Brooklyn Nets @ Milwaukee Bucks

                                                          Over/Under: 228.5

                                                             Spread: BKN -2

                                                                    Game 4

I know the scoreboard said that Milwaukee won on Thursday, but I’m not sure how good they feel about things heading into action this afternoon. For the Bucks it really came down to two players, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, and we can find some warts in the performance of the former. Milwaukee still has a lot to sort out, and just about everything that could wrong for the Nets did go wrong. 

Injuries:

*James Harden – Out

*Jeff Green – Questionable

Player Breakdown:

Giannis Antetokounmpo – From a sheer production standpoint it’s very difficult to argue with Antetokounmpo’s 33-point, 14 rebound performance on Thursday. Upon closer inspection the forward was dreadful from long distance (1 for 8) and his performance from the free throw line hasn’t been much better. Regardless of that, and whatever Brooklyn cooks up on defense, we know that the volume will be there and ultimately the production, for Antetokounmpo. At the same time though there are adjustments to be made defensively and it’s very possible that the Bucks woke up a napping giant.  

Kevin Durant – Durant came close to leading Brooklyn to victory on Thursday and I would argue that he is the most important player on the court in this afternoon’s game. From a playmaking standpoint the Nets have missed James Harden perhaps more than originally suspected as Brooklyn fell into more of an isolation mode in a losing effort. The efficiency wasn’t there for Durant (11 of 28 shooting) but things really came together for him in the second half on his way to a 30-point, 11 rebound, five assist, four steal performance as he almost willed the Nets to victory. Getting over 50 fantasy points has been a walk in the park for Durant so far this playoff and there’s no reason for that not to continue today. 

Kyrie Irving – Quite simply everyone involved needs Irving to be more involved as a playmaker. He did score 22 points on Thursday but the problem is the fact that he had just one assist although in his two previous games he did have 14. We know that Irving will score somewhere in the 20’s tonight but his true value will come from how he does as a distributor and facilitator. 

Khris Middleton – Alright that’s what I get from being down on Middleton heading into Game Three. Milwaukee had a two-pronged approach to their offense and Middleton simply had a prolific game scoring 35 points while grabbing 15 rebounds. Of course, the initial reaction is where was this previously but it was actually his third double-double of the series and by far his best offensive performance of the postseason. 

Jrue Holliday – Holliday has struggled with his shot so far this postseason and Thursday was no different as he was four of 14 from the field scoring just nine points and handing out only five assists. I need to see more here from Holliday before investing today. 

Bruce Brown – It wasn’t ideal that Brown ended up with the ball in his hands for the last play of Thursday’s game but it’s hard to find any fault with his overall performance; 16 points and 11 rebounds on eight of 17 shooting. Brown will be heavily involved in what Brooklyn is doing once again but they also need Joe Harris and Mike James to find their strokes. Harris is simply too good to shoot one of 11 from the field but he still was out there for 37 minutes of playing time. That workload will continue for Harris and the shots will still be there so he should be in position to rebound after four straight games of double-digit scoring. For James playing time was an issue (12 minutes) and he only made of his five shots. The Nets do need help in the backcourt, so perhaps James takes on a bigger role once again tonight. 

Blake Griffin – When it comes to the post, Brooklyn continues to be shorthanded so it shouldn’t be a surprise that they are leaning on Griffin quite heavily so far against the Bucks. From a DFS perspective five points, six rebounds, and three blocked shots may not stand out but even if Griffin isn’t scoring at a high level on a nightly basis, he is doing enough to return the value we are looking for. The potential return of Jeff Green could be an issue for Green but I’m thinking it will be more of an impact on Nicolas Claxton. 

Brook Lopez – The center position will continue to be a minefield and while normally Lopez doesn’t move the needle for me, we are forced to pay attention to him here as a solid and dependable option. Thanks to the second game of the slate though, tonight is the one night we don’t have to worry about forcing things with Lopez. The scoring was down on Thursday (just three points on one of seven from the field) after four straight games of double digit scoring but Lopez salvaged the DFS slate with 11 rebounds (repeatable) and six blocked shots (don’t bank on it). 

                                            Phoenix Suns @ Denver Nuggets

                                                        Over/Under: 221.5

                                                           Spread: PHX -3

                                                                   Game 4

Phoenix continues to dominate this postseason and now they are one game away from a sweep. It is a little surprising to see the Nuggets one game away from elimination, but here we are. At this point it is combination of good things from the Suns and some struggles on the Denver side so it will be interesting to see if the Nuggets can live to see another day. 

Injuries:

*P.J. Dozier – Doubtful (groin)

Player Breakdown:

Nikola Jokic – Jokic did everything possible to try and bring Denver a win in Game 3 but it simply wasn’t enough. The center put up a triple-double with 32 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists in a performance that we became accustomed to seeing all season long from Jokic. A “rough” game from Jokic still gives us around 50 fantasy points, and I would imagine he is going to be highly utilized tonight as he does everything possible to get Denver to the next game. For that reason, I’m looking at Jokic as my top play of the day. 

Chris Paul – What shoulder injury? After three straight games of double-digit assists, Paul dropped down to eight although he did score a playoff high 27 points while also pulling down six rebounds. Paul has been a lot more offensively so far against Denver and it is also proof that he is past his shoulder woes. To say that Paul has stepped up would be an understatement. In fact, Paul has outperformed Devin Booker so far this series although the shooting guard hasn’t been a true disappointment either. Booker is still active offensively as he scored 28 points in Game 3 but he’s also turned the ball over 11 times and has finished between 34 and 40 FD points against Denver. 

Deandre Ayton – Ayton does have a double-double in each game so far against Denver but he also hasn’t flashed much in the way of upside beyond the 40-fantasy point mark. However, if you don’t want to pay up for Jokic this is direction you will likely find yourself going in. His season averages of 14.6 points and 10.6 rebounds track pretty close to what we have seen from him thus far.

Michael Porter – A lot of the issues for Denver stem for the lack of a supporting cast for Jokic and Porter is a pretty big culprit here (although Jamaal Murray’s injury didn’t help either). Porter isn’t scoring at the level he did to close out round one as he is averaging just under 14 points per game with six rebounds so far against the Suns. That simply isn’t going to get it done after scoring 26 points in each of Denver’s last two games against Portland. 

Will Barton – Barton can be a capable scorer and the opportunity is certainly there for Denver. In just his second game of the playoffs, Barton scored 14 points in 27 minutes while grabbing seven rebounds and handing out three assists. Even at that level we are getting a positive return on our investment but it wouldn’t surprise me to see Barton take the next step either.

Monte Morris – After scoring just a combined five points in the first two games against Phoenix, Morris bounced back in a big way in Game Three scoring 21 points. It shouldn’t have come as a complete surprise though as the guard scored a combined 50 points in his last two games against Portland. Someone needs to score with Aaron Gordon becoming a non-factor in the last two games. 

Jae Crowder – The forward continues to be a solid contributor for the Suns playing around 30 minutes a game and grabbing a few rebounds. Mikal Bridges does bring a little more offensive upside to the table so he might be the better option, but cost also has to come into play here. 

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