monday (making 13). I would expect a similar workload tonight, especially since the Jazz have shortened up their rotation and if Conley has another rough shooting night, and Mitchell does have the ability to be more efficient offensively. Mitchell has also chipped in with 5.5 assists and four rebounds per game to begin the playoffs.

After scoring 36 points to begin the postseason, Edwards dropped down to score just 20 points on Tuesday while finishing with just one assist but he did have six rebounds. The game was ugly for Minnesota so I don’t want to overreact here, and I still like Edwards as a main source of offense for the Timberwolves. 

It was another solid game for Bane on Tuesday as he scored 16 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes. Bane has proven to be a very capable scorer here, and while we aren’t really getting a bargain or a great deal of upside, he is a solid option if you need to plug a whole in your lineup. 

I was originally looking at Barton for what he can do offensively, and that was highlighted in Game One as he scored 24 points as part of a well-rounded performance with five assists and six rebounds. Barton did take a step back on the offensive end but it wasn’t for lack of opportunity as he took 15 shots although he only made five of them. From a DFS perspective, Barton’s 10 rebounds helped to make it a solid effort, but I wouldn’t go chasing those. 

Bullock has been playing a ton for Dallas to begin the postseason, and even with the impending return of Doncic, I think that should remain thanks to his defensive prowess. He has made three three-pointers in each game so far while averaging five rebounds and 2.5 assists. Bullock is the perfect type of player to find a role and success in the postseason. 

Beasley struggled offensively as he scored just seven points in 22 minutes, but if Minnesota recovers after being blown out in Game 2, he should get going once again offensively after scoring 23 points to begin the playoffs. 

Depending on the eligibility for each site, SF is going to be a tough position to fill and I see Bogdanovic being quite the popular option. Bogdanovic played 40 minutes in each of the first two games and after scoring 26 and 25 points, and after taking 35 shots thus far he will continue to be busy. 

We generally don’t look to Wiggins for his ability on the boards, but he is averaging 8.5 rebounds in the first two games of the postseason to go along with 14.5 points. While I wouldn’t expect much more than this from Wiggins moving forward, there is a level of consistency here. 

The shortened rotation for Utah works to O’Neale’s advantage as he scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds in 37 minutes of action of Monday.  I’m not sure the forward makes four three-pointers again tonight, but the workload will be there once again. 

After a strong start to the postseason, McDaniels took a step backwards on Tuesday as he made just one of seven shots while only grabbing one rebound. That was a far cry from his 15-point, seven rebound performance to kick off the postseason and I’d expect something somewhere in the middle tonight as it was just a rough game overall for Minnesota. 

Green’s game is generally perfectly suited to the postseason, but that wasn’t necessarily the case on Monday as he scored just six points along with six assists and three rebounds. We have become accustomed to much more than that from Green, and we even got it in his previous game, so I wouldn’t stray just yet. 

While he might not pop with a tremendous amount of upside, unless he goes crazy blocking shots, Jackson is a more than capable option. On Tuesday, that meant 16 points and seven rebounds in a blowout victory, and he should be in position to follow it up tonight. 

Clarke scored 13 points for the second straight game on Tuesday, but this time he only grabbed three rebounds after he had 12 in Game One. While we clearly want as much production as possible, Clarke’s price still isn’t too restrictive. 

You don’t want to get in the position where you are chasing last night’s production, but in the case of Kleber, the price doesn’t hurt you here even if it jumped $800 on DK after Game 2. That was a game in which Kleber made eight three-pointers in 32 minutes of action on his way to a 25-point, six rebound effort. That is a far cry from Kleber’s 10 points and four rebounds to begin the postseason, and I’m not sure he is capable of a repeat offensive game, but the minutes should be there. 

And here is where we spend all that money we saved at the forward positions. It sounds crazy to say, but with 25.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and five assists per game to begin the postseason, Jokic has been underwhelming. If Denver wants any chance of getting back in the series, they are going to need everything Jokic has to offer. 

Due to the one-sided nature of Tuesday’s game, Towns only played 28 minutes so I wouldn’t read too much into the 15 points and 11 rebounds we got out of him. The center only took seven shots, and I would expect tonight’s game to be a little more competitive and that means some scoring out of Towns. 

We don’t go to Gobert for what he does on the offensive end, but it’s hard to ignore his 17 rebounds in each game to begin the postseason. Why not go for a third tonight?

Steven Adams struggling to begin the postseason worked in Xavier Tillman’s favor and the latter took advantage of that on Tuesday. Tillman scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds in 21 minutes and the increased workload shouldn’t have come as a complete surprise.