DraftKings Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks (5/23/21): NBA DFS Lineups

May 23, 2021

The top daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on May 23, 2021. Mike Marteny provides NBA DFS analysis and sleeper picks for building optimal DFS rosters.

We've got matinee NBA again, just like the bubble last year. That was the best part of the entire thing. Being able to tune in and watch basketball at any time during the day. Tonight we have two Eastern Conference Series and two Western Conference series tipping off. We have the Sixers and Knicks as the favorites in the East and the Jazz and Suns (not really) out West.

The perpetual question mark is there by LeBron again, but as with most of the season, he isn't in any danger of missing this game. Neither is Anthony Davis. That leaves Cam Reddish as the only rotation player out of commission with Thomas Bryant and Mitch Robinson as the only major question mark. I could get used to this!

This article will supply you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for the DraftKings on 5/23/21. 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, at Phoenix ($10,200)

Russ is still way overpriced, especially heading into the playoffs. We can get "Playoff LeBron" at $2,000 less. Sold! LeBron only played one game against the Suns this year. He put up a strong 59.25 DraftKings points in that one. I think we see somewhere along those lines tonight. The King and his band of merry men are playing for keeps now. We can safely use them in DFS again.

Bradley Beal - SG/SF, at Philadelphia ($8,700)

Russ carried this team into the playoffs, but Beal was on his way to blowing past value for his price in the play-in until they started blowing out the Pacers. That isn't going to happen here. This team still revolves around the guards. Beal's price is down to a reasonable enough level to justify using him. He can still score a lot of points in a hurry. He and Westbrook actually coexist well together.

Derrick Rose - PG/SG, vs. Atlanta ($5,500)

The Knicks took it easy with Rose over the last weekend, but they rode him hard for the first two weeks of May. That's going to be what we see in the playoffs. We all know how well Rose plays in this system. This price is too low for what Rose could put up in these playoffs. We need value someplace today, so I'm not complaining.

Ish Smith - PG, at Philadephia ($4,900)

It's easy to overlook just how effective Ish has been off the Washington bench. He has at least 20 DraftKings points and has played at least 24 minutes in every game since May 6. I'll take that kind of consistency from a value pick. Ish may not help you take down a tournament, but he won't lose you one either. This is a strong price point for him.

Bonus Guards: Donovan Mitchell ($8,800), Trae Young ($8,500), Bogdan Bogdanovic ($7,000), Alex Caruso ($4,200)

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DraftKings DFS Forwards

Anthony Davis - PF/C, at Phoenix ($10,000)

Davis annihilated the Suns in his only game against them this year, putting up 77 DraftKings points in 40 minutes. Chances are that he doesn't hit either one of those thresholds today, but he should at least come close. Even the playoffs version of Batman needs a Robin. Davis has a chance at a big series against this team. The Suns don't have anyone that can guard him.

Julius Randle  - PF/C, vs. Atlanta ($9,200)

Randle abused the Hawks for 194.75 DraftKings points in 124 minutes over the course of this season. The breakout season for Randle isn't over yet. He's got at least one big playoff series in him. This is a dream matchup for Randle and I fully expect him to clear 60 in this one, especially if Mitchell Robinson remains out.

Jaren Jackson Jr. - PF, at Utah ($5,600)

I was shocked that Memphis beat the Warriors, mainly without the services of Jackson. He played just 15 foul-plagued minutes, but still had a solid 16.5 DraftKings points. I'm guessing that Jackson will be more effective against a Utah team that he matches up better against anyway. We have yet to see Jackson have a game like he is capable of this year, but the Grizzlies are still taking it easy with him. The gloves will hopefully come off this series, and he will be in my lineups since DraftKings is begging us to play him with this price tag.

De'Andre Hunter - SF, at New York ($4,000)

The Hawks are still planning on limiting Hunter's minutes, but they have stated that it will be higher than the 24 that he played in the regular season finale against Houston. Hunter was playing around 25-28 minutes per game when he went down in the middle of March. If he plays that sort of minutes here, he's too cheap for the production, even against the Knicks. Even if Hunter flops, he still likely hits 5x value at this price.

Bonus Forwards: Tobias Harris ($7,000), RJ Barrett ($6,400), Kyle Anderson ($5,800), Danilo Gallinari ($4,800)

DraftKings DFS Centers

Joel Embiid - C, vs. Washington ($9,800)

Honestly, Embiid's numbers against Washington this year were pedestrian considering the matchup. He still put up 157.75 DraftKings points, but he only played 91 minutes. Philly didn't really need him. When Embiid is in there against Washington, he is going to put up some big numbers. If the games in this series stay close, we could see Embiid have a monster series. In all honesty though, Embiid only averaged around 31 minutes per game on the season. Who really knows if Philly will turn him loose?

Clint Capela - C, at New York ($7,500)

I don't make it a point to run guys at the Knicks, but their weakest spot defensively is in the middle. They're still in the top half of the league defending the post, but Capela's price makes this enticing. He was approaching five figures before a few nagging injuries slowed him down. The Hawks took it easy with Capela down the stretch, but I think we'll see him featured like he was in the three games against the Knicks this year. Capela put up 137.25 DraftKings points in 108 minutes against the Knicks this year. I'll take that in this price range.

Daniel Gafford - C, at Philadelphia ($4,200)

Gafford is still only playing about 22 minutes per game, but he can put up big numbers in those small minutes. He's not going to do to Embiid and the Sixers what he did to the Pacers, but even a single fantasy point per minute hits value for Gafford. He is usually somewhere above that, making him a lower risk value play. The only bad part is that he takes up your C or UTIL slot.

Bonus Centers:  Jonas Valanciunas ($8,100), Rudy Gobert ($7,700), Andre Drummond ($6,100)

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