DraftKings Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Tuesday 8/4/20

With six games to choose from on today's NBA slate, let's take a look at how to utilize the DFS possibilities.

Here are some of the top plays on DraftKings. As always, good luck.

Point Guard

Ricky Rubio ($6,700) -- Rubio and the Phoenix Suns are one of the few teams to remain unbeaten through two games of the bubble, and they meet another, the Los Angeles Clippers. In two games versus the Clippers, Rubio has averaged 33.4 fantasy points on 11 points, 9.0 assists, and 5.5 rebounds. In his last game versus the Mavericks, he recorded 20.0 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists for 41.75 fantasy points. In his first game of the bubble, he had 15 points and 9 rebounds versus the Wizards, and both games he's recorded at least 29 minutes.

The Clippers are easing Patrick Beverley ($3,900) back into the lineup playing 16 and 18 minutes, so Rubio can still be effective. At 35.4 fantasy points on the season, Rubio can be an excellent addition to your guard spot or utility tonight for a fair price. numberFire projects Rubio to record 11.6 points, 7.5 assists, and 4.1 rebounds versus the Clippers, but he's surpassed his projections the past two games, so I expect him to do it again here.

Aaron Holiday ($5,100) -- The Indiana Pacers guard was filling in for Malcolm Brogdon ($5,400) before he came back on Monday versus the Wizards. He played 35 minutes versus the 76ers in the Pacers opening bubble game, and he was a spark. He totaled a double-double with 15 points, 10 assists, and added 5 rebounds for 37.75 fantasy points. In Brogdon's first game back, he played 20 minutes in a blowout, and Holiday played 36 minutes.

The Orlando Magic are among the top-10 worst in rebounds allowed per game (6.78) and assists per game (4.81) to shooting guards. If Brogdon is being eased back into playing 30 minutes or more, Holiday still holds value. He scored 17 points and had four combined rebounds and assists versus the Wizards Monday and could do more than that versus the Magic.

Shooting Guard

James Harden ($11,300) -- Harden is the top projected point scorer Tuesday at 34.2 points versus the Trail Blazers. Despite averaging a phenomenal 59.6 fantasy points per game, he only averages 43.1 fantasy points and 22.3 real points per game. He's gotten to the free-throw line a combined 34 times in two games and attempted 21 three-pointers, too. He's had at least 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists in the two bubble games and now faces the Blazers mediocre to poor defense.

The Blazers are 12th in fantasy points per game allowed to shooting guards (41.01), and without Trevor Ariza, they lack a perimeter lockdown defender. If the Blazers and Rockets get into a shootout, Harden could shine. He followed up his 49-point effort versus the Mavs with 24 against the Bucks, so he's surely going to score more versus the Blazers tonight.

Seth Curry ($4,700) -- Curry found his stroke in his the Mavs last game as he hit three triples on six attempts. In addition to that, he had 16 total points on the night, but only 4 combined rebounds and assists. He's a sneaky DFS play that comes with a risk, but he's played Sacramento three times this season, so he knows what's likely to face. The Mavs suffered an embarrassing loss that Curry played 35 minutes in. When he plays 30-39 minutes this season, he averages 20.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.1 assists over 12 games.

The Kings allow the most steals per game to shooting guards (1.96) and the fifth-most assists (5.02). Curry's value is dependent on the score of the game, but with the Mavs able to pull away from the Kings at any time, Curry's value is higher despite his cheap $4,700 price tag. He could go for 20 points, and if you can get 7 or more combined rebounds, assists, and steals, you're getting a great night from him for a low price.

Small Forward

Gordon Hayward ($6,900) -- Hayward has been so instrumental to the Boston Celtics success through the first two games. At $6,700, his value is still underestimated, but he's had at least 37 fantasy points in both games. He's averaged 19.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists through two games and played 34 minutes in both contests. He found his rhythm from beyond the arc in his last game going 4-for-5 from deep and 6-for-10 overall from the field.

Hayward has only met the Miami Heat one time this season, but in the meeting, he went for 43.3 fantasy points on 29 points, nine rebounds, and one assist. numberFire's model projects Hayward to total 17.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists versus the Heat. Hayward has now scored 22 or more points in four of his last five regular-season games, and he's had 8 or more boards in three as well.

Bogdan Bogdanovic ($5,200) -- Bogdanovic has played at least 31 minutes in his first two games of the restart, and his DFS value has climbed steadily from $4,800 to $5,200. His opponent, the Mavericks, are allowing the third-most fantasy points per game to small forwards (43.04) and ranks 13th to shooting guards (40.23). In his two meetings versus the Mavs, he's only averaged 16 fantasy points per game, but the atmosphere has seen a ton more fouls and scoring across the league. If the Mavs and Kings are in a shootout, Bogdanovic could get going after scoring 12 and 24 in the first two games back.

Power Forward

Aaron Gordon ($7,400) -- Gordon opened up the bubble restart with an 11-point and 10-rebound double-double for the Magic and followed that up with 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Good news for him, his opponent the Pacers, are down their best big man (Domantas Sabonis) and will be playing their first back-to-back in months after Monday's game, Gordon and the Magic have had a day off and could take advantage of the Pacers' fatigue.

Gordon has averaged 14.6 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in games played between 30-39 minutes. Versus the Pacers on the season, he owned a mediocre 22.5 fantasy points on 13 rebounds and 5 combined rebounds and assists. numberFire's model predicts Gordon to record 14.8 points and 7.6 rebounds in 33 minutes versus the Pacers.

Giannis Antetokounmpo ($10,900) -- Giannis is well-known as the most dominant DFS player, and if you're not choosing Harden, then Giannis should be your first selection. He's had consecutive 70-point fantasy point efforts or better, and he's averaging 36 points, 16.5 rebounds, and 7.5 assists through two games. In his only game versus the Brooklyn Nets, he went for 50 fantasy points and only played 25 minutes.

This game could be similar as the Bucks have the one-seed all but locked up and the Nets most likely will settle for the matchup with Milwaukee in the first round, If Giannis rests in this game for any reason, take Khris Middleton ($7,900) or George Hill ($4,400) to fill your DFS spots.

Center

Jusuf Nurkic ($8,500) -- Nurkic has the opportunity to go nuts versus the Houston Rockets small-ball lineup tonight. The Rockets have already surrendered 30 total rebounds to Giannis and Middleton, plus 29 to Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis. Nurkic is next up for a colossal rebounding game versus the Rockets, and in his last two games, he's recorded nine each. He's also put together two 50-point fantasy efforts in his first action in months because of injury, not even COVID.

His price tag has jumped from $5,700 to $7,700 to $8,500 over three games, and after this contest, it'll only go up. He's also totaled five assists in each game, and seven blocks total in both. Houston allows the 10th-most fantasy points per game to centers (54.25) and the sixth-most points per game (22.63). Nurkic is going to eat against P.J. Tucker ($4,400).

Kristaps Porzingis ($9,000) -- Porzingis has been on fire in the first two games of the bubble posting 52.5 and 70.0 fantasy point efforts. He's averaged 34.5 points and 12 rebounds over those two games and versus the Kings, he's averaging a double-double of 20 points and 10.5 rebounds. He's the highest-priced center on the slate, but entirely worth it with the way he's been playing.

Sacramento will counter with Richaun Holmes ($5,200) and the Kings 14th-ranked defense versus centers. They allow 51.81 fantasy points per game to big men, and without Marvin Bagley III, it's only going to get worse. Porzingis is a mismatch for any team, but with a projected 22.7 points and 10.2 rebounds tonight, he's too valuable to pass on.

Vaughn Dalzell is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Vaughn also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his account, username vdalzell. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.