April 14, 2017

The top DraftKings daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for 4/15/17 by Justin Bales. Expert NBA DFS advice, sleepers & player recommendations for DraftKings.

It's finally time for the NBA playoffs! That means we're going to have plenty of small slates until the season is completely over. This tends to be the time where elite players, such as LeBron James, take over the game, and score more fantasy points than usual.

In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on 4/15/17. The DFS lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays on DraftKings.

If you have any questions or comments, let me know @BalesSJustin on Twitter.

Let's get rolling.

DraftKings DFS Guards

Chris Paul – PG, vs UTA ($8,100) 

Paul comes with a low price tag because of his matchup against the Jazz, but he has been on fire coming into the playoffs. He’s averaging 19.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 9.3 assists, and 2.8 steals per game over the last 10 days. He’s also averaging 37.3 fantasy points in 30.5 minutes per game this season, and Paul will likely play nearly 40 minutes tonight if the game stays close. He’s an elite option in all leagues.

Tony Snell – SG/SF, at TOR ($3,000)

The elite players tend to take over during the playoffs, which means we need to find value where we can. Snell saw his price tag drop for this game, but he’s expected to play minutes in the mid-30s. He’s a player that can score well, but also add a few peripheral stats each night. He has played well against the Raptors this season, and Snell makes an outstanding value play tonight.

DraftKings DFS Forwards

LeBron James – SF, vs IND ($10,800) 

In case you haven’t ever seen the NBA playoffs, this is when LeBron James completely takes games over. He’s averaging 28.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, 6.8 asists, and 1.8 steals per game in the playoffs. He has also been enjoying arguably the best season of his career, and it would not be surprising to see him outperform those numbers. James gets an elite matchup against the Pacers, who he recently scored 86.5 fantasy points against. He should be the first player inserted into your lineups.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute – SF, vs UTA ($2,600)

Mbah a Moute has been playing bigger minutes recently, and he’s averaging 10.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.3 steals per game over the last 10 days. He will be locked into a solid role for the Clippers tonight, as most teams tend to shorten their rotation during the playoffs. DraftKings also allows lower price tags, and Mbah a Moute costs less than the regular season minimum price. He does come with great upside, but he can be used in all leagues because he will allow you to get players such as James or Paul.

DraftKings DFS Centers

Pau Gasol – C, vs MEM ($5,100)

The Spurs stated earlier this season that they plan on limiting Gasol’s minutes during the season so they can play him more minutes with fresh legs during the playoffs. The first part happened, as he only averaged 25.3 minutes per game this season. He looked elite in that time, though, and he’ll come with tremendous upside on this slate. With that being said, Coach Pop is known for benching players mid-game for no reason. Gasol gets a tough matchup against the Grizzlies, but he makes a high upside tournament option for his price tag.

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