NBA DFS Picks DraftKings + FanDuel Expert Lineup Building Strategy 4/23

Thursday was quite the ride, as the Spurs dropped some bombshell news right before and after lock. Pairing that value with the top-end studs was the key to the night, fortunately something Greg Ehrenberg (@gehrenbergdfs) and I advocated for on the Live Before Lock show on the Awesemo YouTube channel. Tune in to us again tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. EST where we’ll be attempting a repeat performance. Until then, let’s set a good foundation for Friday’s seven-gamer by keying in on some top NBA DFS picks and strategies to utilize on DraftKings and FanDuel.

Be sure to check out the Slate Starter podcast, featuring yours truly and Rynpak, to get the first look at the slate and make NBA DFS picks for DraftKings and FanDuel!

NBA DFS Slate Starter: Picks & Strategy | April 23

Chalk Hawk Talk

Trae Young was well on his way to breaking the slate Wednesday before an ankle sprain knocked him out in the third quarter. That injury, fortunately, turned out to be less severe than anticipated, but it’s still bad enough to keep him out for the next few games. That opens up a world of minutes, usage and opportunity to go around for this Hawks team, and it seems as though the sites haven’t caught on to that yet with their pricing.

Let’s go through the main beneficiaries. First and foremost, backup point guard Brandon Goodwin becomes a gigantic source of value on this slate in his new starting role, particularly on DraftKings where his $3,400 is egregiously low. At $5,000 on FanDuel, you have to at least think about it, but his back-to-back 37-minute outings on April 11 and 13 in recent Young missed games show he’s more than viable over there too. Regardless of what other value shows up on DraftKings tomorrow, it’s going to be hard to surpass Goodwin, especially with Rajon Rondo no longer there to steal minutes.

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As for the primary scorers sans Young, Bogdan Bogdanovic and John Collins should see substantial bumps in order to carry the offensive load. Bogdanovic has re-established himself as the player he was with the Kings in previous years, flashing minutes into the 40s on occasion and putting up 1.03 DraftKings points per minute on the season with Young off the floor this season. Add in that De’Andre Hunter and perhaps Danilo Gallinari will be missing as well, he will be the go-to playmaker in this tough Miami matchup. And Collins is tough to gauge as his minutes have been limited of late. But should Clint Capela (questionable) miss this game, there should be no apprehension in rostering 30 minutes of Collins.

Lastly come all of the GPP shots, specifically Lou Williams and Kevin Huerter. It’s going to come down to minutes for Williams, who averages 0.91 DraftKings points per minute in his 211 minutes without Young on the floor since joining the Hawks. He’s yet another more advantageously priced player on DraftKings at only $4,400, but if the ownership is there in a meaningful way, it might be hard to pull the trigger. And for Huerter, the minutes will certainly be there if Gallinari misses, but he’s been priced up to $5,800 on DraftKings and $5,400 on FanDuel to account for the fact he’s played at least 39 minutes in three of his past four. He is the lowest priority at the moment, but pending his ownership, feel free to take some shots and hope he takes some shots too.

Bet-o on Neto

As good as Goodwin should project today, something suggests Raul Neto could project even better coming off 36 minutes at 34.25 DraftKings points in their win over the Warriors on Wednesday. With Rui Hachimura and Deni Avdija both out for Friday, it’s a situation similar to Atlanta where there’s simply a ton court time that needs to be spread around. And based on the rotations after the Avdija injury at the end of the first half, it would appear head coach Scott Brooks will opt to go small ball with Neto at the two and Bradley Beal at the three (courtesy of PopcornMachine.net):

NBA Daily Fantasy DFS basketball lineup picks on Friday April 23 for DraftKings and FanDuel

Neto played the entire third quarter and closed the game to reach the 36-minute mark. That makes him yet another insane $3,400 point guard value on DraftKings to consider on this slate. Plus, his $3,600 price tag on FanDuel is far more advantageous than that of Goodwin’s, making him an easy source of salary relief should you need it on the blue site.

Of course, if today is anything like the rest of this week, there’s no doubt we’ll have plenty of other value emerge throughout the day. However, Goodwin and Neto will project phenomenally no matter what, making them surefire lynchpins for your NBA DFS lineups so long as the ownership isn’t outrageous. To check that, utilize Awesemo’s Boom/Bust tool, sort by leverage and pray these two don’t have double-digit negative numbers next to their names. But even if it is, they’re plays you’ll want exposure to no matter what.

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Final Thoughts for Your NBA DFS Lineups

There are two games in the 10 p.m. EST late-night window on tonight’s slate, with two hours in between them and the earlier games. Make sure you’re reacting to how your lineups are doing with late swap, as failing to pivot off chalky plays in dead lineups is what can kill your bankroll in the long run.
Four of the seven games on this slate have totals that opened at 228 or more. Considering two of them are in that aforementioned late-night window, it would normally be a prime spot to backload lineups and hope unexpected news breaks. But seeing as there doesn’t appear to be any injury news to come, that will not factor too much tonight.
Just play Paul George.

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Author

Eric Lindquist

Eric Lindquist hails from Sioux Falls, South Dakota (yes, that’s the one with Mount Rushmore). A steady diet of three SportsCenters a day at an early age led to his obsession with sports, one that 30 years later is paying dividends for him as a successful DFS player and sports bettor. Despite over half a million dollars in net career earnings, he’s most passionate about helping others achieve their financial goals, an energy you can witness on the daily in his current role as a host and analyst at Stokastic. He’s a former Division I golfer at Iowa State, wishes he was a former Minnesota sports fan, and is a proud father to a 100-pound Bernese Mountain dog named Duke that wishes he could just eat people food instead of the crap he and his wife feed him on the daily.