NBA DFS Playoff Primer: Sunday, April 16
The NBA postseason is here! We no longer have to worry about teams resting players, teams trying to lose, and late scratches. For the next couple of months, we get meaningful basketball game after meaningful basketball game. We have decided to combine the Core Plays and the Grind Down into one all-encompassing article for the NBA playoffs. We will break down each slate, sift through the game flow trackers of prior meetings between teams, cover the notable matchups, and provide our favorite NBA DFS targets.
Saturday’s 4-gamer was fun, so why not run it back with another 4-gamer today? The second day of the 2023 NBA playoffs has lots of potential. We’ve got the top seeds in each conference beginning their respective title quests. Sandwiched around those games we’ve got a pair of tasty Western Conference matchups (LAC-PHX and LAL-MEM). What’s not to like?
All the action gets started at 3 ET. Let’s hop right in!
#7 Los Angeles Lakers vs. #3 Memphis Grizzlies
- Time: 3:00 PM ET
- Season Series: 2-1 for Los Angeles
Previous Matchups
- MEM 121 at LAL 122 (1/20/23)
- LAL 109 at MEM 121 (2/28/23)
- MEM 103 at LAL 112 (3/7/23)
Lakers Notable Injuries
None
Lakers Lineup – DraftKings & FanDuel Salaries
| Player | DK | FD | MIN/G | +/- | FP/G | +/- | USG% | +/- | DK/M | +/- | FD/M | +/- | MIN (P) | DK (P) | DK/$ | FD (P) | FD/$ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D’Angelo Russell | $6,800 | $6,800 | 32.5 | -5.5 | 33.9 | -6.8 | 23% | -4% | 1.04 | -0.04 | 1.00 | -0.08 | 30 | 26.4 | 3.88 | 25.4 | 3.73 | |
| Austin Reaves | $6,300 | $5,100 | 28.8 | 1.1 | 23.4 | 11.1 | 15% | 3% | 0.81 | 0.34 | 0.79 | 0.34 | 34 | 27.2 | 4.32 | 26.2 | 5.13 | |
| LeBron James | $10,700 | $11,000 | 35.5 | 1.0 | 52.6 | -2.3 | 32% | -5% | 1.48 | -0.10 | 1.43 | 0.00 | 38 | 50.1 | 4.68 | 47.8 | 4.35 | |
| Jarred Vanderbilt | $4,700 | $4,000 | 24.1 | 2.2 | 23.5 | -4.5 | 14% | -2% | 0.97 | -0.25 | 0.99 | -0.24 | 22 | 15.0 | 3.18 | 15.5 | 3.87 | |
| Anthony Davis | $10,900 | $11,500 | 34.0 | 1.5 | 51.7 | 10.9 | 28% | 4% | 1.52 | 0.24 | 1.54 | 0.18 | 38 | 52.7 | 4.83 | 53.4 | 4.64 | |
| Dennis Schroder | $5,000 | $5,900 | 30.1 | 3.3 | 24.2 | 14.6 | 18% | 2% | 0.80 | 0.36 | 0.79 | 0.35 | 22 | 17.0 | 3.39 | 16.4 | 2.78 | |
| Rui Hachimura | $4,300 | $4,200 | 23.3 | 0.4 | 19.6 | 2.3 | 19% | -3% | 0.84 | 0.08 | 0.84 | 0.08 | 22 | 18.7 | 4.34 | 18.3 | 4.36 | |
| Troy Brown | $3,800 | $3,700 | 24.5 | 4.8 | 16.6 | 0.6 | 12% | 3% | 0.68 | -0.09 | 0.68 | -0.11 | 16 | 9.9 | 2.61 | 9.8 | 2.64 | |
| Malik Beasley | $4,200 | $4,000 | 25.8 | 1.2 | 22.0 | -3.3 | 21% | -4% | 0.85 | -0.16 | 0.81 | -0.15 | 14 | 10.2 | 2.43 | 9.5 | 2.37 | |
| Wenyen Gabriel | $3,200 | $3,600 | 15.1 | 0.9 | 13.0 | -2.1 | 14% | -5% | 0.86 | -0.18 | 0.89 | -0.18 | 4 | 2.6 | 0.80 | 2.6 | 0.73 |
The +/- columns show the difference between this season’s averages and the last three games.
