NBA Daily Fantasy Helper: Wednesday 4/22/15
If you’ve never played daily fantasy basketball before, it’s time to start. Unlike traditional leagues, you’re able to select the players you want on that specific day only, giving you a different squad to root for each and every NBA night.
And while there are many platforms to play daily fantasy basketball on, one of our favorites is from our partners over at DraftKings.com. Never played over there before? It’s time for that to change. Sign up now and use our optimal lineups here at numberFire.com to crush the competition. You won’t regret it.
As for today's lineups -- those can be found here. The information below is to help you understand why particular players are being picked, because we don't want you going into the night completely blind. We want to help you. Keep in mind, however, that things often change up until tip-off, so make sure you're refreshing the optimal lineups as close to the start of games as possible.
Note: Players mentioned here may not be part of some of our daily lineups because of particular sites' cost analysis. Always look at our optimized lineups to see what our algorithms say.
The Best of the Best
Chris Paul - CP3 absolutely dominated Tony Parker and the Spurs in Game 1. The Clippers' star point guard scored 32 points on 13-20 shooting with 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals in 38 minutes of action. Parker comes into tonight a bit banged up and is far from an elite defender at this point in his career. Meanwhile, Paul is still in his prime and has been on an absolute tear to close out the season. Look for the Clippers' floor general to put on another outstanding performance in what is expected to be the highest scoring game on the slate tonight.
LaMarcus Aldridge - While Clippers' big man Blake Griffin received most of the fanfare for his impressive Game 1 performance and flashy dunks, Portland's star power forward was equally as impressive, albeit in a Portland loss compared to a Los Angeles victory. Aldridge poured in 32 points to go along with 14 rebounds and 4 blocks in 42 minutes versus Memphis on Sunday and should be in store for a similarly dominant performance tonight. While the Grizzlies are definitely one of the toughest defensive teams in the league, LMA is virtually matchup proof and Zach Randolph simply does not have the defensive range or quickness to slow him down. Although Griffin is definitely a solid option tonight, I believe Aldridge provides more bang for your buck and our algorithm agrees.
Top Mid-Range Values
Marc Gasol - Speaking of dominant big men in Memphis on Sunday, Gasol posted an impressive double-double of his own, scoring 15 points with 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 blocks. Gasol's diverse skill-set often creates mismatches and it proved to be too much for Robin Lopez and the Blazers to handle in Game 1. Look for the Grizzlies' All-Star center to see another massive workload and high usage rate in Game 2 against a Portland squad who allowed the 11th most fantasy points per game to opposing centers over the last three weeks of the season.
Tim Duncan - Although his inconsistent playing time made him tough to trust during the regular season, now that the playoffs are here Duncan is back to Mr. Reliable. The Spurs' veteran posted yet another playoff double-double in a Game 1 loss to the Clippers on Sunday, posting 11 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks and a steal in just 30 minutes in what was not a particularly close game. Tonight's matchup with the Clippers should be much closer and Duncan is likely to see minutes in the mid-30s in a plus matchup with a Los Angeles team who gave up the 11th most fantasy points per game to opposing power forwards down the stretch this season.
Basement Ballers
Kyle Korver - Much like the aforementioned Duncan, Korver was tough to plug into your lineup once Atlanta locked up the number one seed in the Eastern Conference. That said, the Hawks' sharpshooter looked spectacular in his full compliment of minutes in Game 1 against the Nets, pouring in 21 points with 7 boards, 3 dimes, 2 steals and a block. Brooklyn has struggled to defend the perimeter all season long -- they allowed the sixth most fantasy points to opposing shooting guards this season -- which makes Korver a very desirable play at just $5,100 on FanDuel and $5,400 on DraftKings. Do not hesitate to plug him into your lineups in all formats tonight.
Bojan Bogdanovic - Many people will look at Bogdanovic's Game 1 line, see just 5 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists and think there is no way you can play him tonight. However, the Nets' guard played 32-plus minutes for the third consecutive game and, although he had an off night shooting, was still very much involved in Brooklyn's offense. Bojan should see minutes in the 30s once again and, considering he shot 45% from the floor this season, will more than likely shoot better than 25% from the field tonight. Bogdanovic makes a very interesting play at just $4,100 on both FanDuel and DraftKings on a night where there simply aren't many viable value plays on the board.
