NBA DFS Picks Projections & Ownerhsip for DraftKings & FanDuel Lineups

The NBA DFS Deep Dive is our primary in-depth daily fantasy basketball article, and it will be free this season. This article’s goal isn’t just to give you a few plays to plug into your lineup but to dig a little bit deeper into why projections may (or may not) like certain players. Hopefully, after reading this article, you’ll have a better feel for the slate as a whole. Combining the context from this article with the raw data available in our Boom/Bust tool, Projections, and Ownership Projections should allow you to build strong lineups and make the best NBA DFS picks on DraftKings and FanDuel for any format.

Join AWESEMO+ today!

Use accurate data and advanced tools crafted by the #1 DFS player.

NBA DFS Deep Dive: DraftKings + FanDuel | April 17

Guards

Russell Westbrook ($10,900 DraftKings/$11,400 FanDuel) – Westbrook is on a tear as the Wizards are fighting to get into the playoff picture. Since Zach LaVine is out due to COVID, the final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference is up for grabs. It looked like the Wizards’ season was done, and now they are back in the mix. As a result, Westbrook is playing more minutes, and his production is on the rise. He’s scored at least 68 DraftKings points in three consecutive games and came an assist shy of his seventh consecutive triple-double last night.

Stephen Curry ($10,300 DraftKings/$10,600 FanDuel) – Just like Westbrook, Curry is getting a bump since the Warriors are fighting for a playoff spot. Curry has scored over 30 points in nine consecutive games as his playing time and usage are both up, with the Warriors hanging onto their playoff hopes. I expect this kind of workload to hold for the rest of the season or until Golden State is knocked out of the playoffs, which doesn’t look like it will happen, at least until the play-in tournament. Over the last two weeks, Curry is playing 35 minutes per game with a 36.6% usage rate.

Bradley Beal ($8,700 DraftKings/$8,300 FanDuel) – Beal is more of a FanDuel play than a DraftKings’ play due to his price and position. He has led the league in scoring for most of the season and still holds the mantle, although it seems like Curry will take over that lead in a matter of games. Beal has yielded some usage and playmaking duties to Westbrook in recent games, but his price is down to the point that I think this is an overcorrection. He has suffered from some bad luck with defensive stats, which should regress, and this is hurting his upside more than his actual scoring numbers. Beal averages over a steal per game but has just four in his last 11 games.

Kemba Walker ($6,900 DraftKings/$6,800 FanDuel) – Walker was a fringe play for me, and then Jaylen Brown was downgraded to questionable because of an illness. If he’s out, Walker becomes a stronger play. With Evan Fournier and Robert Williams also out for Boston, Walker could see a sizable role on offense tonight. In addition, Walker’s playing time is a bit up lately, with the last game notwithstanding. The Celtics held a big lead over the Lakers for most of the second half, and the starters didn’t play much in the fourth quarter.

Coby White ($5,200 DraftKings/$4,500 FanDuel) – White moved back into the Bulls’ starting lineup last night out of necessity. Zach LaVine is out because of COVID, and Tomas Satoransky was a late scratch because of a back injury. Satoransky is listed as questionable again for tonight, so there’s a good chance that White will stick in the starting unit. He performed well in this role last night, playing 33 minutes and scoring over 40 fantasy points. White averages over 30 fantasy points when starting this season, so he’s much too cheap on both sites if Satoransky is out again.

Cory Joseph ($4,700 DraftKings/$5,000 FanDuel) – The Pistons figure to deliver a bunch of value today, as they did last night, but it’s unclear which players we want to target at the moment. I am writing in Joseph as a placeholder since he isn’t listed on the injury report. The Pistons had half the roster listed out yesterday and, for today, we currently have Killian Hayes, Rodney McGruder and Dennis Smith Jr. listed as out. In addition, Frank Jackson is questionable to play. We should get a couple of cheap players that are viable value options for Detroit, and the best plays will depend on the injury report updates and the starting lineup.

