Daily Fantasy Basketball 2015: Best NBA DFS DraftKings Lineup for April 5
Easter Sunday's schedule is packed with goodies for NBA fans and DraftKings contestants. With four marquee matchups on tap and the Battle of L.A., it might be difficult picking a lineup.
Perhaps the biggest question of the day is who you take between the Oklahoma City Thunder's Russell Westbrook, Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James, Houston Rockets' James Harden, Los Angeles Clippers' Chris Paul, the Sacramento Kings' DeMarcus Cousins or the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry.
Because all six of them carry hefty salaries, it would be really tough to draft two from the group and still have room to post a strong lineup.
Cousins, Harden and Westbrook have been the most consistent all season. Paul has a favorable matchup against the lowly Los Angeles Lakers, and Curry should see some decent looks against the San Antonio Spurs. However, for my DK cash, I'll have to take King James from this group.
James and the Cavs host the division-rival Chicago Bulls. LeBron has feasted when he's played Tom Thibodeau's teams. You might be thinking "LeBron kills everybody." You'd be right to a degree. However, James has notable success against Chicago, despite the fact that Jimmy Butler—one of the better defenders in the league—usually checks him when the teams play.
James is averaging 31 points per game against the Bulls this season. That's his highest scoring average against any team he's played three times or more this season. In James' career, he averages 28.6 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game against Chicago.
This is also a major showcase game against the team closest to the Cavs in the Eastern Conference standings. It seems James really enjoys sticking it to the Bulls whenever he can, and a win would all but secure the second spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
I'll take James to anchor my team on Sunday because I believe he's going to have a huge game, and because he'll be more affordable than Westbrook and Harden.
Check out my full optimal lineup for Sunday.
| PG | Ish Smith | New York | $6,100 |
| SG | Ben McLemore | Utah | $4,000 |
| SF | LeBron James | Chicago | $10,000 |
| PF | Andrea Bargnani | Philadelphia | $5,700 |
| C | Roy Hibbert | Miami | $4,800 |
| G | Tony Parker | Golden State | $5,400 |
| F | Blake Griffin | L.A. Lakers | $8,600 |
| UTIL | Ray McCallum | Utah | $4,600 |
Blake Griffin, $8,600 at Los Angeles Lakers
Let's consider the Clippers' Blake Griffin second in command for today's lineup. At $8,600, he's right on the outside of that top-tier DK salary scale. However, he's been playing very well over the last week. He followed up a 70.5-fantasy-point explosion on Tuesday with a solid 47.5 fantasy points on April Fools' Day.
On Sunday, Griffin tallied just 12 points, four rebounds and seven assists on Saturday due to foul trouble and an uncharacteristic 0-of-5 night at the free-throw line.
Yes, Sunday's game is the second half of a back-to-back situation, but the Clips are playing the Lakers.
Byron Scott's team is soft in the middle. This season, the Lakers allow 44.9 points per game in the paint to their opponents. That's 27th in the NBA. It might also explain why Griffin is averaging a mammoth 54.3 FPPG in two contests against the Lakers this season.
LeBron is my high-priced pick, but Griffin has to be considered the must-have player on Sunday's schedule.
Ish Smith, $6,100 at New York Knicks
The Philadelphia 76ers have continued to pile up the losses, but Ish Smith has been a bright spot over the last week. On Saturday night, the Sixers took a tough 91-90 loss to the Charlotte Hornets, but Smith had 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists in a losing effort.
It was his third straight 30-plus-fantasy-point performance, and his seventh in his last 10 games. With the Sixers facing the lowly Knicks on Sunday, Smith has an opportunity to perform well again against the league's worst team.
The best thing about Smith's DK value is that he doesn't depend on scoring heavily to be productive. He rebounds pretty well for his size—as evidenced by the nine rebounds on Saturday—and he's a solid distributor. Smith has also played 30-plus minutes in each of his last five games.
The Sixers don't exactly have a wealth of point guard options. As Andy Glockner of The Cauldron points out, that's given Smith the green light to find himself offensively.
At $6,100, there's a good deal of value in drafting him.
Ray McCallum, $4,600 vs. Utah Jazz
Consistency is very important, and that's what the Sacramento Kings' Ray McCallum provides. In his last 10 games, he's averaging 10.6 points and 3.6 assists per game. In that time, he's never scored more than 14 or dished more than six assists. While he's not a candidate to explode for a 20-point, 10-rebound performance, he is the guy who you can just about pencil in for 20-28 fantasy points a night.
That's not a whopping number by any stretch of the imagination, but it's steady.
If you can get that type of production from your budget picks, and your high-cost players produce, you'll win some money in this game. If you're taking two players in your lineup who carry bigger salaries than $8,600, you should be all over McCallum for $4,600.
Andreas Bargnani, $5,700 vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Don't overreact to Bargnani's recent dud performance against the Washington Wizards. He managed just two points against Washington on Thursday.
That was only Bargani's third game in his last 10 with less than 20 fantasy points. He's also facing the 76ers, a team that is almost as bad as his Knicks. Bargnani scored 17 points and pulled down six rebounds against the Sixers in his only game against them this season.
This is a contract season for Bargnani and I like him to bounce back against Philly. He only has a few more games left in the season in which to impress potential suitors for next year.
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