Today’s 10-game main slate brings a ton of value and stud NBA DFS picks. Here are some of the top picks for DraftKings and FanDuel lineups, using a position-by-position approach using Awesemo’s industry-leading NBA DFS projections and expert premium tools.
Be sure to catch the Awesemo NBA Daily Fantasy Strategy Show every morning on our Awesemo YouTube Channel to find the best NBA DFS picks on DraftKings and FanDuel!
I plan to update this article with notes at the top until about 5 p.m. EST each day. After that, be sure to check out the Deeper Dive show with Loughy and me from 5 to 6 every weekday and Live Before Lock in the hour leading up until lock each day on the Awesemo YouTube channel.
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NBA DFS Deep Dive: DraftKings + FanDuel Picks | April 28
Update No. 1: Harrison Barnes is out tonight for the Kings. Barnes has averaged the third-most minutes per game over the last month (36.9) so there is a lot of playing time to go around. Maurice Harkless, Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield are all likely to play around 36 minutes tonight. It is also likely that we see increased minutes for Delon Wright and Terence Davis off the bench. The matchup against the Jazz is a difficult one, but there is some value here with Barnes out — particularly in Davis who is only $3,300 DraftKings and $3,800 on FanDuel.
Point Guard
Russell Westbrook ($11,100 DraftKings/$11,100 FanDuel) has a tough matchup tonight against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers are 21st in pace and second in defensive rating over the last month. Westbrook has been a triple-double machine this season, however, and he picked up another one in Monday’s overtime loss to the Spurs after a poor performance two games ago. Westbrook has averaged 1.55 DraftKings points per minute in 46 total games played alongside Bradley Beal this season and 1.63 DraftKings points per minute in 20 games alongside Beal since the All-Star break. While the matchup is difficult, there aren’t as many pay-up options as we would normally expect on a 10-game slate and Westbrook has as high a ceiling as anyone.
Damian Lillard ($9,300 DraftKings/$8,100 FanDuel) only needed to play about 31 minutes in last night’s blowout win over the Pacers. Tonight, he faces the Memphis Grizzlies. Memphis has struggled defensively recently, ranking 23rd in defensive rating over the last month after being one of the more efficient defenses for most of the season. Lillard has produced 1.25 DraftKings points per minute in 23 games played with C.J. McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic active this season. He offers upside at his reduced salary on DraftKings and FanDuel, but he is especially inexpensive on FanDuel.
Darius Garland ($7,700 DraftKings/$7,700 FanDuel) played about 40 minutes without Collin Sexton against the Wizards two games ago and then he followed it up with 33.7 minutes against the Raptors. Garland lost about four minutes to garbage time in that game, and if tonight’s game against Orlando is competitive, we can expect another 38 to 40 minutes from Garland. In five total games without Sexton this season, Garland has averaged 1.03 DraftKings points per minute and 35.9 minutes per game with a 27 percent usage rate and 38.5 percent assist rate.
Dennis Schroder ($6,900 DraftKings/$7,000 FanDuel) gets a huge pace-up spot against the Wizards. It seems like people sleep on Schroder now that Anthony Davis is healthy, but Davis hasn’t had much of a negative impact on Schroder this season. LeBron James’ absence is the real difference maker for Schroder and James is still sidelined. In 269 minutes played alongside Davis and without James this season, Schroder has averaged 1.02 DraftKings points per minute with a 25.2 percent usage rate and 33.3 percent assist rate. Schroder also leads the Lakers with 33.4 minutes per game over the last month and we can see 35 to 37 minutes from him in competitive games.
Facundo Campazzo ($4,800 DraftKings/$4,300 FanDuel) is a beneficiary of Will Barton’s absence as it makes it more likely that Campazzo is in Denver’s closing lineup. Campazzo has played about 32, 34 and 30 minutes in his last three games despite none of the games being competitive down the stretch. Campazzo has averaged 0.74 DraftKings points per minute in nine starts this season.
