NBA DFS action on Monday, April 19, locks at 7 p.m. ET with a nine-game main slate on Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel. Before locking in lineups, make sure to check out Awesemo’s daily fantasy basketball picks, rankings and projections. Let’s dig into some NBA DFS picks and daily fantasy basketball, including Mike Conley, Russell Westbrook and more.
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NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks, Monday, April 19th
Yahoo Play of the Day — Mike Conley: Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Lakers
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 34 | DraftKings: 35.71
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 25.4% | FanDuel 9.6% | DraftKings 13.6%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $25 | FanDuel $7,200 | DraftKings $7,000
Donovan Mitchell is going to be out for the next week with an ankle injury. Tonight the Jazz have a tougher matchup against the Lakers, who are still a solid defensive squad even without LeBron James and Anthony Davis. However, Mike Conley’s Yahoo salary is coming at a massive 25 to 30% discount when considering Mitchell’s absence.
NBA WOWY shows that Conley’s per-minute fantasy production increases by 10% when Mitchell is not on the court. In the three games this season where Conley played and Mitchell was out, Conley averaged 32.5 minutes and 16.7 field-goal attempts. This resulted in 21.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists and three steals for 43.3 Yahoo fantasy points. Two of these games were against Dallas, and one was against Memphis.
Russell Westbrook: Washington Wizards vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 55.21 | DraftKings: 58.66
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 17.2% | FanDuel 25.8% | DraftKings 28.4%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $55 | FanDuel $11,500 | DraftKings $11,000
If anyone says something about a Russell Westbrook “revenge” game against his former squad, ask them to name the current players on the roster who were his teammates. The answer is that not a single person from the 2018-19 Thunder still remain on the team, including coach Billy Donovan. The real reason to roster Westbrook is because he is nearly a lock for a triple-double and Washington needs to keep winning if it wants a shot at the play-in tournament. Bradley Beal and Westbrook are co-existing from a fantasy standpoint, and both are in play tonight.
While Oklahoma City has lost 13 of 14 games, it has been surprisingly competitive despite being in obvious tanking mode. The Wizards are favored by a dozen points, and this will be the third game on the road in four nights for the Thunder. Despite that, Westbrook and Beal will have to carry Washington to a victory, especially with Rui Hachimura sidelined with a knee injury.
Good Value
Detroit Pistons vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Tonight the tanking Pistons will be “resting” Jerami Grant, Mason Plumlee, Cory Joseph and Wayne Ellington. Dennis Smith Jr. (knee) and Sekou Doumbouya (concussion) are also out. That will open up the opportunities for Josh Jackson, Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart, Saben Lee, Killian Hayes and Hamidou Diallo. There is even a chance of a Jahlil Okafor sighting, though do not roster him under any circumstances.
While it would be unwise to roster more than three Detroit players at one time, the matchup against Cleveland is relatively favorable. With nine games tonight, there will be ample value opportunities appearing as heading towards tip-off. Those are likely to knock some of the Detroit options off the short list depending on what positions need filling.
Risky Value
Davis Bertans: Washington Wizards vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 20.18 | DraftKings: 20.96
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 12% | FanDuel 8.6% | DraftKings 13.2%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $10 | FanDuel $3,700 | DraftKings $4,300
The Awesemo Boom/Bust tool is definitely not a fan of Davis Bertans, who is picking up some traction on DraftKings. There is just a 2.9% chance of Bertans being in the DraftKings optimal lineup. When comparing this to his projected popularity of 13.2%, that gives him a -10.3 leverage score. There is only a 4.1% chance of him exceeding his boom score of 31.5 DraftKings points. Conversely, there is a 53.5% chance of him falling below his bust score of 21.5 DraftKings points.
In his last 14 games, Bertans has had double-digit field-goal attempts twice. Between coming into the season somewhat out of shape and dealing with nagging injuries in the new year, Bertans has been wildly disappointing. With the addition of Robin Lopez, Westbrook and now Daniel Gafford, he is not getting many rebounds and is averaging a career-low 0.2 blocks per game.
Even with Hachimura out, rostering Bertans on DraftKings is taking on too much unnecessary risk with very little upside. For those looking for a third Wizard, look to Gafford, who has been very productive coming off the bench. With Alex Len dinged up, there is a chance Gafford will start tonight.
Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies
- Davis Bertans: WAS vs. OKC – $10
- Daniel Gafford: WAS vs. OKC – $11
- Daniel Theis: CHI at BOS – $11
Final Thoughts on the Monday, April 19th NBA DFS Slate
Fortunately, all of the injury news for the Lakers and Jazz has been released already, so there should not be anything unexpected coming from the lone 10 p.m. ET game. 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.
