Saturday, April 2, has a three-game main slate tipping off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel. Let’s look at the player pool and discuss the top NBA DFS picks today for DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo lineups. As always, you can head over to the Awesemo NBA DFS & Fantasy Basketball home page for all the fantasy basketball content you need for any given slate.
NBA DFS Picks: Fantasy Basketball Building Blocks Today | Saturday, April 2
Yahoo Play of the Day — Kevin Durant: Brooklyn Nets vs. Atlanta Hawks
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 51.96 | DraftKings: 54.09
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 23.4% | FanDuel 46.1% | DraftKings 28.7%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $53 | FanDuel $10,800 | DraftKings $11,000
Several of the top-projected players tonight are guards or centers. This makes Kevin Durant more valuable for lineup construction as only DeMar DeRozan and Jimmy Butler have a median fantasy projection within 20 points of the 2013-14 NBA MVP. Brooklyn is doing its best to climb out of the Play-In Tournament, however, it is five games behind sixth place Toronto. Currently, the Nets are also tied with Atlanta and Charlotte, so every game is crucial in order to be one of the top two seeds in the Play-In Tournament so they are only required to win one game to advance to the first round of the playoffs.
Durant has been playing heavy minutes logging 38 or more in seven of his last eight games. During this timeframe he has averaged 31.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 1.3 steals and a block. The Hawks do not have anyone who is capable of locking down Durant and this should be a spirited battle tonight with each team directly impacting the fortunes of the other.
Trae Young: Atlanta Hawks at Brooklyn Nets
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 48.51 | DraftKings: 52.57
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 29.2% | FanDuel 42.3% | DraftKings 28.7%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $46 | FanDuel $9,900 | DraftKings $10,600
Trae Young has been dealing with a groin issue, though he is expected to play tonight. John Collins (finger) has missed the last three weeks and is not expected to return until next weekend at the earliest. Since Collins was sidelined, Young has tallied 40 or more points on four separate occasions. In the 10 games without Collins, Young has averaged 35.3 minutes, 30.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, 10.7 assists and 1.4 steals. The one knock against the 23-year-old guard is that he does not get many rebounds, but when his shot is falling, his prolific 3-point attempts offset that lone fantasy deficiency. The Hawks are projected to score 120.5 points tonight, which is nearly seven more than their season average.
Look to Young in this matchup against the Nets in the NBA player prop market. Currently, he has a 2.5 over/under on his 3-point prop, and the Awesemo NBA player projections have him for 3.9 made 3-pointers, which gives him a 74% probability of surpassing the over. Young has topped this mark in six of his last seven games.
Golden State Warriors vs. Utah Jazz
The Warriors have lost four consecutive games and seven of their last eight. Stephen Curry (foot) has been ruled out for the remainder of the regular season and Golden State is battling for first-round home-court advantage. Utah and Denver are each within 2.5 games and have a chance at catching the Warriors, as does Dallas, which is only trailing by half a game.
The Jazz are favored by a bucket tonight and Golden State plays again tomorrow night in Sacramento. It would make sense to go for broke in this game, with Sunday’s matchup being against the Kings, who have shut down most of their key players. If we get the standard starting lineup, Jordan Poole, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green would be the trio to target. Andrew Wiggins is a secondary option, though he would get a boost in offensive opportunities if anyone sits tonight. Kevon Looney, Gary Payton II and Otto Porter Jr. are in the mix for tournament differentiation. The Jazz have been hemorrhaging points over their last six games allowing 124.1 points per 100 possessions, which is the third-worst defensive efficiency in the league during this period.
Utah finally got a win after losing five straight games. Currently, it is half a game ahead of Denver with the sixth-best record in the Western Conference, though it could slide into the Play-In Tournament if it does not take care of business immediately. Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, of course, are top options in all formats on Saturday. Mike Conley has seen his minutes trending up and he should see 30 to 32 in a competitive game. Bojan Bogdanovic returned after a two-week absence and his presence mutes the upside potential for all of the reserves aside from Jordan Clarkson. Royce O’Neal has topped 20 fantasy points in just two of his last nine games and he has a high of only 32 fantasy points in his last 22 appearances.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS picks for the Saturday, April 2 Fantasy Basketball Slate
Tonight the NBA is going light against the NCAA Final Four. Sunday will be a robust main slate with at least six games and potentially eight if the two 6 p.m. ET games are included by the NBA DFS sites. Then, on Monday, we have a rare in-season day off for the Association as the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Game will take center stage.