Brandon Goodwin ($4,300 DraftKings/$4,600 FanDuel) is questionable tonight, and even if he is able to play, his projection is dependent on a couple of other players. Goodwin started and played about 28 minutes in the Hawks’ last game with Trae Young and Lou Williams sidelined. Young remains out tonight but Williams isn’t on the injury report. Kevin Huerter is doubtful, however, and Bogdan Bogdanovic is questionable. Assuming that Huerter misses the game, there should be minutes available for Goodwin even with Williams returning. If Bogdanovic also misses the game, then there are an abundance of minutes available for Goodwin and Williams. Goodwin has averaged 0.83 DraftKings points per minute without Young this season and I expect that we get another 28 to 30 minutes from Goodwin if he is in the starting lineup tonight.
R.J. Hampton ($3,700 DraftKings/$3,900 FanDuel) has benefitted from the numerous injuries to players on Orlando and that should be the case again tonight. Hampton has played at least 24 minutes in three straight games and he is likely to play another 24 to 26 minutes tonight with Terrence Ross doubtful and Michael Carter-Williams sidelined. Hampton has averaged 0.77 DraftKings points per minute in 16 games with Orlando this season. He projects as a reasonable, albeit risky, point-per-dollar value.
Brad Wanamaker ($3,000 DraftKings/$3,500 FanDuel) has taken on a bigger role in the Hornets’ rotation. Wanamaker played 27.1 minutes off the bench last night after playing about 24 minutes against Boston on Sunday. Prior to that, he hadn’t exceeded 20 minutes in a game in his last four games. Wanamaker is risky since James Borrego doesn’t run the most consistent rotations and Wanamaker’s minutes can disappear at any time, but he has averaged 0.86 DraftKings points per minute since joining Charlotte, is minimum salary, and appears likely to play 24-plus minutes tonight against the Cavaliers.
Top DraftKings NBA DFS Picks: Russell Westbrook, Darius Garland, Dennis Schroder, Brad Wanamaker
Top FanDuel NBA DFS Picks: Russell Westbrook, Damian Lillard, Darius Garland, Dennis Schroder, Facundo Campazzo
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Shooting Guard
Paul George ($9,800 DraftKings/$9,900 FanDuel) had an awful fantasy performance in his last game and now he gets a relatively difficult matchup against the Phoenix Suns. He is expensive, but there is still upside at this price point with Kawhi Leonard sidelined. George has played 1.37 DraftKings points per minute in 10 games without Leonard this season, posting a 37.4 percent usage rate, 11.9 percent rebounding rate and 26.9 percent assist rate. George isn’t as underpriced as several other options on tonight’s slate, but he is still capable of giving us 60 fantasy points whenever he takes the floor without Leonard. Awesemo has him projected for only about 9% ownership on DraftKings, according to Awesemo’s NBA DFS ownership projections so it looks like he could be a useful contrarian piece in tournaments.
Jordan Clarkson ($6,900 DraftKings/$6,300 FanDuel) stands out as one of the top options at any position tonight. The Jazz will be without Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley, so Clarkson will need to carry the load offensively and should also see increased playing time. Clarkson has averaged 1.07 DraftKings points per minute with a 29.1 percent usage rate and 21.2 percent assist rate in 302 minutes without either of Mitchell or Conley on the floor this season. In addition to increased opportunities and playing time, Clarkson also gets an excellent matchup against the Kings. He is likely to be one of the highest-owned players on the slate tonight, but it’s difficult to find a reason not to roster Clarkson.
Devonte’ Graham ($6,100 DraftKings/$5,700 FanDuel) had a strong game against the Bucks last night. He has now averaged 1.04 DraftKings points per minute and 30.4 minutes per game in 10 games played without LaMelo Ball or Gordon Hayward and with Terry Rozier this season. Graham also played 33.8 minutes last night, so it’s possible that we see a higher playing time average from him going forward. He is always a risky player to roster since he isn’t as talented as some other players in his price range, but he should get plenty of opportunities tonight on a short-handed Charlotte team.
