On Tuesday, April 5, the NBA is back after a one-day hiatus with a robust 12-game main slate tipping off at 7 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 | Tuesday, April 5
Yahoo Play of the Day — Nikola Jokic: Denver Nuggets vs. San Antonio Spurs
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 59.66 | DraftKings: 62.39
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 13.6% | FanDuel 17.3% | DraftKings 14.2%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $58 | FanDuel $12,000 | DraftKings $12,500
The salary for Nikola Jokic is at one of the highest levels we have seen this year; however, with two dozen teams in action there will be a plethora of value options available tonight. Denver currently has the fifth-best record in the Western Conference, though Utah is half a game behind, and Minnesota is only two back and could still force one of the two teams ahead of them into the Play-In Tournament.
Dejounte Murray (illness) will be missing a third consecutive game, though the Nuggets are only 6-point favorites at home. Jokic is also in the throes of defending his MVP Award from Joel Embiid, who has emerged from the field in what has become a two-person race to the wire. For this season, Jokic is averaging 58.3 fantasy points per game compared to 54.7 last year. Only once in his last 17 games has the reigning NBA MVP played less than 32 minutes. During this stretch he is averaging 34.5 minutes, 30.9 points, 13.4 rebounds, 7.8 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.4 steals. Look to some of the Spurs for some in-game synergy on the same roster as Jokic. Tre Jones, Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, Lonnie Walker IV and Jakob Poeltl all look appealing as the players who will step in to fill the void left by Murray tonight.
Fred VanVleet: Toronto Raptors vs. Atlanta Hawks
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 37.05 | DraftKings: 38.11
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 13% | FanDuel 9.8% | DraftKings 4.3%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $29 | FanDuel $7,400 | DraftKings $8,100
After working through some nagging injuries, Fred VanVleet has, once again, been logging heavy minutes, with at least 39 in three of his last four games. Toronto is currently tied with Chicago, and each team is 2.5 games ahead of Cleveland, which is looking to escape the Play-In Tournament. VanVleet stands out on Yahoo tonight with his appealing $29 salary. Over his last three games, the first time All-Star has averaged 20 points, three rebounds, six assists, 4.3 steals and one block. This has resulted in 45.6 fantasy points during this stretch. Toronto is projected to score 115.5 points, which is half a dozen more than its season average.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Portland Trail Blazers
This matchup will be a source of many fantasy options, as both teams have shut down most of their key rotation players for the season. Aleksej Pokusevski has recorded 30 or more fantasy points in five of his last six appearances, with a career-high 47 fantasy points on Sunday against Phoenix. Theo Maledon and Isaiah Roby should each see upwards of 30 minutes tonight, and both can produce close to a fantasy point per minute. If anyone else sits, more options could open up — though at this time the remainder of the Thunder are neutral plays on the main slate and tournament dart throws on the mid-evening slate.
Drew Eubanks and Brandon Williams are standout options on Yahoo, though they have seen their salaries escalate dramatically on DraftKings and FanDuel. Reggie Perry, Greg Brown, Kris Dunn, CJ Elleby and Keon Johnson are all in play on sites where they are at or just above the minimum salary threshold.
Look to Eubanks in this matchup against the Thunder in the NBA player prop market. Currently, he has a 1.5 over/under on his assist prop, and the Awesemo NBA player projections have him for 2.3 assists, which gives him a 65% probability of surpassing the over. Eubanks has at least two assists in nine of his last 13 games.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS picks for the Tuesday, April 5 Fantasy Basketball Slate
Tonight there are games tipping off at six different start times, including four matchups starting at 9 p.m. or later. There are just three or four games left in the season, depending on the team. We will likely continue to see late scratches and even in-game rest as the standings and playoff picture continue to solidify.
