Wednesday, June 2, has a trio of series that are sitting at 3-1, so there should be some spirited games tonight. Let’s look at the four-game main slate 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, Wednesday, June 2nd
Yahoo Play of the Day — Tobias Harris: Philadelphia 76ers vs. Washington Wizards
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 46.78 | DraftKings: 48.29
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 50.2% | FanDuel 41.4% | DraftKings 36.8%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $32 | FanDuel $8,200 | DraftKings $7,800
Joel Embiid (knee) has been ruled out for tonight’s game, which means that Tobias Harris will be asked to fill a good portion of the offensive void left behind. NBA WOWY shows that in this series Harris is averaging 1.4 Yahoo fantasy points per minute in 58 minutes with Embiid off the court. This is up from 1.25 fantasy points per minute during the regular season. Ben Simmons is reluctant to take field-goal attempts from beyond 15 feet, so Harris should take between 25 to 30 field-goal attempts as the 76ers attempt to end this series at home. There was no adjustment to his $32 Yahoo salary, which makes Harris the play of the day.
Kawhi Leonard: Los Angeles Clippers vs. Dallas Mavericks
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 48.97 | DraftKings: 50.51
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 26% | FanDuel 24.4% | DraftKings 23.8%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $44 | FanDuel $10,300 | DraftKings $9,600
There have been a lot of twists and turns in this series. After jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first two games in the Staples Center, the Mavericks dropped both games on their homecourt. This is due in large part to Luka Doncic suffering a shoulder/neck injury, but also because Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are pretty good at basketball.
Through the first four games of this series, Leonard is averaging 39.8 minutes and 18.8 field-goal attempts. This has culminated in 33 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.3 combined blocks/steals. The salary has not yet caught up to his playoff workload, and there is still room for upside. The same can be said about George, who can be paired with Leonard or employed on his own tonight.
Good Value
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Washington Wizards
The trickle-down effect from Embiid’s absence impacts more than just the other stars; the role players will have increased opportunities as well. It will be interesting to see who draws the start between Dwight Howard and Mike Scott. If it ends up being Scott, he jumps up the value rankings, and he should see 22 to 25 minutes of action. Either way, Howard should see 16 to 18 minutes as a starter or off the bench, with the potential to flirt with a double-double in short order against the poor Washington frontcourt.
While Danny Green will likely see his typical minutes, he becomes a strong option for 10 to 14 field-goal attempts, which, along with his peripherals, could have him approaching 30 fantasy points if his shot is falling. Seth Curry and George Hill are dealing with minor injuries, and while both are listed as game-time decisions, they are expected to play. If Curry draws the start, he is arguably the best value play on the board. It is hard to trust the minutes for Shake Milton, Furkan Korkmaz and Tyrese Maxey unless one of them is a surprise start. They are tertiary options, and since they are all competing for the same minutes, it makes sense to limit them to one per roster.
Risky Value
Tim Hardaway Jr.: Dallas Mavericks at Los Angeles Clippers
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 25.3 | DraftKings: 26.93
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 20.6% | FanDuel 21.0% | DraftKings 15.6%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $18 | FanDuel $5200 | DraftKings $5700
With two shooting guards required on FanDuel, Tim Hardaway Jr. is gaining some traction. Looking at the Awesemo Boom/Bust tool, this seems like a mistake. Even though there is a 22.3% probability of him landing in the FanDuel optimal lineup, which is in line with his 21% popularity, there is just a 13.9% likelihood of him exceeding his boom score of 36 FanDuel points. Conversely, there is a nearly 40% chance of him failing to hit his bust threshold of 26 FanDuel points. In the last two games of this series, Hardaway has played 65 minutes and managed just 25.9 FanDuel points. Only once in the four games has he topped 26 FanDuel points, and that was with 37.7 in Game 2 when he was 6-for-8 from downtown, 9-for-14 from the field and had five assists. For perspective, in the three other games he has two total assists.
Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies
- Dwight Howard: PHI vs. WAS – $10
- Ishmael Smith: WAS at PHI – $12
- Raul Neto: WAS at PHI – $10
Final Thoughts on the Wednesday, June 2nd NBA DFS Slate
Tonight may be the last four-game slate of the season, so jump in while there is still a decent-sized player pool. 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.
