NBA first look: DFS breakdown for June 6

We have a pair of games on Sunday, making for the first two-game NBA DFS slate of the weekend after two consecutive single-game slates. With the Hawks and Sixers kicking off their second-round series and the Mavs and Clippers fighting to advance, we should have an entertaining slate on tap.

As always, the game-by-game breakdown will provide a brief overview of each and every game on the slate, highlighting players that stand out. This doesn’t, however, mean that every player will be touched on. If a player is excluded from the breakdown, that simply means that they didn’t stand out as one that necessarily needs to be in your player pool. Again, this is the first look. Things will change given the news throughout the day, but I will do my best to prime you for all of the hypotheticals that we can forecast.

Vegas data at the time of writing listed is the consensus odds from the FTN NBA Odds Tracker. 

(Make sure to check out all of our other awesome NBA tools, including the Odds Tracker, the Prop Shop, and starting lineups page.)

Hawks at Sixers preview

PHI -3, total: 220.5

The big question mark for this game is whether or not Joel Embiid will be able to play. If basing things off of reports we’ve found over the weekend, he sounds closer to doubtful than he does questionable, as Doc Rivers’ comments don’t sound optimistic:

Assuming Embiid sits out in Game 1, we should see both Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris take on expanded roles. Both are extremely viable on the two-game slate, with Simmons being my preference as the defensive matchup with Trae Young heightens his floor with defensive peripherals. This also makes Dwight Howard an interesting value. He wouldn’t be expected to start, though that could change against a bigger Hawks’ frontcourt. He posted 12 points, eight rebounds, and a trio of blocks in 16 minutes last game without Embiid but could see a slight uptick in minutes due to the matchup in Game 1.

This would also open up more shots for Danny Green and Seth Curry while likely opening up a spot start for Matisse Thybulle. Of the three, Curry presents the most upside while the latter pair are fine cash-game options.

The Hawks had a difficult defense to beat in Round 1, so playing against an elite defensive unit is not a foreign concept for them. With that said, I still have less interest in the Hawks than any other team on this slate. Trae Young is a fine play given his astronomical usage rate and shot volume, but his matchup with Ben Simmons is one that could give him fits all series, making him far from a priority.

Instead, I like getting Hawks exposure via Clint Capela and John Collins, especially if Embiid is out. This opens up a massive hole in the frontcourt that both of these players should take advantage of, with Capela being the far superior option of the two. Bogdan Bogdanovic makes sense if we think Young gets shut down (to a degree), as he would be a primary beneficiary, but it wouldn’t surprise me for Bogdanovic to see a lot of Matisse Thybulle, which is scary in itself.

If De'Andre Hunter ends up sitting out, Danilo Gallinari and Kevin Huerter would both get reasonable bumps and become viable value options. If Hunter is in, he’s a viable value at $4,400 but doesn’t have as high of a ceiling as we saw from him early in the regular season at times.

Mavericks at Clippers preview

Clippers -6.5, total: 210

This is the game that’s likely to attract the most attention, simply due to being a Game 7, and I’m totally OK with it.

Luka Doncic is going to be hard to get away from, even with a lack of value on a two-game slate. He’s been simply magical this series against the Clippers, topping 30 points in four of six games and 40 in two while having games where he’s shot upwards of 37 times. If the Mavs want to win this game, Doncic is going to need to have another ceiling game. Even over $11,000, he’s worth every penny seeing that no player on the slate can touch his ceiling.

The rest of the Mavs is where it gets messy. Kristaps Porzingis has been a flat-out disappointment this series, making it hard to pay the price for him with better options not only right above him, but below him as well. I would rather look to Tim Hardaway Jr. for only $300 less, who’s scored at least 20 raw points in three of six games this series while attempting double-digit threes in back-to-back games. Dorian Finney-Smith is another value piece on the Mavs who I would prefer on a per-dollar basis than Porzingis, as is Boban Marjanovic assuming he draws his third consecutive start. If that becomes the case, he slots in as my favorite value option on the entire slate, though that’ll likely be everyone’s line of thought.

While I’m ultra-high on Doncic on this slate, I’m equally as high on Kawhi Leonard for $9,900. He showcased his ceiling with a 45-point outing last game and should be just as aggressive at home in Game 7 looking to advance. Paul George makes sense at $9,000 if you’re fading Leonard, and you can certainly play them together, but with their elevated prices, it’s harder to do so in this game compared to the early games in this series.

Reggie Jackson and Nicolas Batum are the other Clippers who I have an interest in, as both should draw starts here for a reasonable price. Jackson has now scored at least 20 raw points in back-to-back games and has become an offensive catalyst for this team as a starter. As long as he continues to start and log heavy minutes, he’s hard to pass on at $5,400. Batum is simply a minutes play, as it’s hard to find a sub-$5,000 player who’s averaging over 35 minutes per game over the last three games. As long as he still starts, he should be in line for that workload once again.

Marcus Morris should round out the starting lineup and he’s a fine option in tournaments, but his dependence on scoring makes him a bit more volatile than the four other starters.