Grizzlies Notable Injuries
Steven Adams (Out)
Brandon Clarke (Out)
Jake LaRavia (Out)
Grizzlies Lineup – DraftKings & FanDuel Salaries
| Player | DK | FD | MIN/G | +/- | FP/G | +/- | USG% | +/- | DK/M | +/- | FD/M | +/- | MIN (P) | DK (P) | DK/$ | FD (P) | FD/$ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ja Morant | $10,100 | $10,400 | 31.9 | 1.7 | 48.4 | 6.2 | 34% | 5% | 1.52 | 0.11 | 1.46 | 0.06 | 38 | 52.3 | 5.18 | 50.7 | 4.87 | |
| Desmond Bane | $8,600 | $7,800 | 31.7 | 1.0 | 37.5 | -5.5 | 25% | -6% | 1.18 | -0.20 | 1.15 | -0.12 | 36 | 39.6 | 4.61 | 38.5 | 4.93 | |
| Dillon Brooks | $6,100 | $5,300 | 30.3 | -2.2 | 24.8 | -5.2 | 21% | 0% | 0.82 | -0.12 | 0.80 | -0.10 | 33 | 26.2 | 4.29 | 25.7 | 4.85 | |
| Jaren Jackson | $9,600 | $8,300 | 28.4 | 3.5 | 36.7 | -1.6 | 24% | -5% | 1.29 | -0.19 | 1.37 | -0.18 | 33 | 39.1 | 4.08 | 41.2 | 4.96 | |
| Xavier Tillman | $5,200 | $5,800 | 19.3 | 13.0 | 18.4 | 21.4 | 14% | 3% | 0.96 | 0.28 | 1.01 | 0.30 | 21 | 19.2 | 3.69 | 20.2 | 3.48 | |
| Luke Kennard | $5,500 | $4,800 | 22.3 | -1.5 | 16.9 | -1.4 | 14% | 0% | 0.76 | -0.01 | 0.71 | -0.02 | 31 | 25.3 | 4.60 | 24.2 | 5.03 | |
| Santi Aldama | $4,400 | $5,000 | 21.8 | -2.8 | 19.6 | -5.0 | 16% | 1% | 0.90 | -0.13 | 0.91 | -0.14 | 15 | 12.5 | 2.83 | 12.4 | 2.47 | |
| Tyus Jones | $5,900 | $5,500 | 24.2 | -1.7 | 23.9 | -0.6 | 18% | 0% | 0.99 | 0.05 | 0.98 | 0.05 | 21 | 19.6 | 3.31 | 19.3 | 3.50 | |
| David Roddy | $4,200 | $3,700 | 18.0 | -12.7 | 12.9 | -8.1 | 16% | 10% | 0.71 | 0.18 | 0.71 | 0.14 | 6 | 4.0 | 0.94 | 3.9 | 1.04 | |
| John Konchar | $4,100 | $3,800 | 20.7 | -5.9 | 15.6 | -8.3 | 10% | -2% | 0.75 | -0.26 | 0.79 | -0.25 | 6 | 4.6 | 1.12 | 4.7 | 1.24 |
The +/- columns show the difference between this season’s averages and the last three games.
Game Analysis
The first game of the day might just be the best one. The Lakers managed to come back to beat the Timberwolves in the 7-vs.-8 play-in matchup the other night, while the Grizz have been resting all week awaiting the winner of that game. Most expect Memphis to eventually emerge victorious in this series, but would anybody really be shocked if LA pulled the upset? The Grizzlies are listed as 4.5-point home favorites in Game 1 this afternoon.