Daily Fantasy Basketball 2015: NBA DraftKings Studs and Duds for May 13
Tuesday night, LeBron James had 76 fantasy points on 38 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, three blocks, three steals and ZERO TURNOVERS.
Yep, he was a stud.
Who will be the king Wednesday night?
Studs
PG Jeff Teague ($6,000) vs. Wizards
PG Dennis Schroder ($4,300) vs. Wizards
According to DraftKings, since Ramon Sessions took over as the starting point guard for the Wizards, Teague and Schroder have combined to average 67 fantasy points per game. It's a massive jump when compared with Game 1, John Wall's last game, when the two Hawks ball-handlers totaled just 44 combined fantasy points.
Sessions has played for seven different teams since being drafted in 2008. While his defensive rating has stayed below average in his 28 games with the Wizards, per basketball-reference.com, Sessions boasts a career defensive rating of 111—well worse than league average.
While Teague has the higher upside, I actually like the Schroder play a little more for Dailies. The German speedster has proved too slippery for the Wizards to slow down. He's averaging just shy of 14 points per game since the Wall injury and has improved his fantasy output in each of the four games in the series.
SG Bradley Beal ($8,200) @ Hawks
SF Otto Porter ($5,800) @ Hawks
SF Paul Pierce ($5,300) @ Hawks
Beal, Porter and Pierce have all picked up some of the slack after John Wall went down with a wrist injury.
Beal is coming off the best playoff game of his life. He scored 37 points, grabbed six boards and dished out seven assists in the Game 4 home loss. He is the No. 1 option in Wall's absence.
Porter has embraced his role as an athletic "three-and-D" guy. Per statmuse.com, he's shooting well above league average on his corner three, and he's collecting more than eight rebounds per game.
There's not much to say about Pierce except that he remains a stone-cold assassin. He's a safe play, and his fantasy floor is a passable 24 points.
SF Harrison Barnes ($4,700) vs. Grizzlies
Harrison Barnes has been the most consistent Warriors player in their second-round series. He's 21-of-36 from the field in the series. He has battled on every possession on both the offensive and defensive glass, and he's even guarding Zach Randolph when the Dubs go small.
Barnes should continue to play big minutes because he contributes on both ends of the floor.
PF David Lee ($2,500) vs. Grizzlies
It only took eight 2015 playoff games for the former double-double machine to unbutton his warm-ups in front of the scorers table. Guess what? David Lee played pretty darn well. The 2013 All-Star brought energy, worked well with Steph in the pick-n-roll and even contributed a block on defense.
Draymond Green has picked up two early fouls in a few of the games this series. With Marreese Speights out, David Lee is the logical replacement for Green. If Lee plays well, he could log 20 minutes as the second or third offensive option on a fast-paced, high-scoring offense.
Lee is my favorite punt of the night. This might sound crazy, but a 20-plus-point fantasy night is not out of reach. And for just $2,500, Lee allows for a lot of flexibility at other positions.
C Marc Gasol ($8,300) @ Warriors
C Al Horford ($8,000) vs. Wizards
Both Gasol and Horford are playing well and filling up the stat sheet. Neither has scored fewer than 29 fantasy points in a game this round.
Marc Gasol is the best center in the league. He has soft hands, amazing touch around the hoop, a deft 15-foot jump shot, he rebounds well and he alters and blocks shots.
The Warriors are now game-planning for a massive Z-bo/Gasol onslaught. It will be harder for the Spaniard to get his points, but I imagine he'll do his part to find open shooters.
Al Horford has posted a double-double in three of the first four games of this series. He's an excellent defender who blocks shots and pounces on loose balls.
Duds
PG Steph Curry ($10,400) vs. Wizards
I love Steph Curry. He was playing with so much energy on Monday in Memphis, but he had by far his best game of the series, and he still barely hit value with 54 fantasy points. Conley is too good defensively, and the Grizzlies will make adjustments before Game 5. I expect a good night from the MVP, but he's too expensive to trust against one of the best defenses in the league.
SF Tony Allen ($5,500) @ Warriors
SF DeMarre Carroll ($6,700) @ Warriors
Allen went 0-of-3 from downtown in the first quarter of Game 4, and Memphis head coach Dave Joerger had to sit him. Per DraftKings, he played just 16 minutes in the contest after averaging 36 in the previous three. For all his athleticism and defensive fortitude, Allen has never developed an NBA-level jump shot. He's also currently listed as questionable with a sore hamstring.
I'm almost certain Allen will play, but if he doesn't, Klay Thompson becomes a much sexier play at the shooting guard position.
According to Zack Klein of the ABC affiliate in Atlanta, DeMarre Carroll suffered a hip pointer on the last play of Game 4. Carroll hasn't hit value in either of the past two games, and I don't expect him to Wednesday night. If he does sit, Kent Bazemore will be a fantasy stud.
PF Nene Hilario ($4,500) @ Hawks
Nene is a boom-or-bust type of player. The Brazilian had two nice outings in Games 3 and 4 after the consecutive stinkers he put up in Games 1 and 2. Simply put, I don't trust him right now.
PF Draymond Green ($8,000) vs. Grizzlies
Draymond is a foul risk when he guards Randolph or Gasol. He has not been given the driving lanes and has been forced to rely on his three-point shot. After a monster first round in which he was a stud nearly every time he took the floor, Draymond has sunk back into the pack against a bruising Memphis front line.
