It’s a smaller slate tonight with only four games on the docket, tipping off between 7:30p.m. and 10:00p.m. ET. The highlight of the night has to be the Boston Celtics taking on the Los Angeles Lakers as Boston looks to extend their winning streak to five against a short-handed Lakers team.
Sometimes with a plus-matchup on the NBA game slate, we get an opportunity to slot multiple players from the same team into our DFS lineups. You can read more about the concept of stacking here, but the main goal is to take advantage of this plus-matchup and use the salary cap to your advantage.
Here, we’ll break down three of the best team stacks for the NBA slate on April 15th.
Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers, 10:00p.m. ET
Jayson Tatum ($9,400)
Jaylen Brown ($8,100)
Kemba Walker ($6,800)
Robert Williams ($5,800)
The Lakers are having a rough go as it is without their two biggest starts LeBron James (ankle) and Anthony Davis (calf). It’s looking like they both could be back in time for the playoffs, but for now the Lakers are still struggling without them. They’ve also got a whole bunch of guys listed as questionable ahead of tonight’s game, including Andre Drummond (toe), Kyle Kuzma (calf), Dennis Schroder (pelvis), Markieff Morris (ankle), and a few others. Even if only one or two of these guys don’t see the floor tonight, it’s a great opportunity to stack with a near full-health Celtics team who are riding a four-game winning streak.
Tatum is an obvious pick as he’s been scoring impressive fantasy points in recent games, including 75.5 DKFP against the Timberwolves last week as he went for 53 points on the night. His season average is 44.9 DKFP but through his last five games he’s been averaging a big 51.4. On the lower salary end, Williams has scored 20-plus DKFP in nine of his last 10 games with a high of 49.25 against the Rockets at the beginning of April. He’ll be a solid big man to have in your lineup at a relatively affordable price.
Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers, 8:00p.m. ET
Steph Curry ($10,600)
Draymond Green ($7,100)
Andrew Wiggins ($6,900)
Jordan Poole ($5,000)
Yes, Curry is an expensive option, but the rest of the Warriors players are cheap in comparison, so this stack would only eat up just over half of your salary cap. Curry’s ceiling is so high that it’d be ridiculous not to put him in. His DKFP average this season is 50.4 per game, but he’s stepped that up to 60.9 throughout his last five games. He just turned in 69 and 67 DKFP performances against the Nuggets and Thunder, respectively, and is on an absolute tear. He hasn’t scored less than 30 points in a game since mid-March. Going down the line to Poole as a value grab is a decent option as well. He’s had some ups and downs recently, with his last five DKFP performances coming in at 20.75, 3.23, 34.75, 8.25, and most recently 23.25. He helped lift the Warriors to a 147-109 blowout of the Thunder on Wednesday, adding 17 points and four assists.
Phoenix Suns vs. Sacramento Kings, 10:00p.m. ET
Devin Booker ($8,700)
Chris Paul ($7,900)
Deandre Ayton ($6,700)
Jae Crowder ($4,400)
In what may be the most lopsided match-up of the night, the Suns are the hottest team in the NBA right now and they’ll be taking on the league’s worst defense in the Sacramento Kings. Phoenix is rife with solid fantasy options, so you really can’t go wrong with almost anyone who will see playing time.
The obvious choices are there, though, in Booker, Paul, and Ayton. Booker and Paul have been a lethal duo as the Suns have surged to win 13 of their last 15 contests, with those guys at the forefront. Booker has averaged 39.4 DKFP so far this season, but that’s bumped to 41.3 throughout his last 10 games. He’s only had one game in his last eight where he scored less than 30 DKFP, but three games in that same stretch saw him at over 50. Crowder is a nice value pick to round out the stack as he’s usually good for at least 20 DKFP if not more. He can be somewhat inconsistent, but he put up 26 points, two assists, and two rebounds against the Rockets which was good for 37 DKFP.