NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks for Saturday, June 26 | Paul George

Saturday, June 26, has the fourth game of the Western Conference Finals, with the home team coming off a strong performance culminating in a victory. Let’s look at the Los Angeles Clippers vs. Phoenix Suns 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, Saturday, June 26

Yahoo Play of the Day — Paul George: Los Angeles Clippers vs. Phoenix Suns

  • Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 53.29 | DraftKings: 57.19
  • Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 99.0% | FanDuel 99.4% | DraftKings 92.0%
  • DFS Salary: Yahoo $42 | FanDuel $15,000 | DraftKings $11,200

Phoenix is favored by 1 point tonight in Los Angeles as the Clippers are looking for the equalizer. Chris Paul looked a little sluggish after returning from the health and safety protocol, and Devin Booker was impacted by the protective mask he wore, regardless of his assurances that he was not. That is just enough to continue to keep Paul George as our top option on Saturday in all formats. Looking at the projected popularity, we will not be alone, but there is a myriad of other ways for us to differentiate our rosters.

Chris Paul: Phoenix Suns at Los Angeles Clippers

  • Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 40.81 | DraftKings: 41.68
    Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 70.5% | FanDuel 68.0% | DraftKings 70.0%
    DFS Salary: Yahoo $33 | FanDuel $14,000 | DraftKings $9,800

Our decision comes down to Booker or Paul. My inclination is that Paul continues to get his sea-legs back with each passing day. Booker is riskier as he is learning to deal with the protective facemask, and as long as he is wearing it, there is the potential that it is hindering his vision or just plain uncomfortable. Plus, all it would take is an errant elbow, shoulder, etc., for him to see stars again, which tips the scales towards the former Clipper.

Good Value

Ivica Zubac: Los Angeles Clippers vs. Phoenix Suns

  • Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 28.26 | DraftKings: 28.73
    Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 65.0% | FanDuel 25.4% | DraftKings 37.4%
    DFS Salary: Yahoo $14 | FanDuel $11,500 | DraftKings $4,200

For a second straight game, Ivica Zubac marked the same rotations as Deandre Ayton for most of the game. Zubac was off the court for only three of Ayton’s minutes while tallying a career playoff-high 44.7 fantasy points without a single foul. In the last two games, Zubac has now played 67 minutes with nearly 62 against Ayton — and only three personal fouls. While it is a risk that Paul tries to expose him in the pick and roll to get him off the court, coach Tyronn Lue seems to have other plans. Of course, a lot of this is predicated on the health of Nicolas Batum and Marcus Morris, who both seem to be dinged up and are clearly not 100%, as evidenced by their minutes dramatically falling off the last three games.

Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies

Los Angeles Clippers

  1. Patrick Beverley, $10: It looks like Beverley will be in the starting lineup going forward after two successful showings. He chips in with a little of everything, and though he will be 33 years old next month, he is a steal on Yahoo if he continues to start.
  2. Luke Kennard, $10: In a second straight game, Kennard topped 18-plus minutes, and this seems to be his new rotation with Batum and Morris dinged up. While he will be entirely dependent on scoring for his fantasy production, he is a viable NBA DFS pick in all formats on Yahoo at the minimum salary.
  3. Terance Mann, $14: If Morris is out with his knee injury, then Mann is a phenomenal play who should again see 30-ish minutes, though he will, of course, defer to George on most possessions. Since his 39-point outburst in the pivotal Game 7 against Utah, the youngster has tallied 12, eight and nine points in the three games this series. If Morris is out, he will be wildly popular, though that makes him an interesting stay away in tournaments for some differentiation against the field.

Phoenix Suns

  1. Cameron Johnson, $10: Just like the prior games of this series, Johnson was prominent in the fourth quarter, and he actually was on the court in the final frame with Mikal Bridges with Jae Crowder fouling out. Tonight he will be popular on Yahoo as the best value option from Phoenix, with Cameron Payne not expected to miss any time with his ankle injury rendering Jevon Carter an afterthought.
  2. Torrey Craig, $10: We should see Craig on the court for 15 or 16 minutes with another four realistically attainable under reasonable circumstances. The downside is that he rarely shoots, so we are reliant on him getting some hustle stats and knocking down the one or two field-goal attempts he does take.
  3. Dario Saric, $10: By now, anyone who doesn’t realize that Saric is only going to get minutes when Ayton is off the court … well, they should be doing something other than postseason NBA DFS. This keeps a cap on his upside since he would need Ayton to pick up some early fouls or perhaps get extra run in mop-up duty.

Final Thoughts on the Saturday, June 26 NBA DFS Slate

Have realistic expectations on the single-game slates, and while the giant tournaments are fun, the smaller-field contests can be lucrative with fewer lineup duplications. 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.

Eric "EMac" MacPherson won the 2007 Fantasy Baseball grand prize (trip for two to the MLB All-Star game) in the Roto format on ESPN. He won again in 2008, this time in the H2H format. As one of the early adopters of daily fantasy sports, EMac has been providing content for baseball and basketball as well as both professional and college football since 2012 for a variety of websites including DraftKings Playbook, FanVice, RotoWorld, Daily Fantasy Bootcamp, and RotoGrinders. He is well into his third decade of fantasy sports and has a wealth of knowledge and experience. Follow him on Twitter @EMacDFS or contact EMac by emailing [email protected].

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