RADIO
Three games tonight means we can exercise our options, slightly. With playoff basketball, you can always roster starters and especially the ones with lower price tags. The rotations are significantly smaller so look for backups that have been producing all season. Tomas Satoransky, Delon Wright, Malcolm Brogdon, Darius Miller, Semi Ojeleye, and Ian Clark are all more than capable options and deserve nightly consideration.
The one player I am going to play in every lineup tonight is Jrue Holiday. While you can absolutely substitute Bradley Beal for Holiday, the Pelicans backcourt has upside just by playing with Anthony Davis. It's not that the Trail Blazers defense is bad, they just aren't playing well and the Pelicans are not being halted by Portland's efforts. Ian Clark has quickly become a top sleeper for the night, mainly by the way he contributes across the board and has a knack for scoring.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on 4/17/18. These DFS lineup picks can vary from higher-priced players and elite options to lower-priced players and value picks on DraftKings. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for sites like FanDuel, and other sports too. Since the Hoops Chat Room has been dead for some time, look for me on Twitter @HalfCourtJester and yell at me to get back in the Hoops Chat Room and off Fortnite.
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DraftKings DFS Guards
Bradley Beal - PG/SG, at TOR ($6,800)
With his price below $7,000 and in a high-pressure situation, you have to take Bradley Beal. He needs to produce tonight and is still going up against the Raptors backcourt. Regardless of how good the Toronto defense is, Beal is an automatic scorer that can be matchup-proof is he is hitting his shot. With John Wall always playing well in the post-season, even if Beal doesn't start off strong, he can benefit from Wall's unselfish play. Wall might be creating for himself mainly, but this opens the door for Beal to play to his strengths. Expect Beal to be fine on his own but his ceiling increases the better Wall plays.
Evan Turner - SG/SF, at NO ($4,100)
First off, you shouldn't bank on Evan Turner's game log to predict his production. He is entirely dependent on that nights shooting, but I'm advising this pick because the Pelicans lack the defense to stop an isolation scorer like Turner. Assuming the Trail Blazers will go with increased offense, Turner is going to be a big part of that. When Portland can get any offense going outside of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, Turner is the next option. His ceiling should remain around the same 25-30 FPTS all series.
DraftKings DFS Forwards
Markieff Morris - SF/PF, vs WAS ($5,300)
This is almost too easy. The Raptors starting frontocurt looks a tad sluggish and that isn't even considering that both Serge Ibaka and Jonas Valanciunas are on the slower end of bigs as it is. This is where Markieff Morris comes in and thrives. He had a monstrous game one and he's a fairly consistent player. His shooting is streaky, but he relies on his rebounding for real production and the six assists mean he has overall upside. The Raptors need to try and find a way to shut Morris down and I don't think they have the tools to accomplish that. The defense is too inexperienced and they need to find a player they can extend out to Morris' range.
OG Anunoby - PF/C, vs WAS ($3,200)
This pick is primarily from hot shooting, but still. A 12-point statline isn't the most appealing, but OG Anunoby should turn his improved shooting into more peripheral stats in game two. He can rebound and has the length to cause problems anywhere, so look for the Raptors to deploy Anunoby in a slightly different manner. While the three's are absolutely a plus and repeating his scoring effort is the best case scenario, it's somewhat unlikely. Anunoby is a streaky shooter and if he can get to the same spots then perfect, but I expect the Wizards to try and stay in his pocket all game and not let him be the reason the Raptors break away.
DraftKings DFS Centers
John Henson - C, at BOS ($4,600)
John Henson had his hands all over last game and it's pretty obvious he is going to be a rough spot for the Celtics. His impact wasn't overbearing but he was clearly a force in the paint. He managed to contribute just about everywhere in an extremely close game. There's no reason why he can't get enough minutes to be productive once again and he is going to be in the spot to continue to get blocks in rebounds. Just remember that he is limited by the Celtics stingy defense.
