NBA DFS Playoff Primer: Wednesday, April 19
The NBA postseason is finally upon us. We no longer have to worry about players resting, late scratches, and teams trying to lose. 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.
Happy Wednesday everyone and welcome back to another edition of the NBA Playoff Primer. We’ve had some tremendous games in the playoffs, but we had three snoozers last night. The Cavaliers, Celtics, and Suns all took care of business at home. The Cavaliers and Suns were able to tie their respective series up at a game a piece, while the Celtics took a commanding 2-0 lead over the Hawks.
We have three more Game 2s to break down this evening. The Grizzlies and Bucks have to feel like these are must-win games after losing the first at home, while the Nuggets will look to take a 2-0 lead over the Wolves. There’s a lot to cover, so let’s dive right into the games.
Game 2: Los Angeles Lakers at Memphis Grizzlies
- Time: 7:30 PM ET
- Series: Lakers 1 – Grizzlies 0
Previous Matchups
- Game 1: LAL 128 – MEM 112
Notable Injuries
Ja Morant – Game-Time Decision
Los Angeles 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 | $5,800 | $6,700 | 32.5 | 3.3 | 33.9 | 3.1 | 23% | 0% | 1.04 | -0.01 | 1.00 | -0.01 | 34 | 30.0 | 5.18 | 28.9 | 4.31 | |
| Austin Reaves | $5,600 | $6,000 | 28.8 | 1.8 | 23.4 | 14.9 | 15% | 4% | 0.81 | 0.44 | 0.79 | 0.48 | 34 | 27.5 | 4.90 | 26.4 | 4.40 | |
| LeBron James | $9,900 | $10,800 | 35.5 | -1.5 | 52.6 | 0.2 | 32% | -6% | 1.48 | 0.07 | 1.43 | 0.11 | 38 | 50.6 | 5.11 | 48.3 | 4.47 | |
| Jarred Vanderbilt | $3,900 | $3,900 | 24.1 | -0.7 | 23.5 | -14.5 | 14% | -7% | 0.97 | -0.59 | 0.99 | -0.61 | 23 | 15.7 | 4.03 | 16.3 | 4.18 | |
| Anthony Davis | $10,100 | $11,900 | 34.0 | 2.5 | 51.7 | 9.8 | 28% | -5% | 1.52 | 0.16 | 1.54 | 0.33 | 38 | 52.6 | 5.21 | 53.3 | 4.48 | |
| Dennis Schroder | $4,100 | $5,000 | 30.1 | -10.0 | 24.2 | -10.5 | 18% | -2% | 0.80 | -0.12 | 0.79 | -0.18 | 21 | 16.3 | 3.98 | 15.8 | 3.16 | |
| Rui Hachimura | $4,500 | $4,800 | 23.3 | 6.5 | 19.6 | 20.4 | 19% | 3% | 0.84 | 0.50 | 0.84 | 0.41 | 25 | 21.4 | 4.75 | 21.0 | 4.38 | |
| Troy Brown | $3,300 | $3,700 | 24.5 | -7.6 | 16.6 | -7.9 | 12% | -1% | 0.68 | -0.16 | 0.68 | -0.19 | 16 | 9.7 | 2.95 | 9.6 | 2.60 | |
| Malik Beasley | $3,500 | $3,800 | 25.8 | -15.4 | 22.0 | -21.3 | 21% | -8% | 0.85 | -0.78 | 0.81 | -0.79 | 11 | 8.1 | 2.31 | 7.5 | 1.97 |
The +/- columns show the difference between season averages and this series.
Memphis Grizzlies Lineup – DraftKings & FanDuel Salaries
| Player | DK | FD | MIN/G | +/- | FP/G | +/- | USG% | +/- | DK/M | +/- | FD/M | +/- | MIN (P) | DK (P) | DK/$ | FD (P) | FD/$ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ja Morant | $9,500 | $10,400 | 31.9 | -1.8 | 48.4 | -17.9 | 34% | -6% | 1.52 | -0.50 | 1.46 | -0.51 | 35 | 46.6 | 4.91 | 45.1 | 4.34 | |
| Desmond Bane | $8,400 | $8,500 | 31.7 | 4.9 | 37.5 | 0.7 | 25% | 2% | 1.18 | -0.14 | 1.15 | -0.16 | 37 | 40.9 | 4.87 | 39.7 | 4.67 | |
| Dillon Brooks | $6,100 | $5,800 | 30.3 | -1.4 | 24.8 | -1.3 | 21% | 4% | 0.82 | -0.01 | 0.80 | -0.04 | 32 | 25.1 | 4.11 | 24.6 | 4.25 | |
| Jaren Jackson | $9,300 | $9,000 | 28.4 | 8.7 | 36.7 | 13.0 | 24% | 2% | 1.29 | 0.05 | 1.37 | 0.01 | 36 | 41.9 | 4.51 | 44.0 | 4.89 | |
| Xavier Tillman | $4,900 | $4,900 | 19.3 | 2.6 | 18.4 | -6.2 | 14% | -5% | 0.96 | -0.40 | 1.01 | -0.40 | 22 | 19.7 | 4.01 | 20.7 | 4.23 | |
| Tyus Jones | $6,700 | $7,000 | 24.2 | 1.2 | 23.9 | -5.9 | 18% | -3% | 0.99 | -0.28 | 0.98 | -0.27 | 22 | 19.8 | 2.95 | 19.5 | 2.79 | |
| Luke Kennard | $5,000 | $4,600 | 22.3 | 3.4 | 16.9 | -3.9 | 14% | -3% | 0.76 | -0.25 | 0.71 | -0.21 | 27 | 21.7 | 4.33 | 20.7 | 4.50 | |
| Santi Aldama | $4,300 | $4,500 | 21.8 | 2.5 | 19.6 | -0.1 | 16% | -5% | 0.90 | -0.10 | 0.91 | -0.14 | 22 | 17.7 | 4.11 | 17.6 | 3.90 | |
| David Roddy | $3,200 | $3,700 | 18.0 | -9.5 | 12.9 | -10.1 | 16% | -12% | 0.71 | -0.39 | 0.71 | -0.38 | 8 | 5.3 | 1.64 | 5.1 | 1.39 |
The +/- columns show the difference between season averages and this series.
Game Analysis
The Grizzlies were able to take a six-point lead into halftime of game one, but they were outplayed by the Lakers in the second half. Los Angeles was able to build six-point lead by the end of the third quarter and then halfway through the fourth, Ja Morant took a hard fall and injured his hand. He’s obviously a big question mark heading into tonight’s slate, as he’s listed as a game-time decision. This game features a 1.5-point spread and a 226.5-point total.
There weren’t any major surprises with the Lakers rotation in the first game, although there were certainly some surprises in where the production came from. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t have Rui Hachimura to score 29 points on my NBA bingo card. He logged 30 minutes off the bench, which was higher than expected. Toward the end of the regular season, he was stuck in the 17-to-25 minute range. At his current price point, he falls into the good play at low ownership and bad play at high ownership category.