One night after the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers wrapped up the opening round of the NBA playoffs with their incredible Game 7 on Saturday, the second round gets underway with a series in which the winner could emerge as the most likely favorite to win a championship this season. The Golden State Warriors have undoubtedly been the most dominant team in the association all season and they will look to carry their elite level of play over in to the second round with Game 1 against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday. With only one game on the slate, it could be a little more difficult to construct the perfect fantasy team. Here is a look at the optimal lineup for Sunday’s DraftKings Daily Fantasy Leagues.
PG: Stephen Curry, Golden State
Salary: $10,500
Any DraftKings lineup for Sunday should be built around the Warriors MVP Curry, who has raised his level of play even higher in the playoffs. Curry averaged a ridiculous 33.8 points per game, 7.3 assists, 5.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 4.0 three-point shots per game in the opening round and it’s as though after biding his time towards the end of the regular season, he has decided to show the world exactly how dominant he can be. Golden State has been biding its time following its sweep of the New Orleans Pelicans and that will mean Curry has a ton of pent up energy when he looks to pick up where he left off in front of the home fans with another monster performance in Game 1.
SG: Courtney Lee, Memphis
Salary: $4,400
The injury to Mike Conley has created an opportunity in DraftKings Daily Fantasy Leagues with Lee still available at just $4,400 despite his improved production thanks in part to a greater burden of responsibility. Lee averaged 17.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.2 steals in the Grizzlies first round series against Portland and the opportunity to add that type of production to your lineup at such a reasonable price shouldn’t be passed on.
SF: Draymond Green, Golden State
Salary: $6,200
Green is the only small forward in this series worth banking on and since we can find substantial value elsewhere, we have more than enough money to spend on him in this spot as our small forward. Green averaged 15.8 points, 12.8 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.3 blocks per game in Golden State’s opening round series and there is a good chance he will open this second round series with the same type of elite level of production that we saw from him in Round 1.
PF: Zach Randolph, Memphis
Salary: $7,400
With only one game on the slate, it’s important to plug in the best player available at every position where there is an obvious disparity. The power forward spot is another of them so it makes sense to go with Randolph here. Randolph averaged 14.0 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game versus the Trail Blazers in the opening round and the disparity between him and the next best option makes him a lock as the power forward.
C: Marc Gasol, Memphis
Salary: $8,700
The same rule of picking the player that provides that much more production than the next best option that applied to Curry, Green and Randolph applies to Gasol here and since there are value options elsewhere on the board, we can bank on him here. Gasol averaged a team-high 20.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.4 blocks in the Grizzlies opening round series versus Portland and is a lock at the center position for Sunday.
G: Beno Udrih, Memphis
Salary: $3,000
The final three positions is where things get a little more interesting as we take to very cost-effective guards that have the potential to produce at a high level as well as the best remaining forward on the board. Udrih has had some time to rest his injured ankle and with Conley still out, he assumes the starting point guard role at a $3,000 price tag.
F: Harrison Barnes, Golden State
Salary: $5,200
Banking on a pair of bargain guards to fill the G and FLEX spots allows us to invest a little more on the best forward still on the board in Barnes. The veteran small forward averaged 8.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 blocks in the Warriors’ opening round series and by plugging him here, we have three of Golden State’s top four scorers in our lineup for Sunday.
FLEX: Nick Calathes, Memphis
Salary: $3,000
With Conley out, it’s Calathes that becomes the first guard off the bench for Memphis and with the remaining money we have he certainly offers the most upside after averaging 6.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.2 three-point shots per game – especially since the Grizzlies could have a tough time slowing down Golden State’s offense making it more necessary to rely on a shooter like Calathes off the bench at the other end.