Top DraftKings NBA DFS Picks: Russell Westbrook, Cory Joseph

Top FanDuel NBA DFS Picks: Russell Westbrook, Bradley Beal

Latest NBA DFS Content

Forwards

Jayson Tatum ($9,500 DraftKings/$9,400 FanDuel) – Tatum’s viability depends on the status of Jaylen Brown. If Brown plays, it’s tough to roster Tatum at this price tag when we have studs like Westbrook and Curry to pay up for. If Brown is out, Tatum becomes a priority pay-up option at forward, especially when considering the Giannis Antetokounmpo looks like he will stick on a minutes restriction for a couple of games. With Brown off the court this season, Tatum has a 35.5% usage rate and scores 49.52 DraftKings points per 36 minutes.

Jerami Grant ($6,500 DraftKings/$7,100 FanDuel) – Grant is not on the injury report after resting yesterday, so I expect he will get a full workload tonight. The Pistons aren’t playing for much at this point in the season and are playing it cautious with Grant’s games in terms of rest, although he is playing full minutes when active. After missing over a week of action, Grant played 36 minutes on Thursday night. His price is down, and he has a strong uptempo matchup against the Wizards tonight.

Juan Toscano-Anderson ($3,600 DraftKings/$4,000 FanDuel) – This is enough potential value play that depends on injuries. Toscano-Anderson is playing an increased role as of late because Kelly Oubre has missed time with a wrist injury. Oubre is questionable to play tonight, so his status is up in the air. Without Oubre active last game, Toscano-Anderson played 31 minutes and scored 38.25 DraftKings points. His salary hasn’t adjusted at all for his recent uptick in playing time sans Oubre.

Daniel Gafford ($3,500 DraftKings/$3,800 FanDuel) – At first glance at the slate, Gafford is my favorite value play that isn’t dependent on us waiting for any injury news. Gafford is a solid per-minute fantasy producer and averages over a fantasy point per minute. The problem for most of the season is that he has never seen consistent playing time. I am not expecting him to play anything close to 30 minutes, but all he needs is 20 or more to return value at his current salary. Gafford is carving out more of a consistent role with the Wizards than he has had in the past, and he played a season-high 26 minutes last night.

Daniel Theis ($4,000 DraftKings/$4,200 FanDuel) – Theis started last night for the Bulls due to all their injuries, and it didn’t go all that well. The Bulls lost by double-digits which limited Theis’ playing time. Chicago is favored by 2.5 points today, so I don’t think a double-digit loss is a likely outcome. Theis had to come off the court last night for the Bulls to get more shooting on the court, so today’s game script sets up better for him.

Top DraftKings NBA DFS Picks: Daniel Gafford, Jerami Grant

Top FanDuel NBA DFS Picks: Daniel Gafford, Jerami Grant

Centers

Jonas Valanciunas ($7,900 DraftKings/$8,400 FanDuel) – Valanciunas is priced up a bit, but I think he’s worth it. His playing time is a bit erratic, although the Grizzlies are dealing with injuries. With Brandon Clarke, Justise Winslow and De’Anthony Melton all out, Memphis has limited options to go small with. This solidifies the playing time for Valanciunas, and he’s scoring 1.38 DraftKings points per minute this season.

Mason Plumlee ($4,900 DraftKings/$5,100 FanDuel) – After missing a game due to rest, Plumlee finds himself at his cheapest price point since early February. With the Pistons alternating players in and out of the lineup, I think the playing time is relatively secure for all starters since the bench is thin. Plumlee is averaging nearly 30 fantasy points as a starter this season in 27 minutes per game, so his price is about $1,000 too cheap on both sites.

Tristan Thompson ($4,500 DraftKings/$4,300 FanDuel) – Thompson is the safest value play of the day. With Robert Williams out, Thompson was already starting and safe to play sizable minutes. Then the Celtics also released Moe Wagner today, which opens up even more playing time for Thompson. He scored 30 DraftKings points in 25 minutes last game and could play around 30 minutes tonight.

Top DraftKings NBA DFS Picks: Tristan Thompson

Top FanDuel NBA DFS Picks: Tristan Thompson

Follow us on all of our social channels! Check out our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for more great Awesemo content.

Looking for more NBA DFS picks content? We have loads of articles, data, cheat sheets and more on the Awesemo NBA home page. Just click HERE.

Author

Greg Ehrenberg

Greg is a former stand up comedian who quit telling jokes to pursue a career in the world of DFS. He started playing fantasy sports in 6th grade when Greg and his friends would skip classes to meet in the bathroom for 20 team fantasy basketball drafts. Considering his current career path, it was the best education he could have asked for.