RADIO
The NBA schedule has seven games on the main slate for Sunday night. You'll have a reasonable number of players to choose from and matchups to target. One matchup you should be particularly keen on is the Portland Trailblazers versus the Boston Celtics. Here are three tips on how to attack the overall slate when assembling lineups.
First of all, it’s important to look at the pace and Vegas lines. Second, it’s also useful to understand the number of fantasy points a team gives up to a specific position. The final tip is to identify value plays that are critical on a slate of any size. You don’t have to necessarily go for the cheapest value, but you want to identify players who have a high floor and a high ceiling.
This article will supply you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for the DraftKings on 5/2/21. You can also check out today’s FanDuel lineup picks. It’s also important to monitor injury news as a result of COVID-19 as the slate can completely change before line-up lock. Without further ado, let’s dive into the picks!
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DraftKings DFS Guards
Damian Lillard - PG, POR vs BOS ($9,400)
Luka Doncic is always an excellent DFS option anytime he's active, but Lillard has an eerily similar ceiling on Monday night against the Celtics with a less expensive salary. The veteran point guard scored 32 points, accumulated nine assists, seven rebounds, and a steal in 36 minutes against the Nets last Friday night. Lillard has averaged 43.2 DraftKings fantasy points per game since returning from a three-game absence in April. He has the fifth highest Usage Rate (32%) among point guards this season. This metric is an estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while he was on the floor. Lillard also happens to have the fourth highest Player Efficiency Rating among point guards. This metric sums up all a player's positive accomplishments, subtracts the negative accomplishments and returns a per-minute rating of a player's performance. Lillard is an excellent player to build your lineups around.
Devin Booker - SG, PHO vs OKC ($8,000)
Booker had 31 points, collected three rebounds and two assists against the Jazz last Friday night. He's averaged 36 minutes, 30 points, four rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 0.3 blocks per game over his last four. Booker ranks third in Usage Rate (33%) at his position. He faces a Thunder team that has allowed the seventh-most DraftKings fantasy points per game to shooting guards this season.
Tyrese Haliburton - PG/SG, SAC vs DAL ($7,300)
Haliburton scored 23 points, hoarded 10 assists, four rebounds, two steals, and a block in 39 minutes against the Lakers last Friday. This was the rookie's second double-double over the Kings last four games. Haliburton has averaged 40.2 DraftKings fantasy points per game over that span of time.
Bonus Guards: Chris Paul ($7,700), Dejounte Murray ($7,500), Ben Simmons ($7,200), Derrick Rose ($5,600)
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DraftKings DFS Forwards
Julius Randle - PF/C, NY vs HOU ($10,200)
Randle scored 34 points, racked up seven rebounds, three assists, and a block last Wednesday against the Bulls. He's averaged 40.5 minutes, 31 points, 8.4 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game over his last eight. The only other power forwards with a Usage Rate than Randle (29%) are Zion Williamson (30%) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (33%). No other team allows more DraftKings fantasy points per game than the Rockets.
DeMar DeRozan - SF, SA vs PHI ($8,200)
DeRozan scored 30 points, accrued five rebounds, 14 assists, and two steals against the Celtics last Friday. This was his 14th game out of 53 this season with 10 or more assists. DeRozan recorded just 13 such games in his first 11 seasons according to Basketball Reference. He has a high floor and a very high ceiling against the 76ers.
Tobias Harris - SF/PF, PHI vs SA ($7,000)
Harris recorded 18 points, three rebounds, and an assist in 24 minutes against the Hawks last Friday. Positive game flow has caused him to see a reduction in minutes over the last four games. The good news is that Vegas views the 76ers as the favorites over the Spurs. Harris has the 11th highest Usage Rate (24%) among small forwards this season. He also has the sixth-highest Player Efficiency Rating (24.4). Harris is a nice value on Sunday's main slate.
Bonus Forwards: Pascal Siakam ($7,800), OG Anunoby ($6,800), RJ Barrett ($6,500), Tim Hardaway Jr. ($4,900)
DraftKings DFS Centers
Joel Embiid - C, PHI vs SA ($10,400)
Embiid only scored 18 points, accumulated six rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal in 25 minutes against the Hawks last Friday. Like Harris, he was also impacted by the positive game flow over the 76ers' last four games. Embiid averaged 62.6 DraftKings fantasy points per game over the previous four. He ranks first in Usage Rate (35.6%) and Player Efficiency Rating (36.2) among centers this season. Embiid has one of the highest ceilings on the slate at his position.
Deandre Ayton - C, PHO vs OKC ($6,700)
Ayton scored 11 points, garnered nine rebounds, two assists, and a steal against the Jazz in 24 minutes last Friday night. He averaged 30.7 minutes, 15 points, 10 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.2 steals, and one block per game during the month of April. Ayton faces an Oklahoma City team that has allowed the sixth-most DraftKings fantasy points per game to centers this season.
Bonus Centers: Jusuf Nurkic ($7,200), Richaun Holmes ($6,500)
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