Right now is a very exciting time in the NBA because fans finally get to see the new lineups after a tumultuous and surprising trade deadline. One such lineup would be that of the Milwaukee Bucks, who traded away Kris Middleton for Kyle Kuzma. They go up against a Hawks team that almost beat San Antonio in a close game, so they may perform better than expected against the star-studded Bucks squad.
Bucks at Hawks Start Em’
Dyson Daniels (Draft Kings Price 7.2K, FanDuel Price 7.8K)
Very quietly Daniels is having a strong season. He dropped 19 in the loss to San Antonio as well as 23 in the loss to Indiana. It can be tough finding a role on this offense where Trae Young is taking most of the shots, but Daniels is finding out how to do exactly that. He also will be guarded by Andre Jackson in this game, who is marginally better to face up against than Damian Lillard.
Damian Lillard (Draft Kings Price 8.7K, FanDuel Price 9.2K)
Anyone who wants to spend a lot of money on their point guard could always just bet on Dame Time. He has a size advantage on Trae Young, which does help even though Young will guard him closely. Don’t be surprised if Lillard gets in a rhythm and just starts shooting over Young; he can’t hit several threes in a row like that if he gets hot.
Trae Young (Draft Kings Price 9.6K, FanDuel Price 9.5K)
On the other side of the ball, it’s hard to not recommend Trae Young considering what he means to the Atlanta offense. While it won’t be easy going up against Damian Lillard, the best plays for Atlanta still come from Young driving to the hoop, whether he takes it up himself or kicks it out to a shooter like Daniels. Young wasn’t afraid to drive into the paint against Wemby the other night, so it’s doubtful he would be afraid to drive against Giannis or Lopez.
Bucks at Hawks Sit Em’
Kyle Kuzma (Draft Kings Price 6.1K, FanDuel Price 6.4K)
Yes, Kuzma is an exciting new acquisition for the Bucks, but it may be hard for him to find a place in this offense. Since Dame sometimes likes to just pop and shoot, and Giannis can create his own shot just by driving the paint, Kuzma’s best looks would be Giannis kicking it out or Lillard finding him on the wing. If the game gets close, though, Lillard and Giannis will take all the shots and Kuzma might not get enough volume to have a productive DFS night.
Onyeka Okongwu (Draft Kings Price 6.3K, FanDuel Price 7.1K)
Okongwu is a fine player for the Atlanta Hawks. The issue is that he is unfortunately going up against the Milwaukee frontcourt. If Okongwu gets the ball on the low block, he will have Brook Lopez on him, with Giannis waiting to give help, which is not a high-percentage look in basketball terms. The team might be better suited by Okongwu passing the ball as opposed to him trying to force his way to the hole.
Bobby Portis (Draft Kings Price 5.5K, FanDuel Price 6.8K)
Portis faces almost the same problem as Okongwu. As a bit of an undersized center, Portis would have to contend with either Okongwu or Larry Nance Jr. This means he would have to work hard to compete for rebounds and things of that nature. He likely won’t have a great DFS night because of the matchup.
Bucks at Hawks Lock
Giannis Atentokounmpo (Draft Kings Price 11.8K, FanDuel Price 12K)
The only thing that might hold Giannis back in this matchup is if he leaves the court in the fourth quarter in garbage time. If Atlanta keeps this game close, Giannis could really pop off if he’s out there after suffering a knee injury last game. There is no defender on Atlanta that can really match up with him, so Lillard always has a good look at just feeding Giannis in the post. If they do that often enough, Giannis will post some monster numbers.
Bucks at Hawks Fade
Vit Krejci (Draft Kings Price 4.5K, FanDuel Price 4.8K)
Krejci doesn’t come up with numbers that would make a DFS player happy. Shooting 50% from three is a great stat for the team, but his high in the last five games was 13 points. Krejci also plays a decent amount of minutes, he is just in a tough position playing behind Young and Daniels. Therefore, Krejci won’t have a great DFS game even if he is really efficient.
