The NBA Finals between the Knicks and Spurs continue with Game 3 in New York on Monday. The Knicks lead this series 2-0. DraftKings continues to offer huge contests for DFS players during the NBA Finals, so let’s dive into two of my favorite bargain plays for Monday’s Showdown slate.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $800K Finals Shootaround [$200K to 1st] (SAS at NYK)
PG/SG, Dylan Harper ($8,700 CPT, $5,800 FLEX)
Harper has been one of the most consistent contributors for the Spurs recently. In his last four, the rookie has finished with 32, 25.25, 29.5 and 28 FPTS. Harper got up to 32 minutes in Friday’s Game 2, which is the second-most playing time he has seen this postseason. While the Spurs lost this nail biter by a point, Harper led the team in plus/minus.
Continuing to trust the guard with a big role in Game 3 would be a wise move by San Antonio’s coaching staff, as Harper ranks second only to Victor Wembanyama in net rating for the Spurs during these playoffs.
Harper should continue to see around 30 minutes off the bench and he is underpriced for this type of workload. This postseason, Harper is scoring 1.0 FPTS per minute while handling a 20% usage rate and shooting 53% from the field. The Knicks lead the NBA in defensive rating this postseason and competing in Madison Square Garden obviously isn’t going to be easy, but Harper should still approach 30 FPTS and is one of the top values available for this Showdown slate.
PG, Jose Alvarado ($3,000 CPT, $2,000 FLEX)
Alvarado has been rock solid coming off the bench for the Knicks. After posting 10 FPTS in Game 7 vs. the Cavaliers, the veteran has provided 15.5 and 8.75 FPTS in the first two games of these NBA Finals vs. the Spurs.
Alvarado has logged 10 minutes in each of these last three games and all of these contests were wins for New York. The guard ranks third for the Knicks in plus/minus over this time, so Alvarado should maintain his 10-minute role tonight in Game 3.
During these playoffs, the 28-year-old is generating 1.0 FPTS per minute with a 20% usage rate and he has scored double-digit FPTS in 7-of-15 games. Role players tend to always play better at home and Alvarado reaching double figures tonight in front of the New York faithful is a strong possibility, which would be a great return at his low price tag.
