Milwaukee Bucks' Jrue Holiday during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021, in Milwaukee. The Bucks won 127-125. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
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Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 46.4 DK - 47
The Bucks can finish off the Bulls here on Wednesday and Chicago could be without both Zach Lavine and Alex Caruso. It’s looking like the series is basically over regardless though stranger things and all. Jrue took the second-most shots on the team in Game 4, putting up 21 on his way to scoring 26 points while also adding seven assists. With Khris Middleton out, the price hasn’t really corrected enough on Jrue considering the uptick in usage and on-ball time. I suspect he’s one of the most popular plays on this two-game slate.
Opponent - MIL
Proj Pts FD - 24.14 DK - 26.08
Opponent - MIL
Proj Pts FD - 21.75 DK - 24.53
The Bulls' situation is really up in the air at the time of this writing. Zach Lavine is in Covid protocols and Alex Caruso is in the concussion protocol, having not traveled with the team ahead of the game. It’s very likely both of these guys are out for Chicago which would obviously be close to a death blow for the team. From a fantasy perspective, it could mean one or both of Ayo Dosunmu and Coby White get the start in the backcourt for the Bulls. Whoever starts is a value play and would likely play a lot, even in a blowout. Chicago is just so thin right now that all of the minutes should be there for these guys.
Opponent - GS
Proj Pts FD - 29.93 DK - 33.09
Barton had a pretty bad Game 4 in the Denver win over the Warriors, their first of the series. Austin Rivers ended up playing a ton and Bones Hyland took a lot of shots per minute in the backcourt. But Barton overall has been decent in this series from a fantasy perspective, averaging 16 points, seven rebounds, and four assists in the previous three games. He’s coming cheap enough on FanDuel to play in cash games for sure and on the short slate makes a solid middle-tier guy to use for lineups.
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 67.4 DK - 69.19
Giannis is probably the easiest play on this slate and will likely be the highest owned as well. On these playoff slates, with the superstars taking most of the attention, it’s tough to fade one of the very best in the game. He’s dominated this series, averaging 28 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists, and more than two blocks+steals. Basically, he’s been Giannis and that’s really all you need from the guy. There are definite blowout concerns with the Bucks facing an undermanned and under-talented Bulls team. But there’s no reason to get away from Giannis in this game on a short slate.
Opponent - MIL
Proj Pts FD - 51.17 DK - 51.82
I think DeRozan is a play regardless, but he’s going to move into that must-play territory if Zach Lavine is ruled out for this one. He’s taken 20 or more shots in three of the four games in this season, though outside of the crazy Game 2 that saw him dropping 41 in the Bulls’ lone win, DDR has mostly struggled to get things going. It’s going to be tough against a good defensive squad but one has to assume he’s going to run nearly the whole game in this one if Chicago can keep it even remotely close. He’s expensive, but this is the spot to spend up on this guy.
Opponent - GS
Proj Pts FD - 64.49 DK - 69.41
If both Caruso and Lavine are out then I think we will have enough savings, at least on FanDuel, to play both Giannis and Jokic on this slate. That would be the dream considering rostering superstars is the way to go at this time of year. And from a fantasy perspective, these are clearly the best two guys around. Jokic has given everything he has to this series, averaging 31 points, 12 assists, and five rebounds through the first four games. If things stay close (a big if) then he is good for about 38 minutes. And Denver needs everyone one of those if they have any hope of staying in this series. Again, we are going to need the Chicago injury news to shake out, but it’s the first game of the slate so no issue there.
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 35.61 DK - 36.27
Bobby Portis has gotten the start for Khris Middleton over the last two games and he’s been more than up to the task. From a fantasy perspective, he’s been excellent averaging 16 points and 13 rebounds. The price hasn’t climbed enough to warrant a fade at all and I’m still fine playing him at these salaries on both sites. Sure, as we said with the other guys, there is some blowout risk considering what the Bulls are dealing with on an injury front, but this isn’t the spot to fade him.
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 31 DK - 31.9
The last two games of the series have been pretty rough for Lopez mostly because he’s had the minutes cut in blowouts. That could be the case again here which definitely has me a little concerned. But when the run was there in the first two outings, he was solid averaging 21 points and five rebounds while taking 14 and 15 shots respectively. Adding Bobby Portis to the mix for Middleton definitely hurts Lopez, especially on the glass, but his price is still fine enough to play if he can get the run.
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