Fantasy Basketball 2021: Daily Fantasy Lineup Tips for Wednesday’s NBA Playoffs

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The first four games played between the Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers, and Los Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz gave us a good idea of which players to trust in FanDuel daily fantasy basketball contests. 

Joel Embiid, Donovan Mitchell, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and Trae Young have all lived up to their superstar tags with fantastic performances. 

It is impossible to place all five players in a single DFS lineup due to salary restrictions, but you could manage a way to put three of them in one lineup. 

A three-star lineup requires a deep dive into some value plays, but there are some available, especially with Danny Green out injured for Philadelphia. 

Mike Conley’s injury status could affect the production of Joe Ingles, but the other scorers in the Jazz lineup should be fine if Conley is able to play on Wednesday night. 

With that in mind, there are some value plays from the Utah roster that you can mix with top-tier players for an effective DFS lineup.

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An Embiid-Mitchell combination makes the most sense from a salary and FanDuel points perspective. 

At $10,800, Embiid carries the second-highest salary on the two-game slate behind Leonard, but he is more than worth that number.

Even in Game 4 when he had 17 points, the 27-year-old still posted 44.2 FanDuel points. He eclipsed 60 in the first three games and is not expected to be held below 20 points on his home court in Game 5. 

There is a wide margin in FanDuel point production between Embiid and Rudy Gobert where it makes little sense to save salary at center. Gobert has gone over 50 FanDuel points twice in the postseason. 

If you start Embiid, a pivot to Mitchell at shooting guard should follow. Utah’s top scorer sits at a $9,700 salary and has been a lock for at least 30 points and four or five three-point makes in every game against the Clippers. 

Even if Conley is back for Game 5, Mitchell should be the Jazz’s top shot-taker, and if anything, Conley’s presence could amplify his numbers because the team’s starting point guard would be back in place. 

There is a way to add George at $9,200 to carry a three-star lineup, but you would need one or two players under $4,000. 

You can avoid George because there are a handful of decent shooting guard options in Bogdan Bogdanovic, Seth Curry and Kevin Huerter who can save salary and allow you to put some second-tier players across the nine-man roster. 

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Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Reggie Jackson and Jordan Clarkson had Game 4 performances that would make some DFS players turn away from them for Game 5. 

Clarkson went 2-for-8 from three-point range and managed just eight points, while Jackson only attempted four field goals. Both are still the third-best scorers on their respective rosters in the series, though, and they sit at reasonable salaries at point guard for Wednesday’s slate. 

A Jackson-Clarkson combination would only cost you $10,100 in salary and they have the potential to outperform others with similar salaries.

In Games 2 and 3, Jackson went over 25 FanDuel points, while Clarkson produced over 20 in each of the first three games. 

Clarkson’s role will not be adjusted because of Conley’s status since he is the first player off the bench for Utah.

If the two point guards revert back to their shooting form from Games 1-3, they should provide plenty of value alongside some top-tier names. 

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Furkan Korkmaz earned the Game 4 start for the 76ers in Green’s absence. 

The Turkish shooting guard is expected to remain in the lineup for Game 5, which makes him an ideal value play at $4,300.

Korkmaz will not go off for a massive point total, but if he reaches double figures again—as he did in Game 4—he could earn enough FanDuel points to warrant a start. 

In Game 4, the 23-year-old went 2-for-5 from three-point range and attempted two more field goals than Shake Milton and Matisse Thybulle, who earned the most minutes off the bench. 

Korkmaz could be used as a low-salary complement to Mitchell or George at shooting guard, and he could be one of the biggest surprises on Wednesday’s slate if he hits a few more shots.

Rostering Korkmaz would allow you to add a handful of players in the $5,000-$6,000 range, including Bojan Bogdanovic and Danilo Gallinari at small forward, and Marcus Morris and Royce O’Neale at power forward. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from Basketball Reference.

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