NBA Daily Fantasy Helper: Wednesday 4/15/15

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.

To get a general idea of who we're picking in tonight's slate, check out the video below, courtesy of Periscope. And be sure to follow us on there, @numberFire!

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

Russell Westbrook - Westbrook has been the most productive player in the league over the second half of the season. Since the All-Star break, the Thunder star is averaging a ridiculous 31.2 points, 10 assists and 8.6 rebounds in with a massive 39.2% usage rate 36.8 minutes per game. In order for Oklahoma City to make the playoffs, they not only need San Antonio to knock off New Orleans, but they need to win tonight as well. Fortunately for the Thunder, they draw an excellent matchup against the terrible Timberwolves and their league-worst defense. Westbrook should absolutely dominate a Minnesota squad who has allowed the second most fantasy points per game to opposing point guards this season in what should be a huge win for Oklahoma City tonight.

Hassan Whiteside - With the Heat already eliminated from playoff contention, it's hard to trust any of their veterans -- specifically Dwyane Wade -- tonight. However, there is no reason to believe that Whiteside won't see his full workload tonight in a dream matchup against the 76ers. Philadelphia has allowed the most fantasy points per game to opposing centers and Whiteside has been outstanding as of late. Over his last three outings since his minutes limit was released following his hand injury, the Heat big man has averaged 19.6 points, 15.6 rebounds and a whopping 4 blocks per game, while scoring at least 16 points and grabbing at least 13 boards in each of those three games. Regardless of what happens with the Heat veterans, Whiteside makes an elite play in all formats tonight.

Top Mid-Range Values

Zach LaVine - The matchup between the Timberwolves and Thunder is expected to be a very fast-paced, high scoring game and, although I fully expect Oklahoma City to win decisively, there is a ton of value to be had on both sides of the court. Andrew Wiggins and Justin Hamilton both make strong plays for the Wolves, but my favorite player out of Minnesota tonight is LaVine. The Timberwolves' rookie point guard has been forced to play a ton of minutes over the past few weeks given all of Minnesota's injuries and has been very productive over that span. LaVine is averaging 21.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.7 assists in a whopping 39.5 minutes per game during the month of April and should see another very heavy workload tonight against a Thunder squad who has allowed the sixth most fantasy points per game to opposing point guards this season. LaVine makes a very strong play at just $6,300 on FanDuel and $6,700 on DraftKings.

Danilo Gallinari - The Nuggets will be resting a number of players tonight, including Kenneth Faried and Randy Foye. With those two players out, both Wilson Chandler and Gallinari will likely see a boost in both playing time and usage rate tonight. Chandler is definitely a strong play tonight, but Gallinari is my preferred play of the two. Gallo has been on fire lately, averaging 23.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3 assists over his last five games, including a 47-point, 9-rebound, 2-assist gem against the Mavericks a few nights ago. The Nuggets forward makes a solid play at $7,400 on FanDuel but is an absolute steal at just $6,400 on DraftKings.

Basement Ballers

Jabari Brown - Tonight's game between the Lakers and Kings is absolutely loaded with fantasy value. For the Lakers, Jordan Clarkson, Jeremy Lin and Wesley Johnson will all sit out tonight's game. This means the Lakers' starting backcourt will consist of Brown and Vander Blue, who will be playing just his second game of the season with Los Angeles tonight. Brown could see 40-plus minutes of action tonight in an excellent matchup against a Kings squad who has allowed the most fantasy points per game to opposing shooting guards this season and could be the focal point of the Lakers' offense with Clarkson sidelined. Despite his recent success, Brown still costs just $4,100 on FanDuel and $4,200 on DraftKings. He should easily exceed value tonight in what is expected to be a very high scoring game.

Derrick Williams - As I just mentioned, there is an insane amount of fantasy value from both the Lakers and Kings tonight. Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins will miss tonight's game for the Kings as expected, but what truly gives the Kings' backups extra fantasy value tonight is the fact that Omri Casspi will be sidelined tonight as well. Casspi had been the leader of Sacramento's offense with Gay and Boogie out, but the Kings will be forced to rely on other players tonight instead and Williams is definitely one of those players. The young Kings' forward will likely slide into Sacramento's starting lineup for Casspi and should see a huge increase in workload tonight. Williams has posted 15 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists on a per-36 minute basis this season and should see close to that number tonight. Look for him to be heavily involved in Sacramento's offense in a great matchup against L.A. and for him to reach value easily.