DraftKings daily picks: Fantasy basketball lineup — April 19
The NBA Playoffs continue with three games on the schedule on Wednesday. Get your DFS fantasy basketball team in the game with FanSided’s DraftKings daily picks.
The big question on the night is whether Kevin Durant will be able to play through his calf injury on Wednesday night. If not, the Warriors may find themselves with their hands full against a scrappy Trail Blazers squad with a high-scoring backcourt that can go shot for shot with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Draymond Green is the wild card for the Warriors, and the joker was wild in Game 1 with Green flirting with a triple-double with almost another double-figure category of combined steals and blocks. If the game is close enough that Lillard and McCollum can feel confident, this could be a really high scoring, exciting game tipping at 10:30 p.m. ET.
Working backwards through the night, the Thunder and the Rockets go at 8:00 p.m. ET. The Rockets held Russell Westbrook in check in Game 1, one of the first times this year they were able to do so. Patrick Beverley was great on defense, and was knocking down shots from all over the court on offense. He can match Westbrook’s intensity and make him work hard, but based on Westbrook’s averages against the Rockets this season there is a decent chance that he bounces back on Wednesday.
Finally, the Hawks at the Wizards start off the night at 7:00 p.m. ET. John Wall was clearly the best player on the court in Game 1, and Paul Millsap was surprisingly one of the worst. The Hawks may look to establish Millsap and Dwight Howard in Game 2, as the interior is the weak area for the Wizards. If they’re able to successfully do so, not only might the Hawks manage an upset but it’d also lead to better fortunes for Millsap and Howard.
My favorite plays of the day can be found on the following slides in FanSided’s DraftKings daily picks. Each day in order to offer a variety of price points at each position, you can find two slides for each position–one for high-salary options and one for high-value options. Each pick is ranked on a scale of 1-5 stars to indicate the confidence in the pick. The final slide of this post has more detail on what each level means, but in short, more stars means more confidence in the selection on a points-per-dollar basis.
Important note: every day the goal of this post is not to give you a copy-and-paste lineup. Instead, each selection is given while highlighting the factors you need to consider when building a customized lineup for yourself. If you want to see an example lineup, you can find it on the final slide of the post, but I suggest you adjust your lineup to fit your personal taste.
To keep up with all of FanSided’s DFS NBA coverage head over to the fantasy basketball hub where each day you can find a post like this tailored for DraftKings as well as one specifically designed for usage on FanDuel. In this post, all salary and “fantasy points” references are to DraftKings scoring system and salaries. If you have any additional questions or thoughts or are looking for updates as we approach tipoff, follow @FanSidedFantasy on Twitter or you can follow my account @ProfessorDrz or find me on my home turf of The Hoops Lab.
Let’s take a look at your best options for both studs and value players at each position.