Daily Fantasy Basketball 2015: Best NBA DFS DraftKings Lineup for April 26
If you don't take James Harden ($10,900) and Dwight Howard ($7,800) in your DraftKings lineup Sunday, you'll be missing out on huge chunks of fantasy points. Even if both men failed to reproduce the monster performances they had in Game 3 on Friday, no one could blame you for picking the Houston Rockets duo to anchor your squad.
On Friday, Harden and Howard combined for 55 points, 31 rebounds and 12 assists. The Rockets have averaged 119.6 points per game through the first three contests in the series with the Dallas Mavericks, and none of them have gone into overtime.
As RealGM notes, Howard and Harden have been among the most efficient players in the postseason:
It's clear the Mavs don't have an answer for the Rockets offense. With Howard content to dominate the interior and clean the glass while Harden bombs away from the outside, the Rockets might have the most outstanding fantasy duo in the postseason. Get these guys in your lineup.
The Los Angeles Clippers lost Game 3 of their series to the San Antonio Spurs by 27 points. Blake Griffin didn't play nearly as well in this game as he had in the first two games of the series, but he still had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. He also added five assists.
The performance was only good for 36 fantasy points, which is decent, but you'd like to have more from a player of Griffin's caliber and salary ($9,900).
In Game 4, the Spurs may win again, but you can believe Griffin is going to have a better game. If you combine what he did against the Spurs in three regular-season games and during this series, he's still averaging 24.2 points, 10.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.2 blocks per contest.
That's been good for 51.6 fantasy points per game.
The chance that Griffin has another subpar performance doesn't seem likely. Here's a look at my complete lineup for Sunday:
| Pos. | Player | Opponent | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| PG | Devin Harris | Houston Rockets | $3,500 |
| SG | James Harden | Dallas Mavericks | $10,600 |
| SF | Otto Porter | Toronto Raptors | $4,600 |
| PF | Blake Griffin | San Antonio Spurs | $9,900 |
| C | Dwight Howard | Dallas Mavericks | $7,800 |
| G | J.R. Smith | Boston Celtics | $5,200 |
| F | Drew Gooden | Toronto Raptors | $3,800 |
| UTIL | Corey Brewer | Dallas Mavericks | $4,100 |
Otto Porter ($4,600) vs. Toronto Raptors
It finally appears Washington Wizards small forward Otto Porter is coming into his own. He has strung together back-to-back 30-plus fantasy-point performances against the Toronto Raptors.
The biggest reasons for Porter's emergence as a fantasy factor is his play on the glass and efficiency from beyond the arc. Over the last two games, Porter has averaged 8.5 rebounds and knocked down four of his six attempts from distance.
He's also played at least 33 minutes in every game in the series. All of that together makes Porter a dependable option for DK players Sunday night.
Drew Gooden ($3,600) vs. Toronto Raptors
The Wizards aren't a deep team. In Game 3, they played just eight players. One of the three reserves who is in head coach Randy Wittman's rotation is veteran Drew Gooden. Averaging just under 20 minutes per game in the series, Gooden is getting the most out of his time on the floor.
He's averaging 22.4 fantasy points per game, but there's a good chance he could deliver a bigger performance Sunday.
Role players are almost always better at home. That might partially explain why Gooden tallied 27.75 fantasy points in Game 3. Gooden has been more effective against the Raptors than Nene, and that should help produce more opportunities. Wittman has trusted him more down the stretch. Game 4 is an elimination contest, and it'll likely be close. Gooden should see a nice amount of playing time. His mid-range jump shot is a great bail-out option for a penetrating John Wall.
For $3,600 in DK salary, Gooden is a smart pick.
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