Tuesday, June 8, will require waiting on questionable plays, and it also features the series opener for the Jazz vs. 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, Tuesday, June 8
Yahoo Play of the Day — Paul George: Los Angeles Clippers at Utah Jazz
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 43.02 | DraftKings: 45.41
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 45.4% | FanDuel 39.2% | DraftKings 37.6%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $38 | FanDuel $9,400 | DraftKings $9,000
Over the last few Clipper games, Kawhi Leonard has been the Yahoo Play of the Day. Now that he has seen his salary increase to a 10 to 20% differential over teammate Paul George, the target needs to change. This is particularly true on Yahoo where the $38 salary for George is easily the most secure point-per-dollar play. In the final six games of the first round, George topped 48 Yahoo fantasy points in four of them, with the other two being 45.4 and 32.3. With the Clippers likely to continue with their short seven- or eight-man rotation, plan on seeing George and Leonard in the 38- to 40-minute range for Round 2.
Tobias Harris: Philadelphia 76ers vs. Atlanta Hawks
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 37.24 | DraftKings: 38.07
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 29.8% | FanDuel 47.6% | DraftKings 30.4%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $35 | FanDuel $8,800 | DraftKings $8,300
The matchup against the Hawks is a good one for Tobias Harris. John Collins is not much of a defender, and even if De’Andre Hunter plays, he is unlikely to be at full strength. There is a good chance that Danny Green will end up on the bench in favor of Matisse Thybulle if Trae Young is cooking early once again. That will likely lead to more field-goal attempts for Harris and Seth Curry since it certainly will not be Ben Simmons and Thybulle taking the outside shots. Harris is a fine option in all DFS formats tonight.
Good Value
Utah Jazz vs. Los Angeles Clippers
Mike Conley is dealing with a hamstring injury that has him currently questionable to play, and, at best, he is going to be a game-time decision. He last played on June 2 when he played just under 12 minutes. If he is out, then there will be more minutes and usage going around, with the field-goal attempts likely landing with Donovan Mitchell and Bojan Bogdanovic. The potential assists will move towards Mitchell and Joe Ingles, who will likely start if Conley does end up sitting. There also is a little built-in advantage in the salaries for Utah, as they have had time to refresh and recharge while the Clippers just wrapped up a grueling seven-game series.
Risky Value
John Collins: Atlanta Hawks at Philadelphia 76ers
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 26.66 | DraftKings: 26.52
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 37.2% | FanDuel 50.4% | DraftKings 33.6%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $22 | FanDuel $6,500 | DraftKings $5,600
The Awesemo Boom/Bust tool shows that the power forward options on FanDuel are limited, and they all carry 60%-plus levels of risk with regards to surpassing their bust thresholds. The options are Collins, Harris, Marcus Morris and Royce O’Neal. If playing cash games such as head-to-heads, double-ups and 50/50s, then going with the first two options provides the best projected floor. However, in tournaments nobody is a sure thing by any stretch of the imagination.
Collins has a 50.9% probability of being in the FanDuel optimal lineup, but keep in mind that is also a factor of math and two are required at this position. Harris also has a 50% chance of being in the optimal lineup, while Morris and O’Neale are each at 40%. With his $6,500 salary, Collins has a boom score of 42.5 FanDuel points. Since late March, he has topped that figure once — in a late regular-season game against the Wizards. Outside of that game, he rarely reached even 30 FanDuel points. Just understand that the salary cap may be better allocated to other positions tonight depending on where the final projected popularity lands.
Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies
- Seth Curry: PHI vs. ATL – $13
- Nicolas Batum: LAC at UTA – $13
- Matisse Thybulle: PHI vs. ATL – $10
Final Thoughts on the Tuesday, June 8 NBA DFS Slate
The injury to James Harden is going to create a fantasy production void that brings several of the Nets ancillary rotation pieces to the forefront player pools tonight. 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.
