daily fantasy sports articles

NBA Wednesday (Thursday AEST) brings a 2 game slate of playoff basketball. The major DFS tournaments on offer include:

• $6K NBA Thursday at Draftstars
• $1K NBA Thursday Mini at Draftstars
• $555K NBA Game 5 Playoff Spectacular at DraftKings ($100K to 1^st)
• $100K Four Point Play (20 Entry Max) at DraftKings
• $20K NBA Pick and Roll at DraftKings (Single Entry)

In case you are new to NBA DFS these articles break down the matchups and highlight the key plays to help you build winning lineups. For more insight into how to utilise our game breakdown data check out our NBA DFS Training Camp Series:

Part 1 – Betting Lines and Totals

Part 2 – Matchup Analysis – Pace and Defence vs Position

Part 3 – Key Statistics in Daily Fantasy Basketball

Part 4 – Trade Analysis – Breaking Down the Jimmy Butler trade

Part 5 – DraftKings Sharpshooter Winning Lineup Recap

Part 6 – Adjusting for Line-up News

Have you seen our new NBA DFS Cheat Sheets? We have added even more information for you to see at a glance, including pace numbers, last 5 scores per player and a new Slate Overview section, which brings you projected pace, projected fantasy score totals and Vegas lines and totals for every team on the slate. The perfect accompaniment to our regular previews and a great starting place for the days we don't cover!

GAME BREAKDOWN

Two even matches in terms of game total once again on this slate with Houston at Golden State the top mark at 219.5 points. The key difference on this slate is the line, with Rockets vs Warriors expected to be the closer matchup.

Boston at Milwaukee has a line of 9 points, which is significant at this point in the playoffs. It is possibly even light on given it is a close out game for the Bucks and there is every chance that the Celtics players will be thinking about their flights to Cabo on the weekend.

Boston are the only team playing in a pace up matchup, however despite that they have the biggest negative difference in their implied game total compared to their average at -7.9 points.

There isn’t much to garner from pace of play on these two games and as mentioned above I think the game to target will be Houston at Golden State, with that series going to the wire in every game so far.

Injury/Lineup News

At this stage the only injury news to monitor is Andre Iguodala who is under a injury cloud due to a knee injury suffered late in game four. Like all injury news at this stage in the year Iguodala is listed as probable and should be an almost certain starter. If he is out the biggest minute boost would likely be to Kevin Looney, with Shaun Livingston and possibly Alfonzo Mckinnie.

VALUE

Austin Rivers (DS $6,670, DK $3,500) has become the secret ingredient for the Rockets as over the last two games they have found success playing a small ball lineup that includes Rivers with P.J. Tucker at centre. Rivers minutes have subsequently increased, culminating in 33 minutes and 26 fantasy points in game four. He is underpriced on this slate given that level of workload.

George Hill (DS $7,050, DK $4,200) / Pat Connaughton (DS $7,030, DK $4,000) have both absolutely decimated the Celtics off the bench during series. Hill has averaged 24.3 fantasy points during the Bucks three wins, while Connaughton is at 26.4 over the same period. Both are locked into high 20s in minutes and if this game does blow out could see even more time. On that note a sneaky sneaky play if you are expecting a blowout is Sterling Brown, who should be barely owned but might receive garbage time minutes (GPP ONLY!!).

MID PRICED

P.J. Tucker (DS $9,840, DK $5,100)... like Austin Rivers above, has become the skeleton key to the series for the Rockets. Playing centre in their small ball lineup he is locked into 40 minutes and he is essentially locked into 10 rebounds a game minimum as part of this role. If you look back to this series last season it is no surprise as Tucker ended up in a similar role and was an absolute monster on the glass. The last three games he has averaged over 35 points per game.

PREMIUM

Kevin Durant (DS $19,000, DK $9,300) is impossible to ignore at this point. His minutes during the playoffs are insane, logging over 40 in the last six games. During that period he has averaging over 56 fantasy points per game with three games over 60 points (including a 70).

Dragon Team

The Daily Fantasy Rankings "Dragon" has scoured the Australian sports betting markets and found some great value picks for these games. Check out his picks for the day below and click on the links to follow his betting plays!

Always remember to gamble responsibly. When the fun stops, stop. If gambling is having a negative impact on your life, seek support at Gambling Help Online.  18+ only.