RADIO
Four matchups on tap in the Association today, kicking off with a Sixers-Raptors contest that figures to be a relative snoozer compared to the rest of the slate. The Mavericks-Jazz affair is also not profiling as an appealing game to target for daily fantasy, but Luka Doncic is looking to make his return and we have to have some interest whenever he's on the floor. The Celtics-Nets game is more interesting as the Nets are looking to avoid going in an 0-3 hole at home, while the Grizzlies-Timberwolves game is the best on the board with the highest implied total, fastest projected pace, and the two most vulnerable fantasy defenses on the slate.
As mentioned, Luka Doncic is tracking to return from his calf injury in Game 4. Ben Simmons hasn't officially been ruled out for Game 3, but reports are all stating that he's looking to make his season debut in Game 4. Scottie Barnes is doubtful, Dillon Brooks is questionable, and Reggie Williams (aka Time Lord) will play with a minutes restriction.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 4/23/22, with the slate locking at 2:00 pm ET. Remember to monitor NBA injury news and our live-updating NBA injury updates tool as the slate can completely change before lineups lock. As always, feel free to follow my Twitter (@RING_DFS) - I post about a variety of things but mainly NBA DFS with my K-Rate model. Let's get to it - good luck RotoBallers!
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DraftKings and FanDuel Guards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Luka Doncic - PG/SG, DAL vs. UTA ($10,500 DK, $9,500 FD)
Note: There are reports of a potential minutes limit for Doncic. Keep an eye on this news and adjust accordingly
Doncic is tracking to make his 2022 playoff debut in Game 4 this afternoon, and I firmly believe he's underpriced for the spot that he's in. It's the playoffs and the Mavericks could take a convincing 3-1 series lead with a win today, so I see zero reasons for the team to "take it easy" with their star player by limiting his minutes. As long as this game is competitive, Doncic is going to play heavy minutes. The good news for us is that he's one of the most productive players in the NBA as he averaged an insane 39% usage rate and 1.62 FPTS/min with Tim Hardaway Jr. off the floor this season. Oh, and he also obliterated the Jazz this year to the tune of a 30/11/8/1 slash line over three games. The Jazz are above-average on defense overall, but their guard defense slipped to end the year as they allowed the ninth-most fantasy points per game to opposing PG's over their last 30 games. Embiid is the only player on the slate who's even remotely capable of approaching Luka's ceiling, though he certainly hasn't shown it to this point with three games under 55 DK points.
D'Angelo Russell - PG/SG, MIN vs. MEM ($7,100 DK, $7,300 FD)
Russell served as the offensive catalyst in Game 3, a game in which the Timberwolves blew multiple 20-point leads and lost despite posting a win expectancy exceeding 99.6% entering the fourth quarter. D'Lo amazingly was on the floor for 87 of the Wolves' 95 points, finishing with 42.75 DK points in 39 minutes of action. He torched the Grizzlies in the regular season, averaging 31/7/4 and one "stock" (steals+blocks) per game over four contests. As long as he continues to be assertive and in attack mode with Memphis continuously focusing defensive attention on Towns, he'll be successful and exceed value at his mid-range salary tonight.
Gary Trent Jr. - SG/SF, TOR vs. PHI ($5,200 DK, $5,400 FD)
Trent Jr. posted a dud in Game 1 and took himself out of the game with an illness in Game 2, but he started in Game 3 and crushed value with 37.5 DK points over a whopping 45 minutes of action. That was way back on Wednesday, so he should be 100% ahead of Game 4. He's way underpriced if he's going to be seeing his typical (high) minute load today. He sees a solid 1.6% increase in usage rate with Barnes (doubtful) off the floor this season, and while it's a brutal matchup against Philly on the surface, they did allow the seventh-most fantasy points per game to opposing SF's this season. Trent is going to be near the top of my value picks at his wildly underpriced salary.
Others to consider (FanDuel): Jaylen Brown ($8,200), Donovan Mitchell ($8,500), Marcus Smart ($6,000), Bruce Brown ($6,900), Kyrie Irving ($9,900), Reggie Bullock ($5,000)
Others to consider (DraftKings): Mike Conley ($5,500), Fred VanVleet ($7,900), Donovan Mitchell ($8,700), Patrick Beverley ($5,400), James Harden ($9,100), Seth Curry ($4,300), Marcus Smart ($6,400), Kyrie Irving ($9,600)
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DraftKings and FanDuel Forwards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Pascal Siakam - PF/C, TOR vs. PHI ($8,600 DK, $8,400 FD)
Precious Achiuwa - PF/C, TOR vs. PHI ($4,300 DK, $4,100 FD)
Scottie Barnes is doubtful to suit up, which results in Achiuwa, Chris Boucher, and Khem Birch all rising in interest as the Raptors will continue to need these guys to soak up the frontcourt minutes vacated by their stud rookie. Achiuwa actually sees his usage (16.9%) and FPTS/min (0.87) rates drop with Barnes off the floor, but that's not what matters here. He's priced firmly in "value" territory and he should receive 30-36 minutes, or more, with Barnes off the floor. He has played 29, 29, and 36 minutes in the series to this point, finally breaking out with a 30 DK point effort in Game 3. Philly represents a tough matchup and the game is not conducive to oodles of fantasy points, but hitting on the right value allows you to unlock Doncic + Stud #2 and that's what we're looking to do on a four-game playoff slate.
