Fantasy Basketball Picks: Top DraftKings NBA DFS Lineup Strategy for 76ers vs. Celtics Showdown on May 14

Does it get any better than a Game 7 in Boston? One team gets a ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals. The other team goes home. Which star will shine on Sunday afternoon?

Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $600K Game 7 Special [$150K to 1st] (PHI vs BOS)

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Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics

Captain’s Picks

Joel Embiid ($17,100 CP): Philadelphia is the City of Brotherly Love not Motherly Love. Those looking for holiday narratives will be sadly disappointed. Those looking to play superstars in a big game will not be. The best of the best will be in action on Sunday, and this game is as big as they come. In this situation the stars do not come off the floor. In Game 6, Embiid played 41 minutes. That wasn’t the most but it’s only a couple of minutes fewer than the most. His 32.7% usage rate in this round (third behind Kevin Durant and Nikola Jokic) more than makes up for the lost minute or two.

Jayson Tatum ($16,500 CP): His 5-for-21 night nearly sunk the Celtics in Game 6. The old Tatum showed up in one of the biggest games of his life. Early in his career, Tatum was a mercurial shooter. He frequently had off nights and that’s why this team has not won a championship. Those bad games had been few and far in-between until Thursday. The good news is that Boston is still alive and Tatum is bound to bounce back. Tatum was terrible in Game 6, but he didn’t come off the court and he kept shooting. Tatum’s 29.8% usage rate is the highest on the team in this series. He played 43 minutes in Game 6. This is simple math. He leads the team in minutes and usage rate.

UTIL Plays

James Harden ($10,200): If the salary is available, Harden is a jam-him-in play. He might not come off the court in Game 7. His normal assists and rebounds should be secured. It all comes down to his shot. He’s going to shoot, but will they fall. Two games in this series perfectly encapsulate what DFS players are going to get in Game 7. Harden was 4-for-16 from the field and missed all six of his 3-pointers in Game 6 (40.75 DKFP). In Game 4, he was 16-for-23 and made 6-of-9 threes (78 DKFP). Will the shots fall?

Malcolm Brogdon ($6,600): The Celtics slimmed down the rotation in Game 6. There was literally no time for the also rans. Seven players saw action. For all intents and purposes, the second unit did not exist. Only Brogdon and Derrick White entered the game from the bench. White did nothing in his new role, while Brogdon continued to produce in his normal 6-man role. Brogdon logged 30 minutes, scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds for a total of 28.5 DKFP. In five of the six games in this series, he has scored 28 DKFP or more with a high of 38 in Game 2.

De’Anthony Melton ($4,000): Finding value is difficult when the starters are playing nearly the full 48 minutes. The Celtics ran a seven-man rotation in Game 6. Nine players logged minutes for the 76ers but it was basically a seven-man rotation. Melton was one of the seven. There are four bench value players on this slate. They will break the slate. Will Derrick White come to life or will it be Melton? It’s the playoffs. It’s the NBA. Unfortunately, it will all come down to the threes. Melton has been off more than he’s been on, but he was on in Game 3. He nailed four 3-pointers on his way to 37 DKFP.

Fades

Derrick White ($5,000): His price tag is attractive but his role is not. White got benched in Game 6. Robert Williams ($6,000) started and the Celtics focused on defense, It worked. White could have a productive role with the second-unit, but Brogdon and the regular backups — who didn’t even see the court in Game 6 — were already doing a fine job. There just isn’t a role for White right now. White has been known to step up in big moments, but that was as a starter and often when a star was out or off. Even if another Celtics star has another bad night, it does not appear that White will be a part of the rotation that picks up the slack.

THE OUTCOME

Every time it looks like one team has an edge in this series, the other team bounces back. The way things are going, the pendulum should swing back to the 76ers. However, this series is going back to Boston and Tatum can’t have two cold nights in a row.

Final Score: Celtics 108, 76ers 104

Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $600K Game 7 Special [$150K to 1st] (PHI vs BOS)

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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is greenflagradio2) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.