RADIO
As has frequently been the case during the second half of the season, we have a jumbo-sized slate Monday night, as 11 games are on tap. Even with the relatively high number of notable injuries that typically dot the landscape this time of year, there is more than enough depth in the player pool to give us plenty of options up and down the salary scale.
We also appear to have a solid balance of projected blowout and competitive matchups, as there are six games with spreads of 5.5 points or fewer as of early Monday, and another game at 6.5 points. If those matchups play out as closely as oddsmakers project them to be, it essentially locks in the minutes of multiple high-salaried players. Focusing a certain portion of our lineups on those games with the smallest lines also helps us focus as DFS players on a night when it’s easy to get distracted by the seemingly endless amount of options.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel on 4/26/21. I’ll be providing multiple player suggestions for players at guard, forward and center on FanDuel, aiming to highlight one option apiece at the high, middle and lower end of the salary scale. You can also check out DraftKings lineup picks and injury news before lineups lock. Good luck, RotoBallers.
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FanDuel DFS Guards
Russell Westbrook, PG – vs. SA ($11,200)
Westbrook saw his FD-point tally dip below 40 on Sunday for the first time since March 23, and he’d scored over 50 in each of the seven games preceding yesterday’s game. The perennial All-Star will be in a good spot to bounce right back to his usual stellar level of production Monday, facing a Spurs team that’s allowing the 11th-highest offensive efficiency (27.0 percent) to point guards for the season, along with 45.5 FD points per game to ones over the last 15. Westbrook’s salary is quite a high bar to clear in terms of justifying his rostering, but consider he’s already delivered over 5x return on it on 14 occasions, and came within less than an FD points on accomplishing the feat in two additional instances.
Darius Garland, PG – at TOR ($7,600)
The light has come on for Garland in recent games, as he’s averaging 39.8 FD points on the strength of 23.4 points (on 50.6 percent shooting, including 44.4 percent from three-point range), 6.9 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals over his last nine contests. The second-year guard is also sporting a 26.6 percent usage rate and averaging 36.3 FD points per 36 minutes with backcourt mate Collin Sexton off the floor this season, and the latter is very likely to miss Monday’s game with a concussion. The Raptors have already ceded FD-point tallies of 27.0 and 36.4 to Garland this season, and Toronto also comes in giving up 47.2 FD points per game to PGs in the last seven, along with the fourth-most points (27.9), third-most rebounds (8.5) and sixth-most made threes (3.8) per contest to the position over that span.
Derrick White, PG – at WAS ($5,800)
White’s salary continues to remain mostly stuck in neutral much to our benefit, as the red-hot guard checks in having averaged 35.4 FD points over his last seven contests. That includes tallies of between 35.1 and 57.4 FD points in four games during that span, and 44.8 percent three-point shooting over the entirety of the sample. Monday, White gets a crack at a Wizards team that plays at an NBA-high pace of 107.7 possessions per game and that has surrendered the most FD points per game (47.2) to two-guards over the last 15, along with the third-highest offensive efficiency (25.9 percent) to the position on the season. At his current salary and considering the extra possessions he should have to work with Monday, White stands a chance at being one of the better point-per-dollar plays at guard.
Also consider: Luka Doncic ($11,500); Paul George ($10,000); Bradley Beal ($9,400); DeMar DeRozan ($8,100)
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FanDuel DFS Forwards
Julius Randle, PF- vs. PHO ($10,100)
Randle’s body of work is such this season that there isn’t a lot of evidentiary support necessary to illustrate why he’s an optimal choice if you’re paying up at one forward spot. The one-time seventh overall pick of the Lakers is enjoying a career-best season across the board, and he checks into Monday’s contest averaging 49.5 FD points over his last 14 games. The big man has exceeded 60 FD points in three of his last five games alone, and he’ll face a Suns squad that’s allowed elevated 47.3 percent shooting to power forwards on the season, along with 41.2 FD points per game to fours in the last seven. Phoenix has also been a more vulnerable team to three-point shooting on the road (36.0 percent success rate allowed) and recently (40.9 percent three-point shooting allowed in last three), while Randle checks in draining a career-best 41.6 percent of his shots from behind the arc, including 42.0 percent on his home floor.
