Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) controls the ball against Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (33) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)
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Opponent - LAC
Proj Pts FD - 34.61 DK - 35.27
Cameron Payne is going to likely get the start for the Suns with Chris Paul out and that should mean a lot of minutes for the point guard. We have a decent idea of what Payne can offer with more minutes considering that’s what he saw in the first round against the Lakers with Paul was injured with the shoulder. Payne had a three-game stretch going 25 or more minutes in each and he averaged 16 points, six assists and three rebounds. He should play 30+ in this one easily and is the value play of the slate.
Opponent - UTA
Proj Pts FD - 33.78 DK - 35.35
Jackson was a star in Game 6 against the Jazz, stepping up in a huge way without Kawhi Leonard on the court. He dropped in 27 points and 10 assists in 38 minutes to help carry them to victory in a somewhat improbable win. They’ll need his scoring again if they want to move on to the NBA finals. He took 15 and 16 shots respectively over the last two games with Leonard off the court and the price hasn’t really moved all that much. This is still a great spot for him and made better because the Suns are without Chris Paul.
Opponent - LAC
Proj Pts FD - 47.04 DK - 49.16
On the season, Booker led the Suns with a 32% usage rate, and that number jumped to 35% when Chris Paul was off the court. He’s had an excellent playoffs and in the series against the Lakers, when Paul was really compromised with injuries, Booker shone scoring 30 points per game, taking more than 20 shots a contest. Expect a lot of minutes and usage in this game with the Suns’ floor general off the court. The price doesn’t totally reflect what should be an increased role here against the Clippers.
Opponent - UTA
Proj Pts FD - 27.05 DK - 27.29
Mann was a revelation in Game 6 against the Jazz, putting up a performance that Clippers’ fans won’t soon forget. He took a staggering 21 shots and ended up with 39 points. It was easily the best game of his career. I expect the minutes to be in the upper 30s again though it’s hard to imagine a similar scoring outburst. He’s still too cheap on both sites if the minutes are going to sit in this range. I will caution that he didn’t do too much except score, but the price is too cheap. My one concern is that the Clippers can’t go as small as they did in this series, but we will have to take our chances.
Obviously, Paul George is a great play as well, but the usage did go a bit to Jackson and Mann last game as the Clippers attack got more balanced.
Opponent - UTA
Proj Pts FD - 30.74 DK - 30.62
Batum has been playing a ton with Kawhi Leonard off the court, effectively acting as the Clippers center when they went super small against Gobert and the Jazz. I’m not sure they’ll be afforded the same luxury against Ayton here who has much more of an offensive game. If that was the case then Batum could see fewer minutes. It’s something to keep an eye out for, but as it stands he should still play enough to slot into the small forward slot in your lineups.
The position is a little less clear after this and admittedly, even Datum isn’t a fantastic option. You can consider Mikal Bridges
whose wing defense could come in handy in this matchup.
Additionally, if Bogdan Bogdanovic were to sit for the Hawks then Danilo Gallinari would be in play and in line for significantly more minutes.
DK - $7900
Opponent - ATL
Proj Pts FD - 40.81 DK - 41.02
The usage has been fine for Harris in this series for the most part, taking more than 15 shots per game. But he’s only been putting up around 18 points per game. The issue is that power forward is a pretty thin position and most of the big fantasy scoring options are concentrated at the guard positions with Embiid thrown in there as well. But on FanDuel I think the price is fine enough and he should play a ton of minutes.
Opponent - LAC
Proj Pts FD - 27.13 DK - 28.06
Crowder saw a lot of minutes in the Denver series and that should be the case again in this one as well especially if he’s tasked with guarding Paul George at times. He scored in double figures in three of the four games and shot over 60% from three. There’s some run hot in there for sure, but I do think this is still a fine spot for him in this matchup.
Opponent - ATL
Proj Pts FD - 60.96 DK - 62.76
Because I think you can save some money at the guard positions, this is a spot to definitely spend up for when it comes to Embiid. If there was a game the Sixers would run him complete max minutes, this is the one. He’s been able to dominate at times in this series when the run is there and we all know Embiid can pile up the stats with the best of them. For the series, he’s averaging 30 point and 13 rebounds taking more than 20 shots per game and getting to line a ton as well. Expect him to leave it all out there in this one. He’s questionable right now, but I expect him to play.
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