Fantasy Basketball 2021: Daily Fantasy Tips for Tuesday's NBA Playoffs
The three-game NBA playoffs slate on Tuesday allows you to mix superstars and value finds in daily fantasy basketball contests without having a similar roster to most other players.
The value plays with lower salaries come from the Western Conference games between the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers, and the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns.
With Anthony Davis unlikely to play for the Lakers, Andre Drummond should be in for a higher usage rate than the first four games, and his value in FanDuel DFS contests should increase as a result.
The Denver-Portland series has had its share of star performances, but Facundo Campazzo has emerged as a reliable point guard in the Denver offense, and he could be a great alternative to Damian Lillard or Kyrie Irving.
As for the Brooklyn-Boston series, you will still have to stick with the star names. Irving, James Harden, Kevin Durant and Jayson Tatum are playing at a high level, and you should include one or two of them to produce the highest score possible.
Ride with the Stars in Boston-Brooklyn Again
Durant and Tatum added to their 40-point playoff totals in Game 4. The Nets star led all scorers with 42 points, while the Celtics man was two points behind him.
Irving was a point shy of the 40-point club, and Harden managed just 23 points but made up for that with 18 assists.
The high usage rate for all four players is expected to continue into Game 5 on Tuesday, so it makes sense to select at least two of these stars for your lineup.
Due to salary restrictions in FanDuel contests, it is hard to place three or four of the stars together without punting on one or two positions.
Durant, Harden and Tatum all carry salaries of $10,000 or higher with Harden the most expensive player on the slate at $11,100.
Irving sits at $9,600 as the second-best point guard on the slate behind Damian Lillard, so he is the likely choice to partner one of the other three stars from Tuesday's Eastern Conference game.
The 29-year-old came alive in Game 4 with 39 points and six three-pointers. He is now averaging 24.8 points per game in the series and has attempted the second most three-point shots on the Nets roster behind Joe Harris.
If you build in a handful of players listed around $5,000, you could pull off the addition of Devin Booker to either an Irving-Tatum or Irving-Durant combination.
You may not be able to afford a third marquee player if you combine Irving with Harden, but there is plenty of value available if you go that route.
Put Trust in Andre Drummond Down Low
Tuesday will be one of the rare days in the postseason when Andre Drummond is close to a must-start player at center.
The 27-year-old would receive more scoring and rebounding opportunities down low with Anthony Davis unlikely to be playing in Game 5.
The Lakers center has averaged 9.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game in the first four contests of the series, and he could easily go for 15 and 10 without Davis in the lineup.
Drummond should not be expected to replace all of Davis' scoring production, though, and the Lakers could turn to Dennis Schroder to add more points alongside LeBron James.
With Davis' rebounding prowess out of the picture, Drummond should be a great value play at $7,000 if you choose to stay away from Nikola Jokic, Deandre Ayton or Jusuf Nurkic.
By rostering Drummond, you should be able to afford two of the stars in the Boston-Brooklyn series as well as a few other key contributors with salaries between $5,000 and $7,000.
Run with Facundo Campazzo at Point Guard
If you want to load up on stars at shooting guard, both forward spots or center, Facundo Campazzo should be the first point guard to look at from a value perspective.
The 30-year-old is one of six Nuggets players to average over 10 points per game and leads the team with 6.5 assists per contest.
Campazzo reached double figures in points in Games 2, 3 and 4, and he has had at least five assists and two three-point shots in each of the four contests in the series.
The Argentine won't score at a high volume, but the assists and rebounds he ends up with in every game should make him a viable option at the point.
Campazzo eclipsed 30 FanDuel DFS points in each of the last three games, so he could be a solid second option to partner with Lillard or Irving, or he could be teamed with Schroder to give you two value plays at point guard and more salary to work with elsewhere.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Statistics obtained from Basketball Reference.