Daily Fantasy Basketball 2015: Best NBA DFS DraftKings Lineup for May 3rd
The second round of the NBA playoffs is set. Only eight teams are left vying for a place in NBA lore. Today, we have two top seeds trying to hold court against two No. 5 seeds. If it wasn't for Mike Conley's broken face, four of the league's 10 best point guards would be on display today.
I guess we'll have to settle for three. Best wishes to Conley—may he recover quickly enough to play in this series.
Let's take a closer look at a few suggestions on picks for your NBA DraftKings lineup today.
| Position | Player | Opponent | Price |
| Point Guard | Nick Calathes | @ GS | $3,800 |
| Shooting Guard | Kyle Korver | vs. Was | $6,500 |
| Small Forward | Tony Allen | @ GS | $4,700 |
| Power Forward | Zach Randolph | @ GS | $6,500 |
| Center | Andrew Bogut | vs. Mem | $6,500 |
| Guard | Courtney Lee | @ GS | $4,600 |
| Forward | Paul Millsap | vs. Was | $8,200 |
| Utility | John Wall | @ Atl | $9,000 |
Nick Calathes ($3,800) vs. Warriors
Beno Udrih cooled off after his career performance in Game 1 against the Blazers. Nick Calathes ate away at his minutes and eventually took over as the starter in Conley's absence. Don't get me wrong: Calathes is not Conley. He won't get inside Curry's chewed-up mouthguard like Conley would. Calathes will compete, though.
Calathes is, quite frankly, not good. He's a backup for a reason. Per Statmuse, his assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.2-to-1 ranks well outside the top 25 point guards. According to Basketball-Reference.com, he's a career 44 percent shooter who makes less than 30 percent of his threes.
But Calathes will play 24 minutes minimum against the Warriors' worst perimeter defender. His bigs (Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol) will periodically command double-teams, and he should benefit from a few open looks. The key to success in fantasy basketball is time on the court. Paying less than $4,000 for a starting point guard is too hard to pass up.
Tony Allen ($4,800) vs. Warriors
Defense wins championships, but it rarely wins fantasy championships. However, when Memphis travels to Oakland to play the league's second-most efficient offensive, it'll have to rely on heavy minutes from Tony Allen, its best perimeter defender.
In my opinion, Allen is the most important Grizzly in this series. Kawhi Leonard emerged in mid-February as the de facto answer to the question, "Who's the best one-on-one defender in the league?" Before Leonard, there was Allen.
The Grindfather takes every matchup personally. He went at the reigning MVP in a seven-game war in last season's opening round. Kevin Durant got his numbers, but he shot a horrible percentage. Allen will likely defend Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson in this series.
Thompson lit the Grizzlies up this year. According to Statmuse, he shot 18 of 24 from downtown in the three games against Memphis. Allen wasn't out there to defend Thompson in the final two bouts, both losses. He's healthy and ready to terrorize the league's most accurate shooting guard.
Offensively, Allen will struggle to score against the league's top-ranked defense. The Warriors switch every screen and play a number of tall, active defenders on the wing. Allen relies on off-the-ball slashes, fast breaks, and energy plays to get offensive stats.
He'll likely have to come up with a couple steals and a block to hit value today. But I believe the Grizzlies will play a faster game than they're used to against the fastest-paced team in the league. Allen will see a minutes and possessions increase. It should bode well for fantasy purposes.
Paul Millsap ($8,200) vs. Wizards
It seems the Wizards found something with their small lineup. Paul Pierce balled out the last two seasons (one with the Nets) when he played as a stretch power forward. Look for Wizards coach Randy Wittman to rely on the John Wall, Bradley Beal, Otto Porter, Pierce and Marcin Gortat lineup that destroyed the Raptors in Round 1.
One problem: Paul Millsap. The versatile power forward should have his way on offense. He thrives in the Hawks' quick-ball movement system. He'll be able to bully Pierce down low when the Wizards go small, and he'll face up when a traditional big takes him.
Millsap had a rough go through the first round but put it all together in the Hawks' closeout win in Brooklyn. I expect him to continue to thrive as Atlanta tries to make a deep playoff run for the first time this century.
