Friday, June 18, brings dual Game 6 action with some unexpected injury news for the Clippers. Let’s look at the four-team player pool and discuss the top NBA DFS picks for DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo lineups. Don’t forget to head over to the Awesemo NBA DFS home page for more great written daily fantasy basketball content, including the FREE NBA Deep Dive — the most in-depth article in the industry.
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NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks, Friday, June 18
Yahoo Play of the Day — Paul George: Los Angeles Clippers at Utah Jazz
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 50.55 | DraftKings: 53.76
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 56.4% | FanDuel 44.4% | DraftKings 49.6%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $41 | FanDuel $10,600 | DraftKings $10,100
Though the Yahoo salary algorithm gave a boost to Paul George’s salary, 10% is not going to be nearly enough, and it would not be a surprise to see him on more than two-thirds of all tournament rosters. While he may not score 37 points and collect 16 rebounds again, he will almost assuredly surpass the 50-fantasy-point threshold.
Joel Embiid: Philadelphia 76ers at Atlanta Hawks
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 51.79 | DraftKings: 53.46
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 49.4% | FanDuel 36.8% | DraftKings 40.0%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $49 | FanDuel $11,200 | DraftKings $11,000
The slightly torn meniscus in Joel Embiid’s right knee is going to continue causing problems throughout the playoffs. Clearly it was impacting him in Game 4, and while he still played a hefty 36 minutes, the production was well down from the prior three games. Game 5 he was feeling better along and took some digs from Clint Capela about his conditioning, and he had a tremendous 70-plus fantasy points. Unfortunately for 76ers fans, it was not enough to turn the tide in a 109-106 home loss. Tonight Philadelphia must win in Atlanta or this will be the final game of its season. Unless this game is completely out of hand, Embiid should play 37 or 38 minutes, and 60 to 65 fantasy points is definitely attainable.
Good Value
Los Angeles Clippers vs. Utah Jazz
Now that coach Tyronn Lue has provided a template for filling the void left by Kawhi Leonard, the Clipper have provided some value options. Terance Mann moved into the starting lineup, and he is still near the minimum salary on DraftKings and Yahoo. Marcus Morris and Nicolas Batum both saw over 40 minutes, and they should see similar run tonight. From a point-per-dollar perspective, there is still value to arbitrage at their current salaries. This varies from site to site, but they have the ability to produce 30-plus fantasy points in this shortened rotation.
Reggie Jackson has had one OK game, two awful games and two great games this series. Once again, he should see heavy minutes and at least a 12 field-goal attempts — there is downside risk with his propensity to foul, but he should at least get the opportunity to use all six if necessary with the Clippers on the verge of pulling off the upset.
Off the bench, Luke Kennard and Patrick Beverley are longshot lottery tickets to tally much more than 10 or 12 fantasy points. Ivica Zubac’s horrible defense on the pick-and roll has severely limited his minutes.
Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies
- Terance Mann: LAC vs. UTA – $10
- Furkan Korkmaz: PHI at ATL – $10
- Danilo Gallinari: ATL vs. PHI – $13
Final Thoughts on the Friday, June 18 NBA DFS Slate
The pressure is ramping up with both home teams in a position to end their respective series tonight with a victory. Keep in mind that salaries and scoring formats differ across the various fantasy sites, and a slam-dunk play on Yahoo may be a below-average NBA DFS pick on DraftKings or FanDuel.
