NBA DFS Picks and Fantasy Basketball Building Blocks for Today, Saturday | 5/7/22
Saturday, May 7, brings both series back after having been on hiatus since Tuesday, so we should see some spirited action. There is an early start time of 3:30 p.m. ET so do not procrastinate too long before registering for contests on Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel. Below we will examine the player pool and break down the best NBA DFS picks today for DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo lineups. Be sure to head over to the Awesemo NBA DFS & Fantasy Basketball home page for all the top fantasy basketball content for Saturday’s slate of games.
NBA DFS Picks: Fantasy Basketball Building Blocks Today | Saturday, May 7
Yahoo Play of the Day — Draymond Green: Golden State Warriors vs. Memphis Grizzlies
Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 34.02 | DraftKings: 33.6
Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 50.6% | FanDuel 45.9% | DraftKings 32.0%
DFS Salary: Yahoo $23 | FanDuel $6,500 | DraftKings $6,800
Sadly, we do not get points for emotion, though hopefully a fired up Draymond Green will be able to channel his passion into producing stats on both ends of the court. Though he rarely shoots anymore — he has just two games in the postseason with more than six field goal attempts — he is the heart and soul of the Warriors’ defense. He also sees the ball in his hands on most possessions and he is an active passer, which gives him access to double-digit assists if Klay Thompson, Jordan Poole and, of course, Stephen Curry are dialed in from downtown. It is hard to envision Green with less than 30 fantasy points tonight, and he has 40-fantasy-point upside. That makes him one of the best point-per-dollar options on Yahoo; and the Play of the Day.
Marcus Smart: Boston Celtics at Milwaukee Bucks
Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 29.39 | DraftKings: 29.94
Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 37.6% | FanDuel 38.3% | DraftKings 25.6%
DFS Salary: Yahoo $20 | FanDuel $6,300 | DraftKings $6,200
Marcus Smart missed Tuesday’s game with a bruised quad, which he suffered in the Round 2 opener. That was last Sunday, so he has had almost a week to recover. If he is in the starting lineup, then he should be ready for a full complement of minutes. One other thing to keep in mind — the longer he has the red questionable tag next to his name, the more likely gamers are to avoid him. Even with all of the readily available news, the average gamer is still easily swayed by the injury designations assigned by fantasy sites.
Look to Robert Williams against Milwaukee this afternoon in the NBA player props market. Currently, he has a 7.5 over/under on his rebound prop, and the Awesemo NBA player projections have him for 8.7 rebounds, which gives him a 68% probability of surpassing the over. The extra three days between games should help him continue to regain his conditioning after me missed most of April with a partially torn meniscus.
Things that make you go Hmmmm:
Can Ja Morant be trusted on the road in the postseason? The recipient of the Most Improved Player Award seemed to fade into the background in the first round when he played in Minnesota. In three road games, he averaged 15 field goal attempts per game with a pitiful 29.1% conversion rate. On a positive note, he did average 8.3 free-throw attempts with a 75% success rate. Sadly, he only made one of his 10 attempts from beyond the arc. In three home games, he attempted 18.7 field goal attempts with a 47.2% success rate along with sinking three of 10 3-pointers while averaging 14 trips to the line. Golden State had a solid defense all season, and even without Payton, it should be ready to give Morant all he can handle.
Giannis Antetokounmpo has really missed Khris Middleton in this series. Boston has been giving him a variety of looks and has pressured him at every turn. During the first two games he averaged 26 field goal attempts, but was able to convert on just 38.5%. Things should be looking up for him now that the series is about to resume on his homecourt. There is also room for improvement from the charity stripe, as the two-time NBA MVP is just 11-of-20 (55%), which is terrible when compared to his 71.8% career rate from the line.
Yahoo Discount Dandies
De’Anthony Melton: Memphis Grizzlies at Golden State Warriors ($12): Tonight De’Anthony Melton will likely see an uptick in minutes and opportunities as the Grizzlies look to replace Dillon Brooks, who is serving a one-game suspension. Melton has seen a dramatic change in his role through the first two games of this series, when compared to his four games against Minnesota. In those games, he played a total of 46.7 minutes with nine points, seven rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals. The fourth-year guard did not even leave the bench in Games 6 or 7, which was a surprise. Through two games against Golden State, he has averaged 25.5 minutes and nearly 30 fantasy points. While that type of production is a lofty target, he should easily be able to achieve 20 to 25 fantasy points with another half dozen in attainable upside.
Otto Porter Jr: Golden State Warriors vs. Memphis Grizzlies ($11): Death, taxes and Otto Porter Jr. not exceeding 24 minutes of run. There are some certainties in life that we just have to acknowledge. The main role of Porter in this series has been as a rebounder and he has 17 through the first two games. While he does not look for his shot when he is on the court with Klay, Steph and Poole, he is a capable scorer who could easily splash a couple jumpers or garner a put-back or two. While he does not have much upside, he is a steady producer and something in the 15- to 20-fantasy-point range is just fine on Yahoo at a near-minimum salary.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks for the Saturday, May 7 Fantasy Basketball Slate
George Hill (abdominal strain) has been out for the last month, but he is expected to be available tonight. Jevon Carter would likely be the player to lose minutes if Hill does end up seeing action. Aside from Gary Payton II (elbow) and Dillon Brooks (suspension) being out, there are no other pending variables to monitor. Of course, this is the NBA, so expect the unexpected, but proceed in a typical fashion.
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