Fantasy Basketball 2021: Daily Fantasy Tips for Thursday's NBA Playoffs

If you rostered Damian Lillard in FanDuel daily fantasy contests on Tuesday, you likely were in the money-winning positions, or close to them. 

On Thursday, Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers face elimination against the Denver Nuggets in the first of two Western Conference Game 6s. 

With only two games on the slate, the roster percentage for Lillard and other stars should be high, so you have to find the right supporting players to add alongside them. 

Since Lillard is averaging 35.6 points per game, he should have the highest roster percentage. Very few arguments can be made against rostering the Portland guard unless you want to have a true contrarian lineup.

The best value plays should come from the nightcap between the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns.

Cameron Payne and Jae Crowder played well in Game 5, and Kyle Kuzma could be used as a low-salary play if he contributes points off the bench again, or if the Lakers are stuck in another blowout. 

Lillard carries the highest salary of any player in FanDuel's main slate contest, and rightfully so after he dropped 55 points on Denver in Game 5. 

Lillard has attempted 114 field goals in the series, and he is 32-of-67 from three-point range. No other player in the Denver-Portland series has more than 35 three-point shots. 

The Game 5 production was the complete opposite of what we saw out of Lillard in a Game 4 defeat, as he only had 10 points on a 1-of-10 shooting night. 

Lillard's Game 6 numbers should fall right in between the 10 and 55, especially if he continues to shoot at a high volume from three-point range. 

The potential for another high-scoring game and the lackluster options elsewhere at point guard could make Lillard the first choice in many DFS players' lineups. 

Chris Paul has the second-highest salary at point guard, but he has had more than 25 FanDuel points just twice in five contests. 

The Lakers need Dennis Schroder to score alongside LeBron James, so he may be the best option to pair with Lillard. 

Once you get past Schroder, Monte Morris, Cameron Payne and Facundo Campazzo are the choices between $5,300 and $5,800. 

You could try to use two of those three players in a contrarian roster build at the point, but it is hard to ignore Lillard. 

Cameron Payne and Jae Crowder are two of four Phoenix players who have averaged over 10 points per game in the first five games with the Lakers. 

The pair of three-point shooters have outscored Chris Paul and Mikal Bridges, and they carry solid value in DFS contests. 

Payne ($5,400) and Crowder ($5,300) could be useful pieces to add around Lillard, Nikola Jokic or LeBron James.

Crowder may carry more value at power forward if Anthony Davis does not start. Davis' salary is $10,000, and there is a $3,800 drop off to Robert Covington at the position. According to ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin, Davis is a game-time decision for Game 6. 

Crowder hit a trio of three-point shots in Games 4 and 5. He had 17 points and nine rebounds in Game 4, which is a better example for how Game 6 could go since Tuesday was a blowout. 

Payne could be the perfect supporting piece to Lillard at point guard since he has had at least 25 FanDuel fantasy points in each of the last four games. 

During that stretch, Payne has made at least five field goals and produced 32 rebounds and assists to go along with four double-digit point totals. 

Kyle Kuzma is a deeper roster option who could provide great value at $4,300, especially if Davis is not available. 

Kuzma earned his series-high point total of 15 in Game 5, and he has attempted at least 11 field goals in each of the last three contests. 

If he achieves more success with his high shooting volume, Kuzma could end up as the top value play on the slate.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from Basketball Reference. 

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