Evan Fournier ($5,300 DraftKings/$4,900 FanDuel) played about 35 minutes last night after being limited to 22 and 20 minutes in his first two games back from illness. Jayson Tatum is available tonight after sitting out yesterday so Fournier may not need to play 35 minutes again, but it is likely that we get 30-plus with Kemba Walker still sidelined. Fournier has averaged about 1 DraftKings point per minute this season including his time with Orlando. I’ll be more confident in Fournier’s playing time if he remains in the starting lineup.
Gary Harris ($4,200 DraftKings/$3,600 FanDuel) has shown signs of life since joining Orlando. In his most recent game, Harris played 34.8 minutes against the Lakers. James Ennis is available tonight, which could take a couple of minutes from Harris, but it is likely he plays around 30 minutes if the game is competitive. He has only averaged 0.67 DraftKings points per minute with the Magic, but he has a 20.9 percent usage rate and 11.9 percent assist rate compared to a 13.8 percent usage rate and 7.1 percent assist rate with the Nuggets.
De’Anthony Melton ($3,800 DraftKings/$4,600 FanDuel) is an extremely volatile option because the Grizzlies don’t play him as many minutes as they should. His volatility leads to a reduced price tag, however, which gives him tournament winning upside. He played about 24 minutes in Memphis’s most recent game, but he also benefited from first quarter foul trouble for Dillon Brooks. Melton has averaged 1.07 DraftKings points per minute and is likely to play about 22 minutes tonight. If he finds a way into more minutes, however, he can help you win a tournament and even if he only plays around 22 minutes he is likely to be a decent value at $3,800 on DraftKings.
Lonnie Walker ($3,600 DraftKings/$3,500 FanDuel) is likely to join the Spurs’ starting lineup in place of Derrick White tonight. Walker has averaged 27.6 minutes per game and 0.70 DraftKings points per minute in 24 starts alongside DeMar DeRozan and Dejounte Murray this season. While he doesn’t offer a particularly high ceiling thanks to an 18.2 percent usage rate and limited peripherals, the potential for increased playing time sans White makes him a good point-per-dollar value.
Top DraftKings NBA DFS Picks: Jordan Clarkson, Evan Fournier, Lonnie Walker
Top FanDuel NBA DFS Picks: Jordan Clarkson, Devonte’ Graham, Evan Fournier
Small Forward
Jimmy Butler ($9,500 DraftKings/$9,500 FanDuel) is at an appropriate price point where his median projection isn’t overly appealing for the salary. Still, he offers plenty of upside as he has been an excellent fantasy contributor this season. He is especially valuable on FanDuel where roster construction is more rigid. In 41 games played with Bam Adebayo active this season, Butler has produced 1.33 DraftKings points per minute. He has averaged 33.8 minutes per game with a 26.7 percent usage rate and 35.3 percent assist rate.
Jaylen Brown ($8,500 DraftKings/$8,100 FanDuel) doesn’t project as well tonight in the Awesemo NBA DFS projections as he did last night since Tatum is available, but his salary didn’t increase so it’s not a big deal. Brown still benefits from the absence of Walker and he is priced for Walker to be active along with Tatum. Brown has averaged 1.13 DraftKings points per minute with a 27.8 percent usage rate in games that Walker and Tatum are both active compared to 1.20 DraftKings points per minute with a 30.8 percent usage rate in games where Walker is inactive and Tatum is active. We can expect around 35 minutes from Brown tonight against the Hornets.
Joe Ingles ($6,700 DraftKings/$6,100 FanDuel) should benefit from Conley’s absence tonight in an excellent matchup against the Kings. Ingles has played 291 minutes without Conley or Mitchell on the floor this season and he has averaged 1.08 DraftKings points per minute. He has a 20.8 percent usage rate and 29.9 percent assist rate over those 291 minutes. We can expect at least 33 or 34 minutes from Ingles tonight.
