NBA DFS action on Sunday, April 25, locks at 7 p.m. ET with a four-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 Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook and more.
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NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks, Sunday, April 25th
Yahoo Play of the Day — Darius Garland: Cleveland Cavaliers at Washington Wizards
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 36.93 | DraftKings: 39.98
Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 34.8% | FanDuel 24.8% | DraftKings 35.0%
DFS Salary: Yahoo $26 | FanDuel $7,300 | DraftKings $7,200
Collin Sexton is in the concussion protocol and will not be available tonight against the Wizards. That gives Darius Garland the keys to the Cleveland offense in a phenomenal matchup against a fast-paced Washington squad. NBA WOWY shows that when Sexton and Garland are on the court together, Garland averages 0.85 Yahoo fantasy points per minute. When Garland is flying solo, that jumps 15% to a full fantasy point per minute. In the four games that Garland has played without Sexton, he is averaging 35.3 minutes and 16.7 field-goal attempts. This has worked out to 17.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.3 combined blocks/steals for 32.8 Yahoo fantasy points. Anything less than that tonight will be considered a disappointment, and Garland should flirt with 40 Yahoo fantasy points.
Russell Westbrook: Washington Wizards vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 54.24 | DraftKings: 57.49
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 28% | FanDuel 38.4% | DraftKings 35.0%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $56 | FanDuel $11,100 | DraftKings $11,000
Even though he has broken through the “artificial” salary ceiling across the DFS sites, Russell Westbrook is still at a 10 to 15% discount. Among players with at least 1,700 minutes this season, Westbrook ranks eighth in usage and teammate Bradley Beal is second. Westbrook is actually second if looking at players with at least as many minutes played, behind only Luka Doncic. Westbrook leads the league with 10.9 assists per game and is eighth with 11.1 rebounds. Additionally, his 21.9 points and 1.3 steals per game rank him in the top 25 among qualified players. The only knock against Westbrook is that Jarrett Allen is a decent rim protector. By all means play Beal with Westbrook and Garland as a synergistic gambit.
Stephen Curry: Golden State Warriors vs. Sacramento Kings
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 48.21 | DraftKings: 51.9
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 29.4% | FanDuel 34.2% | DraftKings 27.6%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $50 | FanDuel $9,800 | DraftKings $10,500
Golden State is fighting to stay in contention for the play-in tournament, and Stephen Curry has been logging heavy minutes. In his last dozen games, he has played less than 34 minutes twice and is averaging nearly 36 minutes in this stretch. Additionally, he is also averaging just over 21 field-goal attempts and 38.2 points per game while chipping in 6.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists. The Kings have the worst defense in the league, and this is basically must-win time for the Warriors.
Good Value
Delon Wright: Sacramento Kings at Golden State Warriors
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 28.06 | DraftKings: 27.52
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 33.2% | FanDuel 12.2% | DraftKings 27.8%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $11 | FanDuel $5,900 | DraftKings $4,900
The Yahoo and DraftKings salary algorithms did not react to the news that De’Aaron Fox is going to be out for the next week in the health and safety protocol. Tyrese Haliburton will be drawing the start, and that should have gamers flocking to him in a cherry matchup with Golden State. However, Delon Wright is a solid play coming off the bench, as he should see a major boost in minutes as the only other NBA-caliber point guard on the roster. In the late slate, look to Kyle Guy or Terence Davis as dart throws, but keep in mind that Buddy Hield, Harrison Barnes and even Maurice Harkless can be effective as non-traditional facilitators.
Since being acquired from the Pistons a month ago, Wright has averaged 0.83 Yahoo fantasy points per minute. The only thing missing has been consistent minutes. That should not be an issue tonight, as he should see something in the 28- to 30-minute range with a little upside. Enjoy the savings and treat yourself to an upgrade at another position tonight.
Risky Value
Bogdan Bogdanovic: Atlanta Hawks vs. Milwaukee Bucks
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 29.94 | DraftKings: 31.18
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 24.8% | FanDuel 31.8% | DraftKings 8.4%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $25 | FanDuel $7,300 | DraftKings $8,100
Trae Young is going to be out for a while with his sprained ankle, and Cam Reddish, De’Andre Hunter and Tony Snell will be missing tonight as well. This should leave plenty of usage for Bogdan Bogdanovic. Unfortunately, DraftKings and FanDuel did a great job of increasing his salary. While he is easy enough to avoid on DraftKings, FanDuel requires two small forwards, and the pickings there are pretty slim. Kelly Oubre, Buddy Hield and Khris Middleton will have comparable projections. After that, gamers are sifting through the bargain bin.
The Awesemo Boom/Bust tool shows that there is a 29.7% chance of Bogdanovic being in the FanDuel optimal lineup. That is a high rate even with just four games on the slate. Currently his projected popularity is appropriate, and he has just a -2.1 leverage score. The tricky part is understanding that there is just a 5.2% chance of him exceeding his boom score of 46.5 FanDuel points. Conversely, there is a 64.3% likelihood of him failing to hit his bust score of 36.5 FanDuel points. If his popularity continues to surge heading towards lock, it may be a savvy move to let other gamers assume this high level of risk in tournaments.
Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies
- Mohamed Bamba: ORL at IND – $13
- Edmond Sumner: IND vs. ORL – $10
- Isaiah Hartenstein: CLE at WAS – $11
Final Thoughts on the Sunday, April 25th NBA DFS Slate
The Sunday Night Hammer is shaping up to be a barnburner, with a 230.0 projected point total and two teams who play fast and don’t worry about defense. 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.
