The NBA Playoffs are starting, so it's time for our first DFS NBA playoff preview with the NBA DFS 4-11-23 DraftKings Breakdown.
We got ourselves a nice little two-game slate. Few should be surprised that the Hawks are playing the Heat in the playoffs, but few in the preseason thought it would be a play-in game. On the other side, we have the Lakers versus the T-Wolves. I would not expect either of those two Western teams to make a deep run, but their championship chances at least have a pulse, which is not something we could have said every day of the season.
While all four of these teams have been a bit of a disappointment, we should at least be treated to some pretty high-scoring games with all four teams expected to hit triple digits easily. The books have set the over/under at 228 for the Eastern matchup and over 232 for the Western match-up.
And that means we got plenty of fantasy goodness available to us! And for those who don't read me regularly, I will inform you that I tend to play GPPs rather than cash games, so this article will have a bit more of a GPP slant to it. However, that doesn't mean I won't mention some definite cash options.
Finally, I need to mention the usual caveat to check lineups close to lineup lock. But here is your NBA DFS 4-11-23 DraftKings Breakdown.
NBA DFS 4-11-23 DraftKings Breakdown
Point Guard - Victor Oladipo, Miami Heat ($4300)
If I am not mistaken, Oladipo is Nigerian for "value". He posted over 6x of his salary in DKFPs on Sunday and in his game before that he exceeded well over a dozen times his salary. DraftKings more often than not seems to struggle with his pricing and he often exceeds 5x his salary.
Can Oladipo put up at least 22 fantasy points against the Hawks? I think so. Atlanta is allowing PGs an above-average amount of assists, free throws, and steals. Oladipo will probably come off this bench and therefore we are going to sweat this one out. But I think he can do just enough to pay off this salary and will allow us to spend up elsewhere, for example at our next position.
Other Options-Trae Young and Mike Conley
Shooting Guard - Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves ($9100)
ANTHONY EDWARDS. WOW. pic.twitter.com/KNL8AfdKfb
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 9, 2023
Edwards has been on absolute fire lately. He's had at least 23 points or more in every game this month. He's coming off one of his best performances of the year, finishing Sunday night with four (!) blocks, four steals, four assists, 26 points, and a whopping 13 rebounds.
Edwards is averaging over 26 points per game this season, due in part to his 37% shooting from beyond the arc and a FG% of 45.9. But we know he's not just a shooter. He's also averaging over five rebounds a game as well as over four assists not to mention nearly two steals a game.
Let's just say I'm going to "hustle" to get Edwards into my lineups!
Other Options-Malik Beasley and Dejounte Murray
Small Forward - LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers ($10,900)
Because the King ain't leaving the throne without a fight.
Seriously, do I really need to explain why James is worth a play? 60+ DKFPs is definitely a possibility against a reeling Minnesota team, given that he has averaged over 52 DKFPs when healthy. I won't have any cash lineups without him in it. Let's move on.
Other Options-Jimmy Butler and Bogdan Bogdanovic
Power Forward - Jarred Vanderbilt, Los Angeles Lakers ($4400)
Tuff🔥🔒 https://t.co/WYaRDj82vN
— Jarred Vanderbilt (@JVando) April 2, 2023
We still need to save some money somewhere and with LeBron already in our SF slot, I'm gonna cut at PF. I am aware that this is a very risky play, and I'm still making it in my GPP entries. Vanderbilt hasn't seen even 20 DK fantasy points in over ten days. However, his ceiling is easily greater than double that. That is especially true if he can get a double-double as he did against the Rockets back in mid-March.
Minnesota is allowing power forwards over 11 rebounds a game...and that was with Gobert in the lineup most nights. If the Lakers can somehow jump out in front early, my guess is that Anthony Davis sees limited time on the court. And when that happens, expect a lot of minutes for Vandy, who averages .93 DKFPs a minute. I would not be surprised to see Vanderbilt get close to 30 minutes. He's a great high-leverage play.
Other Options-Saddiq Bey and Taurean Prince, but both are mild endorsements
Center - Bam Adebayo, $7700, Miami Heat
Something tells me I will play Anthony Davis here, but as of this writing, he's no lock to play. So I'm going to pivot and make the "easy" play with Bam. Adebayo is averaging 40 DKFPs a game this year and at under $8K, that's a steal.
Atlanta struggles with big men, having allowed Centers the fourth most points per game in the league. Here is where I will also point out that two of the last three times that Bam faced Atlanta he had over 50 DKFPs. Abedayo makes for a solid play at Center in both cash games and GPPs. Lock him in.
Other Options-John Collins and Anthony Davis
Check out our NBA DFS Projections and our NBA Betting Model Projections
