There is only one game on the schedule in the NBA on Wednesday night as the Cleveland Cavaliers look to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven series with the Atlanta Hawks. That means fewer options to choose from when building an NBA fantasy lineup – depending on which games you’re playing (likely the Wednesday-Thursday tandem). And there’s even lesser room for error for those that want to win. Here is a look at the best NBA fantasy options on the board in DraftKings for Wednesday.
PG: Jeff Teague, Atlanta
Salary: $7,200
Teague struggled in the series opener with Cleveland but he is too talented not to bounce back with a better performance in Game 2. He averaged 13.5 points, 4.5 assists and 1.5 rebounds in the Hawks’ final two wins to close out the Boston Celtics in the opening round and he could easily top those averages with a better performance against the Cavaliers on Wednesday night.
SG: J.R. Smith, Cleveland
Salary: $5,000
Smith came out firing for Cleveland in Game 1 with 12 points, five rebounds, three assists, a steal and four three-point shots. That is excellent production from a shooting guard that is available at $5K. Smith has averaged 13.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 4.2 three-point shots per game this postseason and should be an excellent fit in our NBA fantasy lineup on Wednesday.
SF: LeBron James, Cleveland
Salary: $10,300
The one player that every winning roster will be built around on Wednesday is LeBron, who has stepped up his level of play again in these playoffs and is playing with a sense of urgency as the Cavaliers look to close out Atlanta as quickly as possible. LeBron has averaged 23.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 2.4 steals and 1.2 three-point shots per game this postseason and that level of NBA fantasy production makes his high price tag very reasonable.
PF: Kevin Love, Cleveland
Salary: $8,000
Love had an excellent start in Game 1 against the Hawks with 17 points, 11 rebounds, one assist, one block, one steal and three three-point shots. We are banking on him delivering similar numbers in Game 2. Love watched from the sidelines as Cleveland was bounced in last year’s NBA Finals but he has made the most at his chance for redemption this season and he is a perfect fit in this spot.
C: Al Horford, Atlanta
Salary: $7,500
Horford struggled with consistency early on in Atlanta’s first round series with the Celtics but he has found his game a little bit recently and is the best center on the board for Wednesday night. Horford has averaged 12.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 blocks, 2.0 steals and 1.5 assists over the Hawks’ last two games and we think he can top those averages with a strong performance in Game 2.
G: Dennis Schroder, Atlanta
Salary: $3,100
Schroder had his best game of the playoffs in the series opener versus Cleveland and there is no way we cannot plug him in to this spot based on what he did. Schroder scored 27 points with six assists, three rebounds and five three-point shots against the Cavaliers in Game 1 and if he can even come close to matching that production in Game 2 he will be an outstanding value play.
F: Tristan Thompson, Cleveland
Salary: $4,100
Thompson had been fairly quiet so far in these playoffs until Game 1 against the Hawks, when he had eight points, 14 rebounds, two blocks and two assists. Thompson has the potential to put up better numbers against Atlanta than he did versus Boston in the opening round so we have no problem rolling with him in this spot.
FLEX: Kyle Korver, Atlanta
Salary: $4,500
Korver has been one of the most difficult players to predict so far this postseason but we like his upside in this final FLEX spot. Korver had three points in 37 minutes in Game 1 but he only took two shots and we don’t expect that to be the case in Game 2. Korver averaged 13.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.0 steals, 2.0 assists, 1.0 block and 2.5 three-point shots in back-to-back wins over Boston to close out Atlanta’s opening round series and we expect his numbers to more closely resemble those averages in Wednesday’s DraftKings Daily Fantasy League competitions.