Bojan Bogdanovic ($6,400 DraftKings/$5,200 FanDuel) hasn’t played as many minutes without Conley or Mitchell as Clarkson or Ingles have, but he has still logged 165 minutes. Over those 165 minutes, his usage rate is 24.6 percent and his assist rate is 13.9 percent. By comparison, he has a 21.2 percent usage rate and 8.9 percent assist rate overall this season. Bogdanovic is still a scoring dependent player as Clarkson and Ingles will pick up most of the available assists, but being a scoring dependent player with an increased usage rate against the Kings is still a good spot to be in.
Cedi Osman ($5,000 DraftKings/$5,500 FanDuel) played about 37 minutes against the Wizards two games ago and followed it up with 38.1 minutes against the Raptors on Monday. His salary has since increased, but the Cavs will once again be without five normal rotation players and two more fringe rotation players tonight so Osman should play huge minutes once again. He has averaged 0.80 DraftKings points per minute in 19 starts this season.
Top DraftKings NBA DFS Picks: Jaylen Brown, Joe Ingles, Cedi Osman
Top FanDuel NBA DFS Picks: Jaylen Brown, Joe Ingles, Bojan Bogdanovic
Power Forward
Julius Randle ($10,300 DraftKings/$9,900 FanDuel) will be difficult to prioritize at his price tag, but he also shouldn’t really be priced any lower given the number of minutes that he plays and his per-minute production. Randle leads the NBA with 38.8 minutes per game over the last month and he has averaged 1.31 DraftKings points per minute over that time. Alec Burks is expected back for the Knicks tonight, which is likely to have a negative impact on the playing time of several Knicks’ players, but Randle is unlikely to take much of a hit.
Jayson Tatum ($9,600 DraftKings/$9,200 FanDuel) has averaged 1.29 DraftKings points per minute in 19 games alongside Brown without Walker this season. In those games, Tatum has a 31.7 percent usage rate and 22.0 percent assist rate. By comparison, he has average 1.22 DraftKings point per minute with a 29.7 percent usage rate and 19.1 percent assist rate in 29 games with Walker and Brown active. Tatum is priced up, but still offers a massive ceiling tonight.
Anthony Davis ($9,200 DraftKings/$9,500 FanDuel) was not on a minutes limit last game and played 31.4 minutes against the Magic. We could see Davis play a couple more minutes tonight in a great matchup against the Wizards. Davis has played 314 minutes without LeBron on the floor this season and has averaged 1.21 DraftKings points per minute. Davis has averaged 1.33 DraftKings points per minute in 516 minutes alongside James, despite a lower usage rate and assist rate. Since the start of last season, Davis has played 1,188 minutes without James on the floor. He has produced 1.48 DraftKings points per minute over those minutes and I expect that he approaches those numbers this season as well once the sample size grows. He is my favorite of the pay-up options at power forward tonight.
Chuma Okeke ($4,900 DraftKings/$5,000 FanDuel) has averaged 31.2 minutes per game and 0.88 DraftKings points per minute in 16 games since the Magic traded away their best players prior to the trade deadline. Okeke is the type of player that we can be relatively confident in on a rebuilding Orlando team because he is a first round pick that they have an interest in developing. He has only averaged 12.2 points per game in the 16 games since the trades, but he has also contributed 5 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.7 blocks per game.
Dean Wade ($3,500 DraftKings/$3,500 FanDuel) played 32 minutes off the bench against the Raptors on Monday. Kevin Love played zero minutes in the fourth quarter and Wade played the final 18-plus minutes of the game, so I don’t expect the same rotation tonight against the Magic. There are still plenty of minutes available for Wade, however, as Isaiah Hartenstein, Larry Nance Jr. and a handful of other Cavaliers will be out again tonight. Wade played about 13 minutes in the first half on Monday and it is likely that we get 24 to 26 minutes from him tonight. Wade has averaged 0.74 DraftKings points per minute this season and projects as a viable point-per-dollar value tonight in the Awesemo NBA DFS projections.
