DraftKings Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks (5/19/21): NBA DFS Lineups

May 19, 2021

The top daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on May 15, 2021. Mike Marteny provides NBA DFS analysis and sleeper picks for building optimal DFS rosters.

Today it's the Western Conference's turn. Last night we saw Boston advance and Indiana live to fight another day as we bid adieu to Charlotte. The Lakers and Warriors are in a key playoff matchup again, only this time the winner gets the 7 seed. See what you get for dicking around? Memphis and San Antonio play a true elimination game with the winner taking on the loser of the 7-seed game.

Derrick White, Kelly Oubre, and James Wiseman are about the only rotation players that are ruled out for these games. On top of that, we get a break with no one being listed as questionable. Last night there were more scratches in MLB than NBA. That hasn't happened in years! It makes my job and your research much easier!

This article will supply you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for the DraftKings on 5/19/21. 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! 

DraftKings DFS Guards

LeBron James - PG/SF, vs. Golden State ($10,000)

I really don't know what to do with LeBron here. Playoff LeBron is usually a man possessed. A specimen from another planet sent here to dominate. He clearly isn't happy about having to play in (after being vehemently in favor of it), so will he even treat it like the playoffs? If the Lakers win this game, they are off until Saturday. For that reason, I think LeBron will step it up because he doesn't want to have to play again this week. He may be a superstar, but he's still human, and an ancient human in NBA years. One big game from LeBron means he can rest for a couple of days. I'll think we'll see that big game.

Ja Morant - PG, vs. San Antonio ($8,300)

The Spurs allowed 134.75 DraftKings points in just 84 minutes over three games to Morant this year. Morant may not have performed against everyone, but he blew the doors off the Spurs in all three games and at different stages of the season. It's do or die time for Memphis. I'll say they do since they won two out of the three regular season tilts. You know.....back when LaMarcus Aldridge was still with the team.

Lonnie Walker IV - PG/SG, at Memphis ($4,300)

Walker played solid minutes down the stretch with various injuries ailing the Spurs with mostly favorable results. Walker is a bit of an afterthought on offense and doesn't do enough in other categories consistently enough to give him much of a floor. However, since White is still out, Walker should still play somewhere between 25 and 30 minutes. The price is right, but his floor is about as terrifying as standing on those glass bottomed floors hanging out over the Sears (I'll never call it Willis) Tower.

Bonus Guards: Stephen Curry ($10,100), Dejounte Murray ($6,300), Dillon Brooks ($5,800), Alex Caruso ($4,200)

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DraftKings DFS Forwards

Draymond Green - PF/C, at Lakers ($7,400)

While many stumbled, bumbled, and rested their way to the end of the season, Draymond put up 178.75 DraftKings points in the last four games of the season. The Warriors won all four of those games to lock in the eight spot in the play-in playoffs, meaning they get to play double elimination instead of single. Green wasn't great against the Lakers during the regular season, but I'll ride his impressive numbers down the stretch as a harbinger of things to come in the playoffs. The Warriors would only like to play once as well.

Jaren Jackson Jr. - PF, vs. San Antonio ($5,900)

Jackson wasn't healthy for any of the three games against the Spurs earlier this year. His price remains low because the Grizzlies are still watching his minutes closely. However, I do like the fact that Jackson played 31 minutes against the Warriors in a critical game that Memphis ended up losing to close out the regular season. This suggests that Jackson maybe could have played more down the stretch had the Grizzlies really needed him. Jackson has enormous potential at this price, especially if he gets to play 30 minutes.

Kyle Anderson - SF/PF, vs. San Antonio ($5,300)

Memphis is surprisingly balanced, with all five starters putting up solid point totals across the board. Anderson isn't a guy that will take over a game, but he is a consistently solid piece on a consistently solid team. This build is a little easier than last night's nutty Eastern Conference one, but I still like the upside for Anderson when he's this cheap. Anderson's ceiling is about 38 DraftKings points, but the floor is 5x value. On a slate where low-300's will in it for us, I'll take this in any lineup.

Bonus Forwards:  DeMar DeRozan ($7,000), Andrew Wiggins ($6,600), Juan Toscano-Anderson ($5,100), Rudy Gay ($4,000),

DraftKings DFS Centers

Anthony Davis - PF/C, vs. Golden State ($10,200)

I'm not a huge fan of A.D. facing Draymond's defense, but the Lakers are going to turn into a two-man offense for the playoffs. We saw it happen last year. It will again. Davis is still one of the best defenders in the league and scores when needed. His ceiling isn't as high as normal, but his price doesn't seem untenable either. It will be interesting to see what Drummond's role is, but I doubt it takes much of anything away from Davis.

Jonas Valanciunas - C, vs. San Antonio ($7,600)

Why play what if with A.D. when you have Jonas putting up 40's and 50's at a fraction of the price? Valanciunas didn't have a game below 45 DraftKings points in any of the last six games of the season. There's no reason to think the Spurs can stop him. They were an adventure on defense even at full strength. Jonas only played one of the three games against the Spurs earlier this year. He put up a solid 39.75 DraftKings points in 29 minutes. Even if San Antonio can hold him to that, it's a good return at this price.

Bonus Centers:  Andre Drummond ($6,400), Jakob Poeltl ($4,900), Montrezl Harrell (3,800)

NBA DFS News and Injury Alerts

More DFS Lineup Picks and Analysis