Tuesday brought some wild fantasy scores, and Wednesday is shaping up in similar fashion. Most of the teams in action today have something to play for, but there are still several key players who are out. This will give us the options to enable the preferred stars-and-scrubs lineup construction, which makes DFS tournaments so much fun as the NBA season winds down. Let’s dig a little deeper and discuss the top NBA DFS picks for DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo lineups.
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NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks, Wednesday, May 5th
Yahoo Play of the Day — Damian Lillard: Portland Trail Blazers at Cleveland Cavaliers
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 42.72 | DraftKings: 45.19
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 9.8% | FanDuel 8.6% | DraftKings 7.6%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $40 | FanDuel $9,200 | DraftKings $9,400
With his $40 salary on Yahoo, Damian Lillard is likely to be lost in the shuffle when gamers roll out their stars-and-scrubs rosters. Portland is battling to stay out of the play-in tournament and is currently just one game behind the struggling Lakers. Lillard has now posted three straight games over 50 Yahoo fantasy points, and the longer he has the questionable tag next to his name, the less gamers will be heading in his direction.
Cleveland has lost 10 of their last 11 games, though they have put a scare into several of their opponents. Last night they took Phoenix into overtime before Chris Paul ripped out their heart and showed it to them while it was still beating, with a 20-4 run in the extra period. Even though the Blazers are double-digit road favorites, if they cruise in this game, it will likely be courtesy of Lillard.
Giannis Antetokounmpo: Milwaukee Bucks vs. Washington Wizards
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 55.4 | DraftKings: 57.21
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 23.8% | FanDuel 28.4% | DraftKings 28.0%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $54 | FanDuel $11,400 | DraftKings $10,900
Over the last month the Wizards and Bucks are both top five in pace. The only concern with Giannis Antetokounmpo is that Milwaukee is only a 3-point favorite at home. This is the third game in four days for Antetokounmpo, who logged 37 minutes in last night’s victory over the Nets in Brooklyn. Washington has won 13 of their its 16 games, so perhaps they are getting a little bit of respect from the oddsmakers, but one would have figured the Bucks to be favored by 7 or 8 points.
Milwaukee clinched at least the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference last night, and they are just 1.5 games behind Brooklyn and 3.0 behind Philadelphia, so they have good reason to lock in as many victories as possible over the next two weeks.
Fortunately, there is an easy pivot away from Giannis right to Russell Westbrook on the off chance Antetokounmpo is resting tonight. Only two games will have locked prior to the 8 p.m. ET action, so there will be ample roster flexibility to make the most of the salary cap if anyone is ruled out prior to tipoff.
Good Value
Delon Wright: Sacramento Kings at Indiana Pacers
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 37.21 | DraftKings: 37.15
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 91.8% | FanDuel 67.8% | DraftKings 44.6%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $12 | FanDuel $5,200 | DraftKings $5,600
Rookie Tyrese Haliburton has been lost for the season with a knee injury, and De’Aaron Fox is still in the health and safety protocol. Much like last night, Delon Wright will be asked to play all the minutes he can handle. Yesterday was an apex performance by Wright, who played 36.6 minutes and had 13 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and an astonishing four blocks and four steals on his way to 60 Yahoo fantasy points.
Over their last 10 games, Indiana leads the league in pace, with 106.6 possessions per 48 minutes. Their interior defense is suffering without Myles Turner, and this game has a projected 239.5-point total. The salary is tantalizing across the DFS sites for Wright, and it would be wrong to not recommend him as a core option. Teammate Marvin Bagley is also a solid NBA DFS pick, as he is getting ample offensive opportunities in filling the void left by Fox and Haliburton.
Risky Value
Joel Embiid: Philadelphia 76ers at Houston Rockets
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 48.51 | DraftKings: 49.96
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 11.2% | FanDuel 20.6% | DraftKings 14.2%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $47 | FanDuel $9,600 | DraftKings $10,200
This feels like a matchup where one or more of the key 76ers will get a day off. They are 13.5-point favorites in Houston at the moment. The Rockets a have shut down John Wall for the season, and Christian Wood is questionable with an ankle injury. The Rockets have just five wins in their last 44 games. Even if Joel Embiid starts and Tobias Harris and/or Ben Simmons sit, would Embiid see more than 28 to 30 minutes? While he absolutely could post 50 fantasy points in 30 minutes, that feels like a reach. Pivoting to Rudy Gobert seems like a better play in FanDuel tournaments since he should see more usage and field-goal attempts against a weak Spurs frontcourt. Plus, both Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley are out.
Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies
- Moritz Wagner: ORL vs. BOS – $13
- Austin Rivers: DEN vs. NYK – $10
- Jaden McDaniels: MIN vs. MEM – $10
Final Thoughts on the Wednesday, May 5th NBA DFS Slate
Tonight there are only two games tipping off in the first hour and then five starting at 8 p.m. ET. This will likely lead to post-lock news that needs to be monitored. Keep in mind that salaries and scoring formats differ across the various fantasy sites, and a slam-dunk play on Yahoo may be a below-average NBA DFS pick on DraftKings or FanDuel.
