Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo are two of the hottest players on the planet right now and they square off in an NBA DFS Showdown on Monday night as the Milwaukee Bucks visit the Portland Trail Blazers. Beyond these two obvious plays, both teams roster a number of viable options in the mid-range for our NBA DFS picks. Plus, the NBA injury report has also opened up some value options on both sites as you build those daily fantasy basketball lineups. Here are the NBA DFS top plays we can invest in for our lineups on FanDuel and DraftKings for tonight's Bucks vs Trail Blazers matchup!

 

NBA Injury Report

Milwaukee Bucks Injuries

Portland Trail Blazers Injuries

 

NBA DFS Showdown Picks

MVP/CAPTAIN

Giannis Antetokounmpo, PF, Milwaukee Bucks

Many players hope to have a 73-point fantasy day at some point throughout the season. Giannis is AVERAGING that number over the last 10 days and he is now up to 59 fantasy points per game for the entire year. Even with Khris Middleton back in the rotation, Giannis is routinely putting up 35+ points and he has a streak of eight games with at least 12 rebounds going. Over their last 15 games, the Blazers allow the seventh-most fantasy points to power forwards, so this is basically the dream matchup tonight. He should own the majority of your shares in your MVP slot tonight. 

Damian Lillard, PG, Portland Trail Blazers

Lillard may not be quite as hot as Giannis these days, but he has scored less than 42 fantasy points just once since over the last month and is at 53 fantasy points per game in his last 10. This game is actually a major pace bump for the Blazers tonight (they rank 24th) as Milwaukee checks in tonight ranked 11th in pace. At a 242 implied total, this game has the highest projected score of the entire slate and Lillard has 60-point upside at a salary of about $3,000 less than Giannis on both sites in the MVP position. 

Jrue Holiday, PG, Milwaukee Bucks

Two straight games under 30 fantasy points don’t dissuade me one bit from using Holiday tonight against a Blazers team ranked 27th in defensive rating this season. In one of his past two games, he shot under 30% from the floor and in the other, he only took nine shots and dished out two assists in 34 minutes. Both were around his season-lows for a full game this season for Holiday. In addition to ranking 27th in defense, the Blazers allow the eighth-most assists to opponents as well as the seventh-highest field goal percentage. 

UTILITY 

Anfernee Simons, PG/SG, Portland Trail Blazers

Thanks in part to a huge load of minutes he is playing, Simons has discovered a way to remain a strong fantasy and DFS asset even with Damian Lillard back and playing upper-30s minutes every night. Simons has played more than 37 minutes in four of his last six games and averages around 37 fantasy points per game in that span. Grayson Allen is a tough individual matchup tonight, but it didn’t stop Simons from putting up 44.5 fantasy points on 52% shooting the last time these two teams played. 

Jerami Grant, PF, Portland Trail Blazers

Grant has been Mr. Consistency the last two weeks for the Blazers. He scored between 25 and 33 fantasy points in all of his last six games except one (and he scored 46.5 in that one). The salary on DK jumped up $600 since his last slate, so that is a bit concerning, but if you are looking for a strong floor of fantasy points, Grant can offer that against has somehow been bottom-six against power forwards in their last seven games. 

Brook Lopez, C, Milwaukee Bucks

Brook Lopez is in a great spot tonight with no Jusuf Nurkic for the Blazers in this one. Portland already allows the second-most fantasy points to centers over the last 30 games including 28 points, 15 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game against the position. The Blazers are just 21st in opponents’ field goal percentage and allow almost 4.5 blocks per game, and both of those things are key to Lopez having a big game. Serge Ibaka and Bobby Portis are both still out for this game, so the minutes should be secure if he stays out of foul trouble.  

DART THROWS

Drew Eubanks, C, Portland Trail Blazers

When Nurkic is not on the floor for the Blazers, Drew Eubanks traditionally gets the start, he leads the team in minutes when Nurkic is gone, and he averages 0.81 fantasy points per minute. In the last five games with Nurkic hurt, Eubanks averages 22 minutes and 20 fantasy points per game but has been known to go for 30+ on occasion when he gets more than 24 minutes on the floor. If Brook Lopez plays 25+ minutes tonight, look for Eubanks to match that, which makes him a decent value on both sites. 

Grayson Allen, SG, Milwaukee Bucks

Allen is more expensive than our traditional dart throw ($5,600 on DK, $4,800 on FD), but it’s his production from game to game that makes him an unpredictable play. When the situation is right, Allen can hit 30+ fantasy points as he did against Miami on Saturday. But other nights he plays 25 minutes and scores seven fantasy points like last Thursday. I’m optimistic about him tonight because he scored 31 fantasy points the last time these teams played, and the Blazers are bottom-10 in three-point percentage allowed, which is a huge part of Allen’s game. 

 


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