FanDuel daily picks: Fantasy basketball lineup – April 25

High Salary & Value SG

James Harden, HOU vs OKC ($12,500): Harden essentially matched Russell Westbrook fantasy point for fantasy point in the first three games of the series, but Game 4 showed the difference in their situations as Westbrook outscored him 75.8 fantasy points to 31.4…but Harden’s team still won. In Game 5, back in Houston, Harden is a good bet to hit that 55 fantasy point expected value that he was around in the first three games, but it isn’t clear that his expected value is necessarily higher than Chris Paul’s, for example, and Paul is almost $2K cheaper. ***

Victor Oladipo, OKC at HOU ($6000): Oladipo scored 30.8 fantasy points in Game 4, his best effort of the series thus far. He has averaged about 25 fantasy points through four games, which sets his expected value for Game 5, but he would need to outscore that  and at least match his Game 4 production to be worth his price tag. ***

Eric Gordon, HOU vs OKC ($5400): Gordon scored 32.1 fantasy points in Game 4, his best effort of the series thus far and his third straight over 23 fantasy points. Gordon has to compete with several good Rockets guards for playing time and production, and his rise has seemingly coincided with the fall in production of Patrick Beverley. Thus, there is risk that he will maintain his level in Game 5. **

Lou Williams, HOU vs OKC ($4900): Williams scored 32.4 fantasy points in Game 4, his best effort of the series thus far and his third straight game over 27 fantasy points. Williams and Eric Gordon have a lot of parallels, but Williams has been just a bit more productive in every game while still maintaining a lower price point.  ***

Rodney Hood, UTA at LAC ($3900): Hood’s minutes leapt from the low-20s up to 35 in Game 4, and consequently his production jumped from a bit less than 10 fantasy points per game up to 26.3. That added opportunity came in large part because Gordon Hayward was dealing with food poisoning, but it was to Hood’s credit that he was able to step up. The question is whether he will maintain the new role once Hayward returns, but historically he has shown an ability to produce at that level. **

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