Top DraftKings NBA DFS Picks: Jayson Tatum, Anthony Davis, Dean Wade
Top FanDuel NBA DFS Picks: Jayson Tatum, Anthony Davis, Dean Wade
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Center
Nikola Jokic ($11,000 DraftKings/$11,100 FanDuel) has a pace-up spot against the Pelicans, who are sixth in pace and 13th in defensive rating over the last month. New Orleans could also be without their starting center as Steven Adams missed their last game. Jokic has averaged 1.75 DraftKings points per minute in 13 games without Jamal Murray this season.
Joel Embiid ($10,600 DraftKings/$10,500 FanDuel) only played 23 minutes against Oklahoma City in his return to the lineup on Monday, but that was because of blowout not a limit on his playing time. We can expect at least 32 or 33 minutes from Embiid if tonight’s game with the Hawks is competitive. Embiid has averaged 1.57 DraftKings points per minute in 29 games played alongside Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris this season. While his projection is lower than a similarly priced Jokic, he is currently projected for about a fifth of the ownership on DraftKings, which means he is an interesting pivot in tournaments since his ceiling is similar to Jokic’s.
Rudy Gobert ($8,300 DraftKings/$7,900 FanDuel) has averaged 14.1 rebounds per game over the last month, which is good for second in the NBA behind Clint Capela. He will face the Kings tonight, who have allowed the fourth-most total rebounds per game and the second-most offensive rebounds per game over the last month. Gobert doesn’t benefit much from the absences of Conley and Mitchell since he isn’t going to create his own shots or pick up a lot of assists, but he has averaged 1.29 DraftKings points per minute overall this season and is likely to produce at an increased rate against the Kings.
Andre Drummond ($7,400 DraftKings/$6,900 FanDuel) has been a relatively disappointing fantasy option since joining the Lakers. Drummond has produced only 1.22 DraftKings points per minute in 25.7 minutes per game with the Lakers after averaging 1.49 DraftKings points per minute in 28.9 minutes per game with Cleveland. The return of Anthony Davis isn’t likely to help Drummond’s numbers either as it is another high-usage player and strong rebounder. Still, Drummond is now priced for his production as a Laker, which means that he offers a high ceiling since we know that he is capable of producing at a much higher rate in any given game. A matchup against the Wizards could be what he needs as Washington plays at a fast pace, though it is worth noting that the Wizards actually rank in the middle of the pack in rebounds allowed over the last month despite their fast pace and reputation as a poor rebounding team.
Jarrett Allen ($7,200 DraftKings/$6,500 FanDuel) played 31.2 minutes on Monday and lost about four minutes to garbage time. I expect that we see around 34 minutes from Allen if tonight’s game is competitive as the Cavaliers are short-handed and he will most likely be asked to soak up a couple extra minutes. Allen has averaged 1.09 DraftKings points per minute in 27 games without Drummond since joining Cleveland. The Magic have allowed the second-most total rebounds, the most defensive rebounds and the eighth-most offensive rebounds over the last month despite ranking 18th in pace over that time.
Jusuf Nurkic ($6,800 DraftKings/$8,300 FanDuel) remains expensive on FanDuel but reasonably priced on DraftKings. He only needed to play 19.5 minutes in the Trail Blazers’ blowout win last night, but we should see him approach 30 minutes against the Grizzlies tonight if the game is competitive. Nurkic has averaged 1.27 DraftKings points per minute in 23 games played with Lillard and McCollum active this season.
Top DraftKings NBA DFS Picks: Nikola Jokic, Rudy Gobert, Jusuf Nurkic
Top FanDuel NBA DFS Picks: Nikola Jokic, Rudy Gobert, Jarrett Allen
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