This article is part of our DraftKings NBA series.
Welcome to my first edition of the DraftKings Cheat Sheet for the 2019 NBA Playoffs.
After a fun regular season, we're right into the mix of things with a bunch of upsets early on. For this Tuesday slate, we get the Toronto-Orlando, San Antonio-Denver and Oklahoma City-Portland matchups.
We're going to focus on all value plays here, as it's (obviously) imperative to get players like Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Damian Lillard and Kawhi Leonard into your lineup. With the right combination of these players, you should be able to get at least two or three of those studs into your lineup to create an optimal build. With that in mind, let's get to some of our plays.
GUARDS
C.J. McCollum, POR vs. OKC ($6,400): McCollum has seen a huge drop in his price because of a recent knee injury but 36 minutes in Game 1 indicates that he's fully ready to go. This is a guy who has been between the $7,000-8,000 range for the majority of his career and we get quite the bargain at this price. In Game 1, McCollum collected 24 points, six rebounds and three assists while taking 24 shots -- that's the role of a player who typically costs at least $1,000 more. Not to mention, Oklahoma City allowed the second-most fantasy points to opposing shooting guards in the regular season.
Derrick White, SAN at DEN ($5,000): White has quietly been a breakout player for the Spurs this season, and he showed NBA fans just why in the Game 1 upset victory. Not only did he have one of the best dunks of the season at a key moment, but White accrued 16 points, three rebounds and five assists en route to 27.3 DK points. That's the White we have become accustomed to, and he's up to 29 DK points per game across his last 42 fixtures.
D.J. Augustin, ORL at TOR ($5,600): Augustin's game-winner in Game 1 capped off a brilliant performance, and Orlando will ride its veteran point guard in this critical Game 2. Not only did Augustin lead the team with 25 points and six assists in that victory, it extended a rather impressive stretch from the guard. The Texas product is averaging 29.4 DK points per game across his last 15 outings. That's brilliant production from a player in this price range, as he should be north of $6,000 with this current form.
Gary Harris, DEN vs. SAN ($4,500): Harris was one of the Nuggets best players in their Game 1 defeat and it appears he's back to being the primary shooting guard for this team. That's really evident in his recent form, scoring at least 21 DK points in four-straight games while averaging 25 fantasy points per game in that span. That's all you can ask for from someone south of $5,000, as his 36 minutes in Game 1 gives him an extremely high floor.
FORWARDS
Paul Millsap, DEN vs. SAN ($5,700): This price really surprises me. While he only scored 18 DK points in Game 1, that should be the floor for a veteran that this young Denver team needs to lean on. His late-season form is what's really enticing, with Millsap averaging 27.4 DK points per game across his last 17 outings. That includes a few games in which his playing time was limited, but his 34 minutes in Game 1 foreshadow a key role going forward.
Al-Farouq Aminu, POR vs. OKC ($4,800): Aminu can drive fantasy owners crazy with his inconsistency, but 35 minutes in Game 1 indicates the Blazers want to ride him heavily as a counter to Paul George in this series. That should guarantee Aminu around 30 minutes of action, which is all we can ask for from a player who averages about 0.9 DK points per minute. That projects to roughly 26-27 DK points -- assuming he sees 30 minutes -- which would generate 6X value at this price tag. Aminu showed some upside without Jusuf Nurkic late in the regular season, scoring at least 32 DK points in five of his final 10 games.
CENTERS
Enes Kanter, POR at OKC ($7,000): If this is the Kanter we get throughout the playoffs, he should probably be priced closer to $9,000. It's always been a case of minutes for the journeyman center, who's traditionally averaged close to 1.4 DK points per minute. That's the rate of many superstar players and if Kanter duplicates the 34 minutes he played in Game 1, he should continue posting monster lines. Closing out the regular season, Kanter averaged 42 DK points per game across his last seven fixtures.
Steven Adams, OKC vs. POR ($6,100): As a secondary-at-best offensive option, Adams doesn't have the highest ceiling, but what makes him an attractive option is his floor. He scored at least 23 DK points in 24 of his final 25 regular season games while averaging 32.2 fantasy points per game in that span. Adams went for 34.2 DK points by way of 17 points, nine rebounds and three steals in Game 1, and he should be able to take advantage of Kanter, who's among the worst defensive big men in the league.
