As the rest of the teams in the NBA will play the second game of their first-round playoff series tonight, there is a lot less DFS value than we had yesterday with all the injuries. We expect everyone to be good to go here, so we are going to have to lower our standards for budget plays. Our interest is pretty spread around the slate tonight, as we are getting some exposure to almost every team here. We are naturally looking at a balanced build tonight, with no plays on the slate over $10,000.
Here’s Two Core Plays For DFS Basketball 4/19/22 (using DraftKings Values)
| Point Guard | K. Lowry | $6,300 | |
| Shooting Guard | |||
| Small Forward | M. Bridges | $5,000 | |
| Power Forward | |||
| Center | |||
| Guard | |||
| Forward | |||
| Utility |
Veterans like Kyle Lowry take on a much bigger role in competitive playoff games than what we see in the regular season, and we saw the perfect example of this when Chris Paul took over the other night. Lowry only played 28.4 minutes last time due to a blowout, and he was still solid with 33.5 FPTS. Lowry is very affordable at $6,300 here, so we like to get back to him. He is a great per-minute producer and could provide some great value here if this game stays close.
Mikal Bridges was a priority for us last time out, as he really stands out as a budget option. Bridges has gotten even cheaper and he is only $5,000 here, so he is one of our absolute priorities tonight. He played 38 minutes in the last game, and we would expect him to play 40 or more minutes in a closer game. Bridges is not the best per-minute producer, but he is playing enough minutes to still provide great value.
Here’s a Fade DFS Basketball 4/19/22 (using DraftKings Values)
Stars always look great in the playoffs, so we have high standards about who we are spending up for. One guy who does not stand out for us enough tonight is Ja Morant who is the most expensive play on this slate at $9,800. Morant clearly has the upside to take over a game, but we can get to a similar upside for much cheaper tonight.
Here Is What Your Get If You Subscribe For $15 Per Month or $99 For The Year… • One cheap star with massive upside. • A few budget priorities we are going after tonight. • One big man who is way too cheap returning from injury. • Some general thoughts for the slate. Sign up here!
Point Guard
Chris Paul – ($8,300 DK) Paul was a priority for us last time out, and he was fantastic with 64.25 FPTS. Paul is one of the best playoff performers in the league bar none, and we know he will always play big minutes. He played 35 minutes last game, and that game wasn’t even particularly close. Paul is going to have his way with the Pelicans, as their big men cannot defend him on switches and in the pick and roll.
Shooting Guard
Malik Beasley – ($4,700 DK) As we mentioned we are desperate to find budget plays on this slate. Beasley stands out here as he is a good producer stepping into some solid floor time. Beasley played good minutes in game one and the play-in game, as the Timberwolves have relied on him for a scoring spark.
Bogdan Bogdanovic – ($5,300 DK) The Hawks are in a weird spot tonight, as they are all too cheap and will smash value if they can put out decent shooting rates. However, there is no reason to expect that in this nightmarish matchup against the Miami Heat. Bogdanovic is a great DFS producer, and he always has a ton of upside. However, he missed every single shot he took from the field in game one and only went for 12 FPTS. We are a bit concerned with taking him in Cash because of that floor he showed, but he has great upside for tournaments.
Jaren Jackson Jr. – ($6,500 DK) Jackson Jr. got into some early foul trouble in game one, which limited him to 24 minutes. Jackson still went for 31.5 FPTS in that time, as he is one of the best per-minute producers around. We expect him to play significantly more floor time if he can avoid foul trouble, and he has a ton of upside to go off in this matchup.
Center
John Collins – ($5,100 DK) Game one of the series was Collins’ first game in a month and a half, so he is another guy we are going to avoid in Cash games. However, we expect Collins’ minutes to trend upwards and it is likely he gets the start tonight. $5,100 is not an accurate price for him as he averaged over 32 FPTS per game on the season. Collins is going to provide great value at some point at this price, whether it is this game or the next.
General strategy
This is a fun slate, as the value is not as obvious as when there is a ton of injuries going around. We are happy taking some shots on the Hawks, as Bogdanovic, Collins, and Trae Young all have a ton of upside for their price tags. However, none of those guys are Cash game priorities with this matchup against the Heat. We have a few questionable tags on Bam Adebayo and some of the Heat role players, we expect them to play but have to watch for the news there.
