NBA

NBA Daily Fantasy (Playoffs) Helper: Thursday 4/25/13

Increased minutes and efficiency with room to grow means Carlos Boozer is one of our stars to know tonight.

Daily Fantasy: it's not just for the regular season, it's for the playoffs too!

We know that people play all sorts of fantasy platforms, not just from from our friends at StarStreet but on other platforms such as DraftStreet, FanDuel, and Draft Kings as well. So once again, we have four optimized rosters, all for you, the numberFire reader. One is for free here; the others can be found in our Premium section.

As always, the full tables for today's action are available at our Daily Fantasy Projections page. Make sure to check it out to see where the best values are for your team.

StarStreet Optimized Roster

PlayerPositionProjected FPCostValue
Chris PaulG38.25$14,3002.67
Carlos BoozerF36.05$14,2002.54
Blake GriffinF35.7$13,5002.64
Marc GasolC34$12,6002.70
Chris BoshF30.13$11,7002.58
Ersan IlyasovaF25.88$10,1002.56
Jamal CrawfordG22.15$8,7002.55
Reggie EvansF21.78$8,0002.72
Caron ButlerF15.85$6,5002.44

Fan Duel, Draft Kings, and DraftStreet Optimized Rosters

For the optimal rosters for the other main players, be sure to check out our brand new Daily Fantasy Optimized Rosters for our Premium members. We know that you're killing it with our picks; maybe now you'll help us continue to help you win each night, every night.

Access to the optimal rosters is immediate, and you'll have it constantly updated for the latest injury news and updates from around the league. The best news of all? For new subscribers, you can use the promo code WELCOME and get it 50% off what was already the reduced price. Think of the savings!

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The Best of the Best

LeBron James - Yawn. Just a .620 effective field goal percentage (.620 eFG%), 24.7 percent defensive rebound rate, and a 34.6 percent assist rate through the first two games of this series. Can you do anything else for me, LeBron? The important thing to note for King James is his minutes: he seems to be blowout proof. Even while Wade and Bosh are averaging about three to five minutes less than average per game because of early blowouts, LeBron has still managed 36.5 minutes per game in the first two Heat contests.

Chris Paul - He's got money in the bank, and don't think the Grizzlies are going to forget it. Paul's actually been more valuable as a passer this series, though. His 39.9 percent assist rate actually drags behind his 46.5 percent season average, and he's still managed a way to grab eight assists per game over the first two contests. Coupled with a Yes This Is Real 154 offensive rating, and I'm riding CP3 for as long as his cost doesn't shoot through the roof.

Carlos Boozer - It seems like Carlos Boozer has been everywhere these playoffs, and yet his 20.5 percent usage rate, 14.1 percent total rebound rate, and 12.5 percent assist rate are actually slightly under his season averages. Sure, he's countered that by shooting better in the playoffs, but the real numbers come from his increase in minutes. If you think his minutes increase from 32.2 MPG during the regular season to 43.5 MPG during the playoffs is more than just a passing fancy - and with Noah hampered, we do - then even a slight regression to the mean in usage and rebound rate could pay huge dividends.

Top Mid-Range Values

Marc Gasol - Two games is an extremely small sample size, but the Daily Fantasy Powers That Be seem to be on board that 6.9 percent total rebound rate Gasol is the real Gasol. I don't buy it. Gasol averaged rebounds on 13.1 percent of total opportunities and 18.9 percent of defensive rebound opportunities this season, numbers that he should regress to shortly. His .385 eFG% - second-worst on the Grizzlies ahead of Tayshaun Prince - is due for an increase to his .494 eFG% season rate as well. Don't trust the small sample size when you have an 80-game sample size with which to compare it.

Ersan Ilyasova - 9 for 14 in Game 2? I'll agree with Ilyasova: his wrist is looking much, much better. Couple that with a 13.2 percent total rebound rate through the first two games (only behind the centers Henson and Sanders), and Ilyasova provides a ton of potential, even against that tough Miami defense. Considering Ilyasova is the only starter averaging over one point per possession so far this series, I only expect his 20.7 percent usage rate to go up, especially as Ellis and Jennings both struggle to reach a .500 eFG%.

Larry Sanders - Or in the Zach Lowe way of putting it, LARRY SANDERS! He may be hobbling around the court looking like he's roughly 60 years old, but he's still managed a 14.7 percent total rebound rate and a .643 effective field goal percentage in two playoff games anyway. By all indications, he'll start tonight. And if I had to have my guess, his block rate will regress to the mean here soon as his injury slowly starts to get better as the series goes on.