NBA DFS picks August 31: Can Giannis hit value while beating the Heat?

NBA DFS guard plays

As expected, Westbrook was a little rusty after missing more than two weeks with a quad injury. James Harden didn’t miss a beat on the scoring front, but his lack of peripheral numbers destroyed his value. There’s no way I’m paying for either Houston guard.

All three Thunder guards were total duds in the blowout loss. Dennis Schroder was the only solid one, and he was tossed early in the second half. Guard will be dominated by this game, but maybe in prices only.

Jimmy Butler‘s shoulder doesn’t concern me. The Heat are going to have to lean on Butler if they are going to make this a series. Butler and Dragic are the safest Heat players. This is especially true if Bledsoe sits.

This is where the health of Eric Bledsoe comes in. If Bledsoe is out, I’m all in on Goran Dragic. I rode him in the Indiana series and I will in this one as well until I have a reason not to. Dragic is the engine that makes the Heat go.

The price on Eric Gordon is hard to pay on DraftKings with Russ back in the fold. He’s still worth considering on FanDuel due to his listing at SF and much more reasonable price. The good news is that Gordon’s production didn’t really suffer with the return of Westbrook since he is almost exclusively a scorer anyway. Gordon is at the very least a reliable, albeit expensive, option.

Tyler Herro had a great series off the bench against the Pacers. The same could be true against the Bucks, especially if George Hill is forced to join the starting five. I like George Hill anyway, but if he starts, he is a must-play for that price on both sites.

Austin Rivers is far too streaky to rely on, which makes him a perfect punt in GPP formats. Just don’t stake your entire night on him. The Milwaukee value of Donte DiVincenzo will be much safer if Bledsoe is out or limited.