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The top daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on August 18, 2020. Dale Johnson provides NBA DFS analysis and sleeper picks for building optimal DFS rosters.
The first day of the 2020 NBA playoffs are officially in the books and they did not disappoint. The playoffs opened with an overtime thriller, with Donovan Mitchell scoring 57 points in a loss, and ended with a heated battle which resulted in a questionable ejection.
The slate is shaping up to follow the same trend as Monday with a bunch of interesting price tags before match ups are established. There are also a couple key injuries and lineup changes to look out for as teams try to experiment and get the upper hand in the series. Let's jump into Tuesday's slate.
Here are our daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on 8/18/20. You can also check out today's FanDuel lineup picks. Remember to monitor injury news as the slate can completely change before lock.
DraftKings DFS Guards
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - PG/SG, OKC @ HOU ($6,900)
After having a projected 0.2% chance to make the playoffs, the Oklahoma City Thunder are sitting at the fifth seed in a highly contested Western Conference. Gilgeous-Alexander has been an integral part in their success and is in prime position to make some noise in this series. Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 16.0 points on 44.1 percent shooting, 4.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.2 three-pointers and 1.0 steals in the bubble. Tuesday, he will face the Houston Rockets who have been very kind to guards this season. The Rockets are the 24th-ranked defense against opposing guards and give up the third-most points off turnovers. For a player like Gilgeous-Alexander, who has made a name for himself as a great on-ball defender, he should wreak havoc on the defensive end. Not to mention, Gilgeous-Alexander will not have to worry about Russell Westbrook (quad) as he recovers from a quad strain.
Terrence Ross - SG/SF, ORL @ MIL ($4,500)
The Orlando Magic have a tough task against the number-one seeded Milwaukee Bucks, especially with Jonathan Isaac (knee) out and Aaron Gordon (hamstring) questionable. Gordon went through a non-contact practice on Sunday after missing the final four seeding games, but his status is still up in the air for Tuesday. Enter Terrence Ross who is the Magic's primary scorer off the bench. The last game Ross played without Gordon, Ross put up 18 points, seven rebounds, three three-pointers and a steal in 37 minutes. Ross missed the final two seeding games due to leaving the bubble for a personal matter, but practiced fully Sunday and is in no danger of missing Tuesday. At a such a low price tag, Ross makes for an interesting value play.
Goran Dragic - PG, MIA vs. IND ($4,400)
Dragic has been one of the unsung heroes for the Miami Heat this season, making the shift to the bench to allow the Miami rookies to get more run and develop. Now, Dragic sees himself back in his regular role as he was announced to start Game 1 of the playoffs against the Indiana Pacers. Dragic started his final two seeding games with Kendrick Nunn struggling and played well with the starters. Dragic put up 13.5 points on 42.9 percent shooting, 7.5 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals in just 26.0 minutes per game. In fact, one of these games was against the Pacers. With T.J. Warren (foot) and Victor Oladipo (ankle) banged up, Dragic should have a favorable matchup with the starters and may even get some run with the second unit.
DraftKings DFS Forwards
Khris Middleton - SF, MIL vs. ORL ($7,300)
Despite Milwaukee's use of load management and resting stars here and there, Middleton dominated the bubble. In the fours games Middleton played at least 30 minutes since the restart, he averaged 24.8 points on 51.6 percent shooting, 7.8 assists, 7.3 rebounds and 3.0 three-pointers for an average of 46.8 DraftKings fantasy points per game. With a price tag as high as $8,300, the Game 1 effect has significantly dropped Middleton's price against the eight-seeded Orlando. As previously mentioned, Orlando is missing defensive anchor Jonathan Isaac (knee) and in danger of missing Aaron Gordon (hamstring) on Tuesday. Middleton should be a popular option here.
Justin Holiday - SG/SF, IND @ MIA ($3,900)
Holiday made a spot start last Wednesday with T.J. Warren (foot) dealing with an injury and did not disappoint. Holiday put up 18 points on 60.0 percent shooting, six rebounds, four three-pointers and two steals in just 29 minutes. In the last eight games, Miami has given up the most second-chance points, seventh-most points off turnovers and seventh-most overall points to opposing forwards. With Warren popping up on the injury report again and in danger of missing Game 1, Holiday becomes an enticing value play at such a low price tag.
DraftKings DFS Centers
Steven Adams - C, OKC @ HOU ($6,400)
With Anthony Davis ($10,400) grabbing the top spot, there is a significant gap in prices at the center position for Tuesday. One of the best "bang for your buck" plays here is Adams against the Houston Rockets. The Rockets, running an extremely small-ball style of play, has struggled against the centers lately. Since the restart, the Rockets has given up the third-most second chance points, fourth-most points in the paint and has the second-worst rebounding percentage. Adams should be well on his way to recording yet another double-double against the Rockets who have no true center on their roster.
