Going into the NBA Finals Game Five in Milwaukee, the Suns undoubtedly are starting to sweat a bit. But you don’t have to sweat your DFS picks for the big game – we got all that for you right here.
NBA DFS Picks (MIL/PHO Showdown) July 17th
Captain – Jrue Holiday ($14,400) – MIL
Holiday is the perfect safe captain’s play for the NBA Finals Game Five. Sure, he’s on a team where he is regularly going to be outscored by Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton (at the very least). Sure, he also went 0-5 from three-point in Game Four. Still, he fills out the stat sheet so nicely, that he’s still giving you good production for your money. He hasn’t had a finals game yet with less than five boards and seven dimes. Plus, it seems like there’s still a chance that he outperforms what we’ve seen so far. In the last two games against the Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals, Holiday went for 56.0 and 62.8 fantasy points respectively.
UTIL – Giannis Antetokounmpo ($12,600) – MIL
With the performances in the first four games, there’s no reason not to roster Giannis in the NBA Finals Game Five. Some people are going to like him in that captain’s spot, eyeing the chance to get 1.5 times a 70-spot. However, justifiably so, he’s going to cripple your whole lineup with a cost like $18,900. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be looking to add him at his actual price though. Then you can still have a reasonably good captain and another big scorer or two.
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UTIL – Devin Booker ($10,200) – PHO
With the exception of Game Three, Devin Booker has been a pretty reliable source of fantasy points. He has put up mid-40s with the exception of that game and it is largely behind the scoring totals for him. In Game Four, he attempted to put the Suns on his back with 28 shots and 42 points. Sure, it dropped his assists and rebound totals down a bit, but that’s not why you draft Booker in the first place, is it? With the possibility of walking out of NBA Finals Game Five trailing the Bucks (after leading 2-0), you have to expect even more extreme behavior out of Booker. I’m saying another 35+ point effort is the floor for Booker in this one – making him an easy play here.
UTIL – Pat Connaughton ($4,800) – MIL
The price of Connaughton from game to game hasn’t really changed all that much. There’s been a little dip and a pick right back up, but the value has stayed right there on him. As I mentioned in the Game 4 breakdown, Connaughton has now gone five straight games with two+ three-pointers. In those five games, he’s only turned the ball over a combined three times. He’s also been coming on hard with the rebounds as of late and was only one board away from a double-double on Wednesday. If you’re looking for a lower-priced option to fill out a lineup, rostering Connaughton is a must.
UTIL – Cameron Payne ($4,400) – PHO
For a low price option, Payne usually is getting at least 15+ mins of burn. Sometimes that results in enough points to make him valuable, and sometimes (like in Game Three) it’s an absolute dud. The difference is usually whether or not he can pick up the assists to up that fantasy point total. In the Western Conference Finals, he nabbed nine assists in back-to-back games and put up 32.3 and 52.8 respectfully. I don’t expect him to get quite that many, but with Booker likely shooting until his arms fall off, there may be enough assists to go around for Phoenix.
UTIL – P.J. Tucker ($3,600) – MIL
Tucker has hovered in the 15-20 fantasy point range for the vast majority of the Conference Finals and NBA Finals. Those totals rest on his stable scoring and rebounding that always puts him up there. In Game Four, despite the big night from the Bucks, Tucker was shut out in the scoring. It was the first time that had happened since the Brooklyn Nets series. As a result, we’re getting him at a pretty cheap number and we can assume those points will probably bounce right back to where they are usually at for NBA Finals Game Five.
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