The second round of the NBA playoffs kicks off on Saturday with a DFS showdown slate featuring the Phoenix Suns and the Denver Nuggets. This game is full of options for stars and MVP slots, which makes the rest of our rosters more challenging to navigate. Do we fade Nikola Jokic or Devin Booker in some lineups? Picking the right alignment of stars to roster percentage will be the key to this one-game slate. Here are the NBA DFS top plays we can invest in for our lineups on FanDuel and DraftKings!

 

NBA DFS MVP/CAPTAIN Picks

Nikola Jokic (C), Denver Nuggets

I’m not sure any player dominated another team quite like Jokic did against the Suns this year. In his two games against them, he averaged over 73 fantasy points per game, including 65% from the floor, more than 30 points, and more than 16 rebounds per game. The only real debate with Jokic is how much of him we have in our lineups. He is $1,400 more expensive than any other player on DraftKings but has the ability to go off for 80+ fantasy points on any given night. Most importantly, he played more than 37 minutes in four of the five games against Minnesota in the last round. 

Devin Booker (SG), Phoenix Suns

Unlike Jokic, Booker struggled tremendously against the Nuggets this season, averaging just 23 fantasy points per game despite playing them three times this year. He shot just 38% from the floor, and just 21% from three, leading to just 14.7 points per game. I don’t think that is predictive by any means, especially since this is a completely different Suns team now with someone like Kevin Durant to take the pressure off of Booker. But it just means the Nuggets have deployed a game plan this season that is built around stopping Booker. He only had one game in the first round under 55 fantasy points, so I am not worried about him at all, especially since he will be playing 42 minutes per game. 

Kevin Durant (SF/PF), Phoenix Suns

Durant got a nice four-day break for his old legs, which should serve him well since he also was playing 42+ minutes every game against the Clippers. Durant scored between 44 and 63 fantasy points in every game that series which falls in line with the 46 fantasy points per game he averaged against Denver in two games this year. That was in 36 minutes on the floor each game so an extra six or seven minutes should allow him to approach 50 fantasy points without much trouble. 

NBA DFS UTILITY Picks 

Jamal Murray (PG), Denver Nuggets

Jamal Murray took his game to another level in the Minnesota series, only scoring below 44 fantasy points in one game and contributing with threes, assists, rebounds, and steals. He played at least 38 minutes in all four competitive games of the series and often was the single point of focus on the offense when Jokic would find himself on the bench. Over the last 15 games of the regular season, the Suns allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to point guards, as it was becoming clear that 37-year-old Chris Paul has lost just a step defensively. With Cameron Payne now healthy, Paul may not see as much time on the court as he did in Round 1. 

Michael Porter, Jr. (SF), Denver Nuggets

In the Minnesota series, Porter had a high floor and a high ceiling, never scoring below 26 fantasy points, but also going over 40 twice. He was a three-point assassin at times against the Timberwolves and also averaged over eight rebounds per game. Porter will also be called upon tonight to defend Kevin Durant and will need to match his minutes to try and limit Durant’s effectiveness and try to make him uncomfortable during pick-and-rolls, double teams, and post-ups. In terms of an X-factor for the Nuggets this series against the powerful Suns’ offense, my money is on Porter. 

Chris Paul (PG), Phoenix Suns

Chris Paul was able to take his game to another level against the Nuggets this season, showing that even against a strong defensive guard like Jamal Murray, the crafty veteran can still exert his will whenever he chooses. Averaging 42.7 fantasy points per game against Denver, he outpaced his season averages in points, rebounds, assists, and three-point percentage. He scored exactly 36 fantasy points in three games against the Clippers (and averaged 46 in the other two), so we can consider that his floor in a game where Paul should be out there for 36+ minutes in this one. 

NBA DFS Dart Throws

Torrey Craig (PF), Phoenix Suns

Craig easily has the lowest salary of any of the ten projected starters in this game, but that’s primarily because his minutes and his role are so volatile. He had games in the Clippers series where he played 17 minutes and scored two fantasy points. He also had games where he played 32 minutes and scored 30 fantasy points. At just $4,400 on DraftKings, he helps makes a lot of other pieces fit and we just have to hope the game flow gives him 25+ minutes and he is active on the boards, in the passing lanes, and knocks down a few threes. 

Jeff Green (PF/C), Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets have basically gone to a seven-and-a-half-man rotation for the playoffs, so finding any value or dart throws on their team is going to be tough. But Jeff Green played between 18 and 27 minutes in every game against Minnesota and had two fantasy outputs of more than 15 points in that series. I can see a scenario where Denver wants to deploy someone with a lot of length on Kevin Durant or needs a quicker guy to guard Deandre Ayton when Nikola Jokic is getting his short breathers. 

 

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