Desmond Bane - SG/SF, MEM vs. MIN ($6,200 DK, $6,000 FD)
You'll want to get to as many pieces of this Grizzlies-Wolves game as you can as it's clearly the top game environment on the slate for daily fantasy purposes. Bane is a great mid-range option to consider, especially if Dillon Brooks (questionable) sits out tonight. Bane only receives a slight usage rate bump (up about 1%) with Brooks out, but Bane's high minutes-load gets even more locked in in the event that Brooks sits tonight. Also, Bane is coming off his first big game of the series as he hit seven threes and put up 45.5 DK points in Game 3. Bane finding his stroke from deep would spell very bad news for the Wolves, who allowed the third-most fantasy points per game to opposing SG's this season. He's a relatively cheap selection that you can use as a one-off or in a game-stack.
Brandon Clarke - PF/C, MEM vs. MIN ($5,000 DK, $5,500 FD)
Clarke has been one of the primary beneficiaries of the Grizzlies realizing Steven Adams should be playing next-to-zero minutes per game, which has been the case in Game 2 and Game 3. He's a very productive player in general, averaging 1.13 FPTS/min this season, but he has been tough to deploy in daily fantasy as his playing time has fluctuated from 13 minutes all the way up to 28 minutes at times this season. He has seen 27, 21, and 29 minutes in this series and turned that into 36, 23.75, and 32 DK points, respectively. The Wolves can be vulnerable against opposing bigs and, as has been mentioned, this is clearly the top game environment to target on the slate. He's still below the mid-range in pricing and projects as a top GPP value pick today.
Others to consider (FanDuel): Anthony Edwards ($7,600), Kyle Anderson ($4,000), Dillon Brooks ($4,700), Jayson Tatum ($9,400), Royce O'Neale ($3,800), OG Anunoby ($6,200), Xavier Tillman ($3,600), Bojan Bogdanovic ($5,900), Danny Green ($4,200), James Harden ($8,700), Kevin Durant ($10,,700)
Others to consider (DraftKings): Anthony Edwards ($7,800), Jaylen Brown ($8,200), Reggie Bullock ($4,900), Dillon Brooks ($5,600), Jayson Tatum ($9,300), Jarred Vanderbilt ($3,700), Bojan Bogdanovic ($6,100), Bruce Brown ($6.300), Danny Green ($4,100), Royce O'Neale ($3,800), Kevin Durant ($10,200), Kyle Anderson ($4,300)
DraftKings and FanDuel Centers - NBA DFS Lineup Pics
Karl-Anthony Towns - C, MIN vs. MEM ($8,900 DK, $8,900 FD)
Listen - this play is absolutely not for the faint of heart and should be the furthest away from cash game consideration. Towns has posted two consecutive dreadful efforts against the Grizzlies and he also broke down with just 23.75 DK points in the Wolves' play-in game against the Clippers. His assertiveness and involvement in the offense simply evaporated for large stretches in those games, and his penchant for ticky-tack fouls (combined with some extremely questionable officiating) only furthered his downward spiral. Everyone is conveniently forgetting about his 29/13/3/1 line for 52.75 DK points in Game 1, though, and the Wolves need him back in that form if they're going to have any hope of competing in this series. They know that; Towns knows that; the entire NBA fanbase knows that. The Grizzlies aren't playing Steven Adams anymore, so they're throwing out a bunch of versatile and lanky PF's and SF's at Towns defensively. One of them is a top-three defender in Jaren Jackson Jr., but Towns has the clear size advantage on anyone they're using to defend him and he has to exploit that tonight, even if that means racking up assists as he passes out of double-teams.
Again - GPP's only here. If you're not wanting to roll the proverbial dice, go with the safer and higher-rostered options in Gobert, Siakam, or Achiuwa.
Others to consider (FanDuel): Rudy Gobert ($7,300), Joel Embiid ($10,500), Andre Drummond ($4,900), Jaren Jackson Jr. ($6,100)
Others to consider (DraftKings): Rudy Gobert ($7,400), Joel Embiid ($10,600), Xavier Tillman ($3,400), Nicolas Claxton ($4,600)
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