Mitchell Thoennes 
We are back for the second set of game ones in the opening round for NBA GPP Picks 5/23. Yesterday was an amazing day of basketball and let’s hope for the same today. Today’s slate brings the opening game of WAS vs PHI as the highest total of 229. That is handily above the other three games with the highest of those three coming in at just 216. There will be minimal to no injury news to worry about although Lebron and AD are listed as probable there is no doubt they will play. Just to be cautious join the WinDaily crew in the Discord Chat rooms where you can stay tuned into any breaking news. We have a noon start today so we do not have any more time to waste!
For this first round, I will do it a little differently. I will go over each game giving my top plays while considering ownership slightly more for GPP’s due to the smaller slates. This article will be using DraftKings pricing.
Bombcarlo’s NBA GPP Picks 5/23
Washington vs Philadelphia
Washington
Bradley Beal – ($8,700)
In Washington’s final three games of the year Beal averaged a 35% usage rate. That is 10% higher than Westbrook who is priced over 3K higher. Now I know Westbrook has the peripheral stats but that should tell you that Beal is underpriced. Under a month ago he was priced above 10K. A cheap price should make up for the tough matchup and Beal is averaging 49 fantasy points in three games against Philly.
Philadelphia
Joel Embiid – ($9,800)
Embiid is the usage monster for the 76ers and today he is priced under 10K which is rare for him this year. In three games against Washington Embiid is averaging 30 minutes while scoring 52 fantasy points. Bump those minutes up to near 35 and Embiid should find no trouble scoring over 60 fantasy points. It will not matter who Washington throws his was Gafford, Len, or Lopez. Either player that guards him Joel will eat up in this series. I do believe Harris and Simmons can be paired together if you do not play Embiid.
LA Lakers vs Phoenix
Lakers
It’s tough for me to justify the Lakers in this series. Lebron’s ceiling in this series is around 60 for me and I can get more out of Embiid I believe. If you do not pick Lebron or AD from the Lakers you are not picking much. I like AD’s matchup more and he showed that scoring 70 fantasy points in one game against the Suns this year. I will say it is playoff Lebron who is a different breed but there is equal to better upside elsewhere.
Suns
Chris Paul – ($7,500)
With CP3 averaging 1.15 fantasy points per minute this year he will benefit from the near-guaranteed 35 minutes in the playoffs. Since playoffs are here, I believe we see a slightly different CP3 that takes his share of shots. A big reason for that may be the attention Booker gets from the Lakers. In three games against the Lakers, this season Paul has an average of 33 minutes while scoring 42.75 fantasy points.
Jae Crowder – ($4,100)
You are going to get massive playoff minutes out of Jae Crowder at a cheap price tag. He may get that task of guarding Lebron which will only solidify his minutes. No usage or flashy numbers here but in the three games against LA, he has played 31 minutes while averaging 24 fantasy points. Crowder should get the least attention from the Lakers so he could get plenty of open looks from three.
Atlanta vs New York
Atlanta
Trae Young – ($8,500)
The Hawks star is averaging a 33.5% usage rate over the past nine games four of those games saw Young score over 50 fantasy points. New York is good overall defensively but has allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to point guards this regular season. We see this in Young’s 49 fantasy point average in his three games against New York. His price is way too cheap for his usage rate and reminds me of my thoughts on Lillard last night.
De’Andre Hunter – ($4,000)
Hunter is slowly working back from injury but is expected to have his limit increase for playoffs. He did play 24 minutes in his final game so his limit should not be anything too crazy. Before his injury, Hunter was a big part of this offense. We see evidence of this in his first three games back where he has not average less than a 20% usage rate. In one game against the Knicks, he scored 38 fantasy points.
New York
Julius Randle – ($9,200)
For me, the Knicks are the easiest team it’s these two or no one. You can cover nearly 60% of the Knick usage with these guys. Randle averaging the majority of that with a 32% rate. With that usage rate and the minutes, he plays is impossible to ignore. The man has played 44 or more minutes in three of his last four games. We add his successful resume against the Hawks where he is averaging 65 fantasy points per game and Randle seems like a no-brainer.
Derrick Rose – ($5,500)
With Rose the question was always the minutes he would play. Now he is playing under Thibs again and that is not an issue as we have seen him play up to 39 minutes. In the last three games, Rose saw close to 30 minutes his lowest fantasy output was 31. In New York’s last five games Rose has a usage rate of 27.5%. For the first round, he draws an excellent matchup against the squad that allowed the most fantasy points to point guards all year.
Memphis vs Utah
Memphis
I will stay away from this entire game most likely. Memphis still played a ten-man rotation against the Warriors and that was with Brandon Clarke playing no minutes. The only guy I would even remotely consider for Memphis would be Morant but him matching up with a veteran defender in Conley is not ideal. The prices for these Memphis players are a little steep given they are playing Utah.
Utah
Since Mitchell is returning from his month-long absence, I’m not a fan of Utah either. The majority of these guys are priced up due to Mitchell being gone for an extended period. The only player I consider from Utah would be Mitchell but what are his minutes going to be after over a month out. If we get word that Mitchell is a full go I think you can play him but that is it for me.
Closing Bombcarlo’s NBA GPP Picks 5/23
This Sunday of playoff basketball will be entertaining to watch. My favorite series of these four games is the NY vs ATL series I do believe Lakers vs Suns will be fantastic as well. Let us not sell this Sunday full of sports short at all with the final round of the PGA Championship and a full day of MLB. Whatever your interest may be today check out all our projection models and other articles to help you see green! Thank you for tuning into NBA GPP Picks 5/23.
