FanDuel NBA Picks and DraftKings NBA Picks - Monday, 8/24/20

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Bucks (-13.5) vs. Magic (+13.5)

After losing in game one, the Bucks have imposed their will over the Magic with decisive wins in game two and game three. I’m still worried about blowout minutes on both sides of this game which does make it riskier in cash. Giannis Antetokounmpo (FD $11500 DK $11100) still has such a high floor because he does just about everything for this team. He’s averaging 31 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists per game in this series, playing no more than 34 in any of them. I’d still be comfortable running him out in cash all things considered.

But the rest of this team is probably priced out considering some of the middle tier options we have elsewhere in other games. Bledsoe doesn’t play enough minutes, while Middleton and Lopez are just too expensive at this point considering how many of the team’s fantasy points Giannis gobbles up.

Meanwhile, the Magic remain unexciting considering the defense they are facing in this series. If Aaron Gordon remains out, Gary Clark (FD $4400 DK $4100) is probably still a cash game consideration on the price alone. He played 35 minutes on Saturday with six points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. This is a dude who needs every minute to get there fantasy-wise.

After that, things are looking pretty grim. It’s still tough to trust the D.J. Augustin production off the bench and now that Milwaukee is totally dialed in on defense the Magic have very little hope of putting up robust fantasy lines. I’m mostly avoiding this game.

Rockets (-3) vs. Thunder (+3)

The Thunder pulled out a crazy OT win against Houston on Saturday, grabbing some late scores and then completely taking over the extra five minutes. Going into Monday, there’s a lot to like about some of these OKC guys. First off, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (FD $7000 DK $7400) played 43 minutes in regulation (48 total) and took the third-most shots on the team with 18. You have to love the run for SGA and if he’s a candidate for 40+ with the Thunder shortening their rotations, then he’s definitely a cash play on this slate.

Meanwhile, the Thunder once again found a lot of success with their three-point-guard lineup and Dennis Schroder (FD $5700 DK $6200) came off the bench to lead the team in shots with 23 and finished with a team-high 29 points even while running bad from three at only 2-10. He chipped in five assists and five boards as well. I don’t love going to the bench for cash game security but with Schroder I’m willing to make the exception.

Of course, there’s always Chris Paul (FD $7900 DK $8000) was well. He got up 20 shots though had a somewhat underwhelming fantasy line considering he played more than 37 minutes. But the price is still fair on both sites and you could see them really push CP3 in a game that could tie the series for Oklahoma City.

And finally, OKC definitely liked what they were getting defensively from Luguentz Dort (FD $3500 DK $4000) on James Harden. He managed to even get up 10 shots while sharing the court with these other high usage guys but struggled from three going 0-6. I like the minutes at (or near) the minimums and he’s a punt play for sure.

On the Rockets’ side. James Harden (FD $11300 DK $11700) is still just so hard to fade. He struggled from beyond the arc on Saturday (3-13) and still got up 38 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. He also fouled and had some minutes cut with the foul trouble so there’s reason to feel this line should have been even more robust (and that the Rockets would have won) had he seen the 40+ minutes you could expect from him in an OT game.

The Rockets have found something with Jeff Green (FD $5500 DK $5400) in this series off the bench. He’s averaging 20 points and seven rebounds in the first three games. Those minutes have replaced Robert Covington’s run which is the only thing that has me a little skeptical considering Green isn’t exactly a punt price guy now.

If you’re still hunting down a lot of minutes on the cheap, P.J. Tucker (FD $4000 DK $4200) played 39 in regulation on Saturday. Again, he needs every one of them considering he’s only going to take wide open corner threes and hunt down some rebounds here and there.

And finally, I’m still a believer in Eric Gordon (FD $5300 DK $6000) at these prices though that’s starting to wear a little thin. He’s 4-26 from three in the first three games which follows up on pretty poor shooting since entering the bubble. But the usage is still there and he has a track record that makes me want to go back to the well again.

Pacers (7) vs. Heat (-7)

The Pacers are on the brink of elimination, down 3-0 to the Heat, though it’s tough to blame Malcolm Brogdon (FD $7600 DK $7500) for the last one after he dropped 34 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds in the loss. What you have to love in cash, is the 43 minutes he played last game and have to feel with the Pacers on the brink, he’ll get every piece of run imaginable here. That gives him a very high floor at these upper-middle tier prices.

On DraftKings, Justin Holiday (FD $4400 DK $4200) gives some salary relief after entering the starting lineup on Saturday. He’s not going to see a lot of usage when sharing the court with Brogdon, Warren and Oladipo, but dude did play 32 minutes and took seven threes.

I’m still willing to buy Victor Oladipo (FD $5900 DK $6300) at these prices considering he took 21 shots in the last game. He hasn’t looked quite the same since entering the bubble, which isn’t overly surprising considering he might not be fully recovered from the thigh injury. But he’s still chucking and there’s upside when that’s the case.

For the Heat, I’m not finding a ton of value at their current prices. It’s tough to pay up for Jimmy Butler at this point considering the other superstars on the slate. Same with Bam Adebayo. Goran Dragic (FD $6500 DK $6500) is still something of a value averaging 23 points, six assists and four rebounds this series after entering the starting lineup for Kendrick Nunn.

Lakers (-7.5) vs. Trail Blazers (+7.5)

After the Blazers took the first game in somewhat surprising fashion, the Lakers came storming back to win the next two. LeBron James (FD $10500 DK $10800) has gone beast mode in two of the three games, averaging a triple-double for the series with 24 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in the first three. He’s looking every bit the superstar and is a very tough fade on this slate. The Blazers continue to struggle guarding him and don’t have a wing big or athletic enough to contain him when he gets going downhill. Of the high-priced guys, he’s arguably safer than Giannis when you account for the price differences.

Meanwhile, Anthony Davis (FD $10900 DK $10500) has been a near auto-start in our system for this series on FanDuel because the power forward position is so thin. He’s not as automatic here though because the price continues to tick up. He’s also been awesome in the series averaging 57.9 FanDuel points per game thanks in part to piling on some defensive stats and also, at times, scoring at will. Again, the big money dudes are a tough call here on Monday because all of them are in great spots. On FanDuel I’ll prioritize AD because of the positional scarcity.

If you trust another 27 minutes from Alex Caruso (FD $4100 DK $3700) then he’s a punt play but remember he got those with Lebron in foul trouble.

Danny Green (FD $3800 DK $3900) is also some salary fodder but that guy needs every single minute and they aren’t always guaranteed.

On the Portland side, they made a switch on Saturday and started Hassan Whiteside (FD $5100 DK $4800) going double-big alongside Nurkic. The former ended up playing *only* 26 minutes and was pretty ineffective fantasy-wise with eight points and eight rebounds. It wasn’t encouraging, but in cash at these prices I’m going there again. It’s already been announced Whiteside will remain with the starters.

And finally, Carmelo Anthony (FD $5400 DK $5800) had a turn-back-the-clock game on Saturday 20 points, six rebounds and four assists in 42 minutes. If that’s going to be the run then he’s almost a must play at the FanDuel price.

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