Daily Fantasy Basketball 2015: Best NBA DFS DraftKings Lineup for April 28
Quality trumps quantity in Tuesday's daily fantasy basketball offering.
With only two postseason matchups on the schedule, the DraftKings catalog is slim at each position. Yet gamers won't have trouble spending their budget with stars from four Western Conference competitors on display.
Each series featured a high-scoring affair on Sunday, so points will come somewhere. Now comes the tricky point of figuring out where.
| PG | J.J. Barea | @ HOU | $6,100 |
| SG | Monta Ellis | @ HOU | $7,800 |
| SF | Trevor Ariza | vs. DAL | $5,500 |
| PF | Blake Griffin | vs. SA | $10,000 |
| C | Dwight Howard | vs. DAL | $8,100 |
| G | Danny Green | @ LAC | $4,100 |
| F | Al-Farouq Aminu | @ HOU | $5,600 |
| UTIL | Charlie Villanueva | @ HOU | $2,700 |
PG J.J. Barea ($6,100) at Houston Rockets
With Rajon Rondo out of the fold, one of the game's smallest players keeps inflating his DraftKings price. Helping the Dallas Mavericks prevent a sweep with 17 points and 13 assists on Sunday, J.J. Barea is now the evening's second-costliest point guard behind Chris Paul.
Through the opening round, he's averaging 13.3 points, 7.0 assists, 4.5 boards and 29.9 DraftKings points. During his season-saving Game 4 showing, Barea started and logged 36 minutes.
"Hey, I hope it works the same way," Barea told ESPNDallas.com's Tim MacMahon. "I hope we win 15 more like that in a row."
The Mavericks' next loss sends them home, so head coach Rick Carlisle is unlikely to tinker with a formula that found him brief success. As he hopes to ride the offensive energizer into an improbable comeback, give Barea an extended look as well.
SG Monta Ellis ($7,800) at Houston Rockets
Another fallout from Rondo's absence, Monta Ellis has attempted more than 20 shots during each of Dallas' past three games. After an inefficient yet fantasy-friendly Game 2, he caught fire for two fruitful finishes.
| 1 | 39 | 16 | 5-16 | 2-4 | 4 | 0 |
| 2 | 38 | 24 | 8-23 | 2-8 | 3 | 5 |
| 3 | 39 | 34 | 15-25 | 3-5 | 9 | 2 |
| 4 | 39 | 31 | 13-21 | 2-6 | 3 | 6 |
Ellis has registered 41.3 DraftKings points per game this series. Meanwhile, James Harden has registered 47.7, but he justifiably costs much more at $10,400. Outside of his 42-point Game 3, the Rockets star, however, has failed to reach value in the other tilts.
While Ellis is a volatile choice who must maintain his scoring barrage to merit his $7,800 price tag, there's also a high ceiling without Rondo and Chandler Parsons. Dallas will sink or swim with its volatile shooting guard. Daily players face the similar high-risk, high-reward endeavor.
SF Trevor Ariza ($5,500) vs. Dallas Mavericks
To make room for Dallas' surging guards, buy low on a slumping Trevor Ariza, who is shooting 11-of-37 with 9.0 points per game during the opening round.
He was the first to acknowledge his shortcomings, addressing his lackluster play to the Houston Chronicle's Jenny Dial Creech:
"I have been a little passive this whole series, just trying to let the game come to me, but my team needs me to be a little more aggressive offensively so that is what I want to focus on. I take a lot of responsibility because I didn’t play particularly well. I played with low energy and that won’t happen again.
"
He's gone cold shooting, but Ariza remains too valuable defensively to sit. The veteran wing man will continue receiving a full stuffing of playing time, giving him ample opportunities to bounce back. If he matches his season average of 27.9 DraftKings points, he'll serve fine as a mid-level small forward.
PF Blake Griffin ($10,000) at San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs finally stymied Blake Griffin in Game 3. It didn't last. On Sunday, Griffin posted 20 points, 19 rebounds and seven assists as the Los Angeles Clippers tied the series at 2-2.
He hounded the glass more than usual, but the Kia salesman/power forward has flirted with triple-doubles all series. Those assists totals are no fluke, with NBA.com/Stats pointing out his eye-opening distribution rate:
Delivering more assists than Paul, Griffin is the Los Angeles superstar to build around. Even with a five-digit price tag, he's the favorite to lead the night in fantasy production.
C Dwight Howard ($8,100) vs. Dallas Mavericks
When choosing a center, DFS players have three credible options: Dwight Howard, DeAndre Jordon or Tyson Chandler. Of that trio, Howard boasts the highest upside and the best playoff output.
Returning to the Superman of old, Howard has recorded 16.3 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game against the Mavericks. Held back by minutes restrictions all year, he has surpassed 30 minutes in each of the past three games after playing 17 minutes in Game 1.
While San Antonio ranks No. 12 in DraftKings points allowed against centers, Dallas rates a more favorable No. 26. The better matchup gives Howard the upper hand over Jordan, who costs $100 less but has performed below season norms with Griffin taking charge.
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