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The ones that were quick to finish their series in the East are the only teams going today. We have Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semis between the Nets and Bucks. Many think that the winner of this series will win the whole thing, or at the very least, believe this will be the most entertaining series of the entire playoffs. Let's hope those people are right!
We will stay in Showdown mode for DFS on DraftKings again tonight. To build our rosters for this particular format, we need to identify a Captain and five utility players. It's just like the analytics nerds dreamt it up: positionless basketball. The Captain will earn 1.5 times the amount of points he regularly tallies, but it also drives up the price for your more prominent players.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on 6/5/21. 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.
Brooklyn Nets (-4)
James Harden - PG/SG (Captain: $18,000, Utility: $12,000)
Brooklyn's Big Three accounted for 85 points per game in the first round series, the most of any three players in any playoff series in league history. What will they do for the encore? I don't know, but whatever they do, Harden will be heavily involved as either the facilitator or the scorer. He wore both hats and wore them well in the Boston series. It culminated with Harden taking over Game 5 from the start and racking up 75.5 DraftKings points. He has the highest ceiling of the three, but not the best floor. We'll get to that.
Kevin Durant - SF/PF (Captain: $16,500, Utility: $11,000)
Harden's Superman act in Game 5 cut into Durant's scoring, which knocked his production down a peg. However, a closer look reveals that there were other contributing factors, such as only four rebounds and no steals for the only game of the series. Add in though couple of peripheral ball bounces, and K.D. is right back over 50 where we expect him. He was remarkably consistent through the first four games. I'll chalk Game 5 up to a few peripheral numbers not going his way and say Durant has the best floor of anyone on the team, but not in the series.
Bruce Brown - SF ($4,400)
With so many guys worth spending money on in this series, we need value somewhere. Brown might be a good place to get it. He was mostly a bystander in the first three games of the series, compiling just 38.5 DraftKings points in 55 minutes in those games combined. However, Brown turned it on in Games 4 and 5, putting up 54 DraftKings points in 48 minutes over those two games. Brown is better for the team and much better in DFS when coming off the bench. So long as he doesn't start, he should be starting in our lineups.
Other options: Kyrie Irving ($9,800), Joe Harris ($7,000)
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Milwaukee Bucks (+4)
Giannis Antetokounmpo - PF/C (Captain: $17,700, Utility: $11,8o0)
Giannis averaged 66.7 DraftKings points per game in the three games against Brooklyn this year, which is by far the most from anyone on either team. Of course, the Nets dynamic was constantly changing this year with Durant hurt for part of the year, Kyrie ailing/resting, and Harden not arriving until a month into the season. Still, Giannis has the best floor of anyone on either team and his ceiling is every bit as high as Harden's. I'll believe that until proven otherwise.
Khris Middleton - SG/SF (Captain: $13,500, Utility: $9,000)
Middleton is the true unicorn of the NBA. He is one of the few star players that played every game this season. Despite Giannis's huge numbers against Brooklyn this year, Middleton managed to average 46.7 DraftKings points per game of his own against the Nets. When you factor in the $4,200 savings between the two at captain, this become very tempting, and very viable, in cash builds. Middleton's floor is the real draw of his game. When Giannis is on the court, his ceiling is relatively low. The floor is high enough to make this an interesting captain play.
Bryn Forbes - PG/SG ($5,600)
It has been Pat Connaughton drawing the starts for Donte DiVincenzo, but Forbes has been the better player of the two. He is playing a few more minutes than Connaughton, but Forbes's time with the second unit is what makes him an enticing play here. He is the main scorer for the second unit, putting up 55 real points in the last three games of the series after DiVincezo went down. Forbes' ceiling is well defined with him in a bench role, but I still think it's higher than Connaughton's running with the starters.
Other options: Jrue Holiday ($8,600), Pat Connaughton ($3,600)