Michael Porter Jr., SF – vs. MEM ($7,400)
Porter has been excellent during the second half of the season, and he’ll be set for even more responsibility Monday without both Jamal Murray (knee) and Will Barton (hamstring) out of action. The second-year wing is averaging 38.7 FD points over his last 10 games, and he’s posted a 25.1 percent usage rate and 43.1 FD points per 36 minutes with his two teammates off the floor this season. Porter also faces a Grizzlies squad that’s allowing the third-highest offensive efficiency (24.9 percent) to small forwards, along with NBA-high 48.8 percent shooting, including 40.0 percent from three-point range, to the position. In turn, Porter’s efficiency is off the charts, as he’s draining 54.0 percent of his attempts, including 44.3 percent of those from behind the arc.
OG Anunoby, SF – vs. CLE ($6,500)
Anunoby has been one of the bright spots during a difficult season overall for the Raptors, with the fourth-year wing posting career bests in multiple categories. Anunoby is coming off having drained a career-high six three-pointers versus the Knicks on Saturday, and he’s averaging 32.5 FD points over his last 16 games overall. That stretch includes tallies of 24.5 and 35.2 FD points against the same Cavs team he’ll face Monday, one that’s allowed the sixth-highest offensive efficiency (24.2 percent) to small forwards, along with 42.0 FD points per contest for the season to the position. It’s also worth noting Cleveland is yielding the fourth-highest three-point percentage overall (38.2), particularly relevant when factoring in Anunoby now boasts a career-best 40.2 percent success rate from behind the arc.
Also consider: Zion Williamson ($9,700); Pascal Siakam ($9,000); Bogdan Bogdanovic ($7,500); Darius Bazley ($6,900)
FanDuel DFS Centers
Clint Capela– at DET ($9,600)
Capela demonstrated he was over his recent back issues in Sunday’s game against the Bucks, playing 34 minutes and pulling down 14 rebounds. The big man mustered just six points to keep his overall FD-point tally modest (27.3), but he’d scored 40.5 to 67.8 FD points in the seven games prior and is averaging 43.9 in 21 second-half games overall. Capela already owns a jaw-dropping 79.2 FD-point tally against the Pistons this season that came on the strength of a 27-point, 26-rebound double-double, and Detroit checks in allowing the fifth-most FD points per game (57.2) to centers over the last 15 contests. Additionally, the Pistons are ranked in the bottom half of the league in offensive efficiency allowed both in the paint (57.1 percent) and to centers (33.4 percent), while Capela checks in averaging 48.9 FD points per 36 minutes with Trae Young, who could well miss Monday’s game with his ankle injury, off the floor.
Jakob Poeltl – at WAS ($6,500)
Poeltl continues to generate returns befitting a higher-salaried player, as he’s averaged 33.3 FD points over his last 15 games on 11.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.3 blocks per contest. Poeltl has 14 blocks in his last three games alone, and Monday, he’ll be poised to benefit from the matchup against the ultra-fast-paced Wizards just like his teammate White. Washington gave up over an FD point per minute to Poeltl in the one previous meeting between the teams Jan. 24, when he accumulated 21.7 over 21 minutes. Additionally, the Wizards rank in the bottom 10 in offensive efficiency allowed to centers (33.3 percent) and in the paint (58.1 percent), and they’ve yielded the second-most FD points (57.5) and seventh-most blocks (2.5) per game to fives for the season as well.
Nerlens Noel – vs. PHO ($5,300)
Noel may not always generate much in the way of scoring, but he still finds a way to typically churn out solid fantasy numbers. That’s been especially true the last eight games, when he’s averaged 31.3 FD points while putting up 6.6 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 3.0 blocks and 1.1 steals over 29.0 minutes. Noel hasn’t been under 26.5 FD points during that span, and he now draws a matchup against a Suns squad that’s been much more vulnerable to centers of late. Phoenix comes in allowing 57.3 FD points per game to fives over the last seven contests, a span that’s seen them surrender the fourth-most rebounds per game (18.8) to the position, as well as the third-most steals (1.8). The fact New York surrenders Eastern Conference-low 44.7 percent shooting on its home floor and ranks in the bottom half of the league with a 46.2 percent mark of its own at MSG should also help Noel continue seeing plenty of opportunities on both the offensive and defensive glass.
Also consider: Nikola Jokic ($11,400); Bam Adebayo ($8,500); Jarrett Allen ($5,700)
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