NBA Daily Fantasy Helper: Wednesday 4/29/15

If you’ve never played daily fantasy basketball before, it’s time to start. Unlike traditional leagues, you’re able to select the players you want on that specific day only, giving you a different squad to root for each and every NBA night.

And while there are many platforms to play daily fantasy basketball on, one of our favorites is from our partners over at DraftKings.com. Never played over there before? It’s time for that to change. Sign up now and use our optimal lineups here at numberFire.com to crush the competition. You won’t regret it.

As for today's lineups -- those can be found here. The information below is to help you understand why particular players are being picked, because we don't want you going into the night completely blind. We want to help you. Keep in mind, however, that things often change up until tip-off, so make sure you're refreshing the optimal lineups as close to the start of games as possible.

Note: Players mentioned here may not be part of some of our daily lineups because of particular sites' cost analysis. Always look at our optimized lineups to see what our algorithms say.

The Best of the Best

Brook Lopez - After finishing the season on an absolute tear -- averaging 19.7 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game following the All-Star break -- Lopez has continued to dominate through the first four games of Brooklyn's series with Atlanta. The Nets' big man has posted 21.3 points, 11 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and a steal in 40 minutes per game this postseason and is coming off of back-to-back double-doubles, including a monstrous 26-point, 10-rebound, 4-block, 3-assist, 2-steal performance in Game 4. Although his price tag has come up quite a bit, Lopez has been Brooklyn's go-to-guy in the second half of the season and I expect that trend to continue tonight. Do not hesitate to plug the Nets' center into your lineup in all formats tonight.

Paul Millsap - Despite starting the playoffs off with a dud in Game 1 against the Nets, Millsap has bounced back in a big way in Games 2, 3 and 4. Over that span, the Hawks' forward has averaged 17.7 points, 12 rebounds, 4 steals, 3.5 assists and 2 blocks in 38.4 minutes per game and has posted at least 16 points and 12 rebounds in each of his last two games. Millsap gets a dream matchup against a Nets squad who gave up the third most fantasy points per game to opposing power forwards during the regular season and the Hawks will likely continue to take advantage of this mismatch in a pivotal Game 5 tonight. Look for the Hawks' star to put up his third consecutive double-double in a big win at home for Atlanta.

Top Mid-Range Values

Joe Johnson - Brooklyn has leaned very heavily on their veteran shooting guard through the first round of the playoffs. Johnson has played more than 39 minutes in every game of this series and has scored at least 16 points with 6 rebounds in each of the four games of the young playoffs. Iso Joe gets a strong matchup against Kyle Korver and his 106 Defensive Rating and should see minutes in the high-30s or low-40s once again tonight. Johnson makes a strong play in a critical Game 5.

Kyle Korver - Speaking of Korver, despite his spotty defense, the Hawks' shooting guard has been excellent on the offensive end so far these playoffs. Korver is averaging 14 points, 5.8 boards, 3 dimes, 1.5 steals and a block per game in 39.3 minutes per game through four games against Brooklyn. Even though he has exceeded value in three of his last four games, the industry has yet to truly adjust his price to reflect his playoff value. With a matchup against a Nets team who allowed the seventh most fantasy points per game to opposing shooting guards during the regular season and a price tag of $5,400 on FanDuel and $6,100 on DraftKings, Korver is an absolute steal at home in Atlanta tonight.

Basement Ballers

Bojan Bogdanovic - Bogdanovic has been a huge part of the Nets' rotation through the first four games of their series with Atlanta. The Nets' rookie is averaging 11.8 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists per game so far in these playoffs, but has averaged 14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal in 37.1 minutes per game while in the starting lineup over his last three outings. Not to mention he is coming off of an impressive 15-point, 6-rebound, 3-assist performance in a whopping 44 minutes in Game 4. Although he draws a less-than-ideal matchup against DeMarre Carroll, Bogdanovic will likely see another massive workload tonight in what is expected to be the much higher scoring game out of the two on the slate tonight and he costs less than $5,000 on both FanDuel and DraftKings. He makes an excellent value play on a night where value will be hard to come by.

Nick Calathes and/or Beno Udrih - Calathes drew the start with Mike Conley sidelined for Game 4, but he and Udrih spit the point guard minutes right down the middle at 24 minutes a piece. Both finished with solid lines and will likely see a 50/50 split again tonight. Normally I wouldn't recommend players only seeing half of the minutes at their respective positions, but this case is an exception. The Blazers allowed the third most fantasy points per game to opposing point guards during the regular season and both Grizzlies' point guards can be had at very reasonable prices -- Udrih costs just $3,800 on both FanDuel and DraftKings while Calathes is priced at $3,800 on FanDuel and a minuscule $3,100 on DraftKings. If I had to choose just one, I would go with Udrih on FanDuel and Calathes on DraftKings, but given their price and matchup starting both in the same lineup is far from out of the question tonight.