NBA DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Primer: Tuesday (5/7)

We’re down to just eight teams remaining! That means every slate will be tiny, but we like breaking down just two-game cards. We also love it in the postseason because these rotations are more predictable than ever. We’re kickstarting the Dallas-OKC and Boston-Cleveland series here, so let’s go ahead and get into it!

View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our NBA Prop Bet Cheat Sheet

NBA DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Primer:

Schedule and Odds

• CLE at BOS (BOS -11) O/U: 208
• DAL at OKC (OKC -3.5) O/U: 217

Check out our consensus game odds and the odds from each sportsbook at BettingPros.

Injury Report

• Jarrett Allen (rib) Questionable
• Luka Doncic (knee) Probable
• Kristaps Porzingis (soleus) OUT
• Tim Hardaway Jr.(ankle) Questionable
• Maxi Kleber (shoulder) OUT

Core Plays

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (PG/SG – OKC): $9,100 DraftKings, $10,200 FanDuel
SGA hasn’t been quite as good as he was in the regular season, but he just needed to get his postseason legs underneath him. The MVP candidate averaged 53 DraftKings points per game during the regular season and scored at least 46 DK points in the final three games of the New Orleans series. That should bode well against an 18th-ranked Dallas defense, with SGA scoring 46 and 54 DK points in the two outings he played over 35 minutes against them.

Al Horford (PF/C – BOS): $5,700 DraftKings, $5,800 FanDuel
We usually don’t have such a cheap player in this section, but Big Al is the best per-dollar plays out there. This veteran always steps in when a starter is out, and that should be the case with Porzingis sidelined. He was even better when KP was out, averaging 35 DraftKings points per game when the Latvian was sidelined. That’s a tremendous total from such a cheap player, and he should be locked into 35-40 minutes in these must-win playoff games.

Cash Game Considerations

Luka Doncic (PG – DAL): $12,000 DraftKings, $12,000 FanDuel
Luka is the most expensive player in the pool, but he’s earned it. The MVP candidate led the NBA with 66 DraftKings points per game during the regular season but is averaging over 70 DK points per game since the All-Star break. He’s also established a 50-point floor in that span and should get all the work he can handle in this Conference-Semis series. In two matchups with the Thunder this season, Doncic dropped 56 and 93 fantasy points!

Evan Mobley (PF/C – CLE): $7,600 DraftKings, $8,100 FanDuel
Mobley would be a good option no matter what, but he’s impossible to fade with Jarrett Allen sitting again. He averaged nearly 40 DK points per game when Allen was out during the regular season and scored at least 37 DK points in three of the final four games of the Orlando series. A matchup with the Celtics is challenging, but Mobley should have more success since Porzingis is out.

GPP Targets

Josh Giddey (PG/SG – OKC): $5,600 DraftKings, $5,700 FanDuel
This Aussie has been a volatile player, but we can’t overlook his upside. The OKC guard has scored at least 42 DraftKings points in nine of his last 16 outings, posting a 35-point average in that span. He’s also had some duds in that stretch, but that 42-point ceiling is tough to overlook at such a low price. The matchup with the Mavs is excellent, too, with Giddey scoring 27 and 33 DK points in their last two meetings.

Daniel Gafford (C – DAL): $4,500 DraftKings, $4,500 FanDuel
Gafford didn’t do much in the first-round series against LA because Maxi Kleber was playing 25 minutes a night. Now that the German is out, DG should be back to playing 25 minutes. In the 48 games that Gafford has played at least 24 minutes, he averaged 36 DK points per game during the regular season. That was on full display when Gafford had 42 fantasy points across 26 minutes in his last matchup with OKC.

Value Plays

Derrick White (PG/SG – BOS): $6,700 DraftKings, $7,200 FanDuel
White was Boston’s best player in the opening round, and it’s hard to believe he remains this cheap. The defensive stud averaged 36 DK points per game across 34 minutes a night in that series, dropping 38 and 57 fantasy points in the final two games. Those were both without Porzingis, and White clearly sees a usage bump with the big man sidelined. We also don’t mind that White had a 33-point average in three regular-season matchups with the Cavs.

PJ Washington (PF/C – DAL): $5,800 DraftKings, $6,000 FanDuel
Washington won’t have many massive games with Kyrie and Luka doing so much, but his role is difficult to overlook. The versatile big man played at least 34 minutes in five of the six games in the LA series. That total could rise closer to 40 minutes because Kleber was the only one taking away his playing time. That means PJ could play 40-45 minutes a night, and we’ll use him no matter what with that type of role. It’s not like Washington was a disaster in that series, scoring at least 26 DK points in all but one of those games.

Advantageous Pricing

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (PG/SG – OKC): $9,100 DraftKings, $10,200 FanDuel
• Donovan Mitchell (PG/SG – CLE): $8,600 DraftKings, $9,400 FanDuel
• Chet Holmgren (C – OKC): $6,800 DraftKings, $8,000 FanDuel
• Jalen Williams (SG/SF – OKC): $7,200 DraftKings, $7,900 FanDuel

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RadioPublic | Breaker | Castbox | Pocket Casts