FanDuel NBA DFS Lineup Picks (5/13/21): Daily Fantasy Basketball Advice

We’re set for a nine-game ledger Thursday night, particularly large for this day of the week. It certainly opens  up our player pool plenty, although there are an increasing number of teams whose playoff/play-in fate and positioning is becoming solidified.

Predicting minutes on some of the teams that will move on to continue playing next week could therefore be a tricky proposition, one we’ll be trying our best to navigate. Luckily, the likes of the 76ers, Knicks, Heat, Pacers, Spurs, Trail Blazers and Kings all have something to play for, which helps guide some of the decision-making.

In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel on 5/13/21. I’ll be providing multiple player suggestions for players at guard, forward and center on FanDuel, aiming to highlight one option apiece at the high, middle and lower end of the salary scale. You can also check out DraftKings lineup picks and injury news before lineups lock. Good luck, RotoBallers.

FanDuel DFS Guards

Caris Levert, SG – vs. MIL ($9,000)

The Pacers do have a play-in spot locked up but could still move into the No. 8 seed from their current No. 9 spot. LeVert has been spectacular during Malcolm Brogdon’s ongoing absence due to a hamstring injury, which will persist Thursday. LeVert is carrying a 29.3 percent  usage rate and averaging 43.9 FD points per 36 minutes with his teammate off the floor, and the Bucks check in ranked in the bottom half of the league in offensive efficiency allowed to two-guards (22.8 percent), and LeVert already has one tally of 38.5 FD points against Milwaukee this season.

Ja Morant, PG – vs. SAC ($7,400)   

I will be targeting the Kings’ backcourt defense with my next two selections, beginning with Morant, whose fantasy production does admittedly fluctuate, but who’s posted tallies of 61.8 and 43.4 FD points among his last five games alone, and who’s delivered over 5x his current salary on 21 occasions already this season. The Kings will still be short-handed Thursday with De’Aaron Fox’s absence slated to continue, and they’ve given up the third-most FD points per game (51.8) to point guards over the last 15, with Fox sitting for 10 of those contests.

Dillon Brooks, SG – vs. SAC ($5,600)

Brooks is in just as good as spot as his backcourt mate Morant on Thursday, as Sacramento is allowing Western Conference-high 26.0 percent offensive efficiency to shooting guards and has given up the fourth-most FD points per game (42.9) to the position for the season. The Kings are also allowing the fifth-highest three-point percentage (38.0), while Brooks checks in averaging just under 7.0 three-point attempts per contest over the last eight games and having scored 35.8 and 40.4 FD points in his last pair of contests, figures befitting of a much higher salary. Brooks has already tallied 32.4 FD points over 29 minutes in one prior meeting this season, furthering his case.

Also consider: Trae Young ($8,600); Delon Wright ($8,300); Malachi Flynn ($5,500)

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FanDuel DFS Forwards  

Domantas Sabonis, PF- vs. MIL ($10,500)

Sabonis has been even more successful with Brogdon on the floor than LeVert, posting 52.1 to 74.5 FD points over his last four games alone, and averaging a whopping 62.1 over the entirety of Brogdon’s current seven-game absence. The Bucks have already surrendered 54.4 and 46.8 FD points to Sabonis in two previous games as well, and they’re allowing 54.8 FD points per game to centers, Sabonis’ current position with Myles Turner (toe) still out, over the last seven games. Given he’s averaging 14.7 shot attempts per game and draining them at a 68.0 percent clip, including 50.0 percent from distance, during the aforementioned seven-game sample, Sabonis is in play even at his salary as the Pacers look to potentially move into the No. 8 spot.

Tobias Harris, PF – at MIA ($7,000)

The 76ers can finally clinch the top spot in the Eastern Conference with a win Thursday and Joel Embiid could miss another game with his illness, a combination of factors that could make Harris a very rewarding play at his salary. The veteran big man put up 35.5 FD points over 34 minutes on Tuesday without Embiid on the floor, and he boasts a 28.6 percent usage rate and averages 44.3 FD points per 36 minutes overall without the big man available this season. The Heat have also allowed 44 FD points per contest to power forwards over the last 15 games, along with the eighth-highest offensive efficiency (25.9 percent) to the position.

Aaron Gordon, PF – at MIN ($3,900)

Gordon certainly carries some risk in terms of fantasy production, but his extremely reasonable salary helps mitigate that to a large degree. Gordon is also coming off a productive game against the Hornets on Tuesday when he accumulated 34.7 FD points across 29 minutes, and he’s averaging 29.5 FD points across 36 minutes with both Will Barton (hamstring) and Jamal Murray (knee) off the floor. Gordon has offered more than 5x return on his current salary in 34 of 48 games already this season, and given the T-Wolves have yielded the eighth-most FD points per game (50.0) to power forwards in the last seven games, it’s very easy to envision him doing it again Thursday.

Also consider: Giannis Antetokounmpo ($10,900); Julius Randle ($9,000); Bogdan Bogdanovic ($7,300)

FanDuel DFS Centers   

Nikola Vucevic – vs. TOR ($9,700)

Vucevic could actually be a tad lower-rostered than usual on the nine-game slate and coming off a very rare clunker against the Nets on Tuesday where he shot just 5-for-18 from the floor. The versatile veteran had otherwise averaged 50.3 FD points per contest over the previous eight games, and he’s scored well over 40 FD points in two of three previous games versus the Raptors this season. Toronto, which has nothing left to play for and is resting multiple starters, also has been particularly vulnerable to centers recently, facilitating 60.9 FD points per game to the position over the last seven games. With the Bulls still alive for the final play-in spot in the East, Vucevic should play a normal workload and be heavily involved.

Jusuf Nurkic – at PHO ($7,600)

The Trail Blazers are looking to hold steady in the No. 5 seed with only a tiebreaker advantage over the Dallas Mavericks at the moment, and Nurkic is back to clicking on all cylinders after missing an extensive amount of time earlier in the season with a wrist injury. The veteran big man has averaged 40.2 FD points over his last four games while putting up 16.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.0 steal in that span. Nurkic is also encouraging averaging 11.8 shots per contest during the sample and has seven double-doubles in his last 11 games. The opposing Suns come in yielding 52.0 FD points per contest to centers over the last 15 contests while also surrendering the second-most rebounds (17.2) to the position in that span.

Ivica Zubac – at CHA ($5,300)

The Clippers have a one-game lead for the No. 3 spot over the Nuggets with three games to go for each team, so Zubac should see a normal workload against a Hornets team allowing the fifth-most FD points per game (58.6) to centers in the last 15 contests. Zubac just racked up 37.5 FD points versus the Raptors on the strength of an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double on Tuesday, and he’s averaging a solid 25.5 FD points on the strength of 11.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists in his last 15 contests. Charlotte is also yielding a hefty 48.1 points in the paint per home game and the fifth-highest offensive efficiency (59.3 percent) in that part of the floor, while Zubac scores just under 79.0 percent of his points from that area of the court.

Also consider: Nikola Jokic ($10,800); Clint Capela ($7,800); Jakob Poeltl ($6,300)

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