DraftKings and FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks (5/1/22): NBA DFS Lineups

The top daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on May 1, 2022. Thunder Dan Palyo provides NBA DFS analysis and sleeper picks for building optimal DFS rosters.

After only one game on Friday and zero games yesterday, we get NBA basketball back in our lives today! I am super excited about both of these series and they should be must-watch television. If you're watching the games, you might as well be grinding some DFS or making some bets, too, right? I've been playing DFS all year long and covering NBA betting content as well. You can find my favorite bets for these games here by the way!

Tonight we have a mini-slate for the first two games in the second round of the playoffs. With both FanDuel and DraftKings now having multi-position eligibility players, we'll have to attack slates a bit differently to make our lineups as optimal as possible. That's where I come in! I'll look to find my personal top plays and values for tonight's slate. Things can change during the day as well, so I'll do my best to update as news comes out!

Here are my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel and DraftKings on 5/1/22. Keep an eye on RotoBaller’s NBA injury news and also our full NBA injury report today to stay up to date before lineups are locked. Let's get to the picks already!

DraftKings and FanDuel Guards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks

Stephen Curry vs. MEM (FD: $9,500, DK: $8,900)

Despite looking amazing in the opening series and eventually working his way back into the starting lineup and seeing as many as 37 and 38 minutes in games four and five, Steph is cheaper than Ja Morant on both sites! That seems silly, and that's no disrespect to Morant who has been damn impressive himself.

But Steph dropped 30+ points three times in the first series and is the more reliable DFS play. I would also give him the upper hand in this matchup as Morant's one part of his game that could still use some work is his defense. The Grizzlies may have won three or four games in the regular season in this matchup, but I like the Warriors to win this one in a high-scoring affair. Steph played in three of those games this season and averaged 33-7-7, woah!

He's my no-brainer click here, and I try to avoid writing up all the stud players, but if you have to prioritize one superstar in your builds today, it's Curry because of his price point, matchup, and current form. Run it back with Morant if you want, that game is the one that is far more appealing for DFS in my opinion.

Marcus Smart vs. MIL (FD: $6,300, DK: $6,200) 

Smart is my favorite Celtic for a few reasons today. The first would simply be his price point as it's easier to fit him into builds than it is to afford Tatum or Brown. The other reason is simply because he tends to show up big in big spots and had a solid year against Milwaukee, averaging 17-3-8 with 1.5 steals per game over four regular-season contests. Smart benefits from the faster-pace tempo that Milwaukee is likely to force Boston into in this series as he likes to push the ball out in transition, attack the rim, and fire up threes. He had two games in the Brooklyn series over 40 FanDuel points and is one of the few mid-tier guys on this slate capable of that type of output.

Desmond Bane @ GSW (FD: $7,300, DK: $6,900) 

If you're not rolling out Morant, then Bane makes sense as a pivot to use from Memphis. While Dillon Brooks is considerably cheaper, don't be fooled, it's been Bane that has been the wing that you want from the Grizzlies. He averaged 27 real-life points per game in the final four games of the Minnesota series and brings big-time defensive stat upside as we saw in game five of that series when he piled up three blocks and two steals. I'm not sure I can fit both Bane and Morant into builds, but I will be sure to have at least one of them today as that is the game I am targeting more heavily.

Also consider: Jordan Poole, Jrue Holiday

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DraftKings and FanDuel Forwards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks

Brandon Clarke @ GSW (FD: $5,900, DK: $6,100)

Clarke might be the most underpriced player on the slate. Seriously, though, Memphis has no Steven Adams again and is going to be forced to play fairly small with Clarke or JJJ at center. He finished the Minnesota series on a huge high note with 45 and 47 DK points in games five and six and we finally got a glimpse of what his ceiling is with regular starters' minutes. He's a lock for me and I think he can do serious damage in the paint against an undersized Golden State team. He's a gifted offensive player, a solid rebounder, and can block some shots. There's no reason he shouldn't be in every build you make today.

Bobby Portis @ BOS (FD: $6,200, DK: $6,400)

I normally wouldn't attack the Celtics interior, especially with Robert Williams III back in the fold, but Portis is such a gifted offensive player that I'm still in on him here, especially at an affordable price. He's moved into the starting lineup with Middleton out, as the Bucks have gone bigger with Giannis at SF. I think they stick with that lineup with the Celtics countering with Horford and Williams playing together. Portis is a mismatch for Williams on the perimeter, where he has a nice stroke and I think he will be a tough cover. Giannis is going to command a lot of attention from Horford and Williams and I think Boston will be hellbent on trying to slow him down, meaning Milwaukee is going to need big games from their other role players. Bobby has the ability to double-double here and pick up some peripheral stats, too.

Grayson Allen @ BOS (FD: $5,600, DK: $4,800)

Allen is probably going to be chalky, but I'm not sure how you avoid him at these prices. He was shooting lights out in the final three games of the Bulls series, going 16-20 from deep. He obviously can't sustain that, but he's going to continue to get good looks playing with Giannis and it's clear that Milwaukee needs his shooting on the floor to create spacing. He's not a great defender and doesn't really rebound well, so if he's not making shots, there is some bust potential. But he's cheap enough that he will probably hit his floor even with a modest output and we are pretty starved for value on this slate.

Also consider: Andrew Wiggins, Jayson Tatum, Kyle Anderson

DraftKings and FanDuel Centers - NBA DFS Lineup Picks

Draymond Green, vs DEN (FD: $7,000, DK: $6,600)

Draymond is a special player and one of the few players in the NBA capable of a triple-double without taking more than 4-5 shots in a game. Playoff Draymond is also a rare breed, as Dray tends to turn up the tenacity on defense and he brings a special intangible toughness to this GSW squad. But yeah, he's a great fantasy player and he's priced about 1000 bucks too cheap for his skillset. We didn't see a true eruption game in the Denver series, but he was consistently giving us 30-40 fantasy points. He should thrive in this series as a small-ball center and I think we see both teams go small quite a bit.

KAT ate the Grizzlies alive inside, and I'm not expecting that type of offense from Dray, but the boards, assists, and defensive stats should all be there.

Also consider: Jaren Jackson Jr., Brook Lopez, Robert Williams III

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