The Eastern Conference Finals continue Friday night, with the Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks going head-to-head again in Milwaukee. As usual, DraftKings is offering up a huge Showdown contest for this NBA game, and below I give you some of my favorite options to attack for the format.
Captain’s Pick
Giannis Antetokounmpo ($18,600 CP)
The Bucks dropped Game 1 on their home floor, but Antetokounmpo still posted a massive stat line worth 70.5 DKFP. The two-time MVP was one assist shy of a triple-double, and he surpassed the 40-minute mark for the fourth straight contest. Obviously, with his club now facing a deficit in this series, Antetokounmpo is guaranteed to log north of 40 minutes in Game 2 at home Friday night.
The superstar has destroyed his opponents for 61.4 DKFP per game when he has cracked 40 minutes this postseason, and Antetokounmpo is the unrivaled top option at captain.
Clint Capela ($11,700 CP)
Taking the discount with Capela in your captain slot opens up a ton of possibilities for your lineup, and as we saw Wednesday night, facing the Bucks is a great situation for him. After struggling against Joel Embiid in the last round, which is by far the worst possible matchup for a center, Capela posted a 44.25 DKFP double-double across 38 minutes in Game 1. This set a new playoff-high for the 27-year-old and brings his season average vs. the Bucks up to 38.1 DKFP per game.
Capela should reach the double-double bonus again tonight and another 40 DKFP outing isn’t out of the question.
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UTIL Plays
Trae Young ($11,800)
Young continues to shine in the first playoffs of his career, and Wednesday night was the icing on the cake. Heading into Milwaukee as eight-point underdogs to kick off the Eastern Conference Finals, not many people were giving the Hawks a chance, but Young had different plans, lighting up the Bucks’ elite defense for a playoff-high 75.75 DKFP and stealing the Game 1 win.
Milwaukee simply had no answer for Young in the pick and roll, and the Hawks recognized this, feeding him an absurd 46.8% usage rate. This is the highest usage the point guard has obtained all season, and while the Bucks will certainly have a new defensive game plan in Game 2, Young should still get the job done and score nothing less than 50 DKFP. With at least 40 minutes in his past five, Young has generated 59.8 DKFP per game.
Jrue Holiday ($9,400)
Holiday is a near must-play at this price. He torched the Hawks for 61.5 DKFP in Game 1, and his price hasn’t moved at all since the stellar outing. Following Wednesday night, Holiday has now provided at least 40 DKFP in his last three dates with the Hawks.
Also, the strong two-way guard has been more involved in the Bucks’ offense, posting a 24.8% usage rate in his past five. This is a large upgrade from the 14.6% usage rate he was garnering in the previous five playoff tilts, and while Holiday will be chalky, he is the best value on the slate at this sub $10,000 salary.
Onyeka Okongwu ($1,000)
To jam all of these stars in a lineup together, we have to find some salary relief options from the bottom of this player pool. Finishing with only 3.25 DKFP, Okongwu let down 27.7% of the field in DraftKings’ $600K Shootaround tournament Wednesday night, and his ownership should get back to the single digit range after this poor score.
In the previous eight games before Game 1, Okongwu had eclipsed 10 DKFP in half of those contests, which would be a plentiful return at his bare minimum price tag.
Fades
Bogdan Bogdanovic ($7,000)
With soreness to his right knee clearly bothering Bogdanovic, the former King is an easy fade tonight. Wednesday was the fourth contest in a row that Bogdanovic has failed to reach 20 DKFP. During this stretch, he has logged less than 30 minutes in each game and is shooting a miserable 26%.
Additionally, this is a brutal matchup, with the Bucks allowing the least DKFP to opposing shooting guards this season. Inexplicably, Bogdanovic’s price increased $600 since his 15.75-DKFP showing in Game 1, and he simply can’t be considered at this cost.
The Outcome
The Hawks stole Game 1 and I absolutely believe they have a chance to advance to the NBA Finals, but the Bucks should put their best effort forward tonight and even this series. Prior to Wednesday night, they were riding a 13-game winning streak at home, defeating their opponents by an average of 11.4 points in the Fiserv Forum.
The Hawks should stick around and make this contest competitive, but in the end, the Bucks should pull away and take Game 2 on their home floor.
Final Score: Bucks 118, Hawks 112
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