Fantasy Basketball 2021: Daily Fantasy Lineup Tips for Thursday's NBA Playoffs
It is going to be difficult for Kevin Durant to top his 45-point performance from the Brooklyn Nets' Game 5 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Durant and the Nets head to Fiserv Forum on Thursday for Game 6 in what will once again be the lone contest on the NBA playoffs slate.
Durant is expected to have the top roster percentage in FanDuel daily fantasy basketball contests because of his 49 points in 48 minutes.
If Durant plays every minute again, it will be impossible to debate the merits of his position on any roster.
If you put together a DFS roster for Game 5 with Jeff Green in it, you likely came away with some cash.
Green could stay hot from three-point range and be the top value play. There is one member of the Bucks starting lineup who could fill the role as well.
Roster Kevin Durant and Then Build Around Him
Durant should be well worth the $16,000 salary given to him in FanDuel's single-game contest.
With Kyrie Irving out and James Harden working back to full strength, Durant posted one of the best individual performances you will ever see in the postseason.
He may not score just over a point per minute on Thursday, but Durant still has the potential to be the top point earner in Game 6.
Durant is shooting 50.4 percent from the field in the series. He should take the bulk of the shots if Harden is not at 100 percent.
Harden could be an offensive decoy of sorts who plays the role of distributor to perfection if his hamstring is not fully recovered.
If you select Durant as your MVP (2x points), you can go with Giannis Antetokounmpo ($15,000), Harden ($14,000) or Khris Middleton ($13,500) as his top-tier partner.
If you combine Durant and Antetokounmpo, you will likely have to choose two players listed beneath $10,000 to fill out the roster. Joe Harris ($9,000), Bruce Brown ($9,500) and Pat Connaughton ($8,500) are the best options in that scenario.
A Durant-Middleton pairing allows you to surround them with Green, Blake Griffin and Brown. That could be in play if you believe Brooklyn will finish off the series on Thursday night.
There are plenty of other lineup combinations available, but sticking Durant with one of the Milwaukee stars seems like the best way to go about roster selection.
Look to Bruce Brown as Top Value Play
Brooklyn's scoring distribution should balance itself out in Game 6.
In Game 5, Durant, Griffin and Green combined for 93 of the team's 114 points.
If the points are spread out more, Brown should receive more looks out of the starting lineup, which could lead to him being the best value play under $10,000.
Brown's two highest point totals of the series came in Games 3 and 4 in Milwaukee. His 13-point outing in Game 3 occurred with Irving still on the court.
Brown's ability to score while two Brooklyn stars are on the hardwood should give you confidence in a 20-30 FanDuel point night.
Dating back to Game 4 versus the Boston Celtics, Brown has 20 or more FanDuel points in five of seven games.
Look for Brown to get at least eight field-goal attempts with Green's production likely regressing from his 27-point output. If that happens, he should come close to double figures in the scoring column.
Brown is third on Brooklyn's roster in the series in rebounds and assists, so if you get the points out of him, he should be well worth the value play at $9,500 to support the two stars you choose in the five-man setup.
Statistics obtained from Basketball Reference.
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