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It's another solid slate in the NBA with nine games going on, but we know that load management shenanigans will plague this long before lock. At least we already know that John Wall is scheduled to rest and Myles Turner is out. Lonzo may join his brother as inactive, and the Pacers are still mum about the status of Malcolm Brogdon and Domantas Sabonis. It doesn't stop there. The reigning MVP missed last night's game and Clint Capela is still saddled with the dreaded questionable tag.
Wizards and Warriors, like that old Nintendo game, comes out with a massive 241 total attached to it. Don't expect any Bucks updates for a while. It looks like Bulls-Hawks and Knicks-Grizzlies will be the two slower games. The Clippers are on a dreaded back-to-back, so I trust no one on that team or in that organization to give us any truthful insight into what their lineup will be.
This article will supply you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for the DraftKings on 4/9/21. You can also check out today’s FanDuel lineup picks. It’s also important to monitor injury news as a result of COVID-19 as the slate can completely change before line-up lock. Without further ado, let’s dive into the picks!
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DraftKings DFS Guards
Stephen Curry - PG, vs. Washington ($9,900)
How is it possible that Curry and Russell Westbrook haven't played each other in over two years? The last time they met was March 16 of 2019 and Curry far outplayed Westbrook in that game, plus 19 to minus 18 for Westbrook. The difference in DraftKings points wasn't quite that great, but it was definitely enough for me to pocket the $1,100 difference and run Curry instead. I'm not saying that Westbrook is a bad play. I just don't think he'll produce $1,100 worth of points more than Curry.
Anthony Edwards - PG/SF, at Boston ($7,700)
It almost doesn't matter who the opponent is anymore. Edwards is going to get his. He has at least 5x value at the current price in six of his last seven games. The only game in which he missed that mark was against Houston when he shot dreadfully from the floor. He still broke 30. In this day and age of the NBA, that kind of floor is very nice to have, especially in cash games. He also has the upside for use in GPP formats. He has blown past 40 DraftKings points in four of those games.
Michael Carter-Williams - PG/SF, vs. Indiana ($5,700)
Carter-Williams impressed in his return from an illness with 35.5 DraftKings points in just 21 minutes....and he only took six shots! MCW has just 21 points in the last three games, but he has 14 rebounds, 17 assists, three blocks, eight steals, and just four turnovers. He is stuffing the stat sheet across the board right now. The Magic are holding open auditions for the 2021-22 season right now and so far Carter-Williams is acing it. With Brogdon likely out tonight, he has a pretty high ceiling for this price.
R.J. Hampton - PG/SG, vs. Indiana ($4,500)
We are seeing why Orlando viewed Hampton as the prize in the deal that sent Aaron Gordon packing for the mountains. Hampton has played 92 minutes over the last three games, putting up 82.5 DraftKings points in that time. The return of Carter-Williams relegated Hampton to the bench, but he was the star of the second unit. He still isn't priced like that. Carter-Williams and Hampton are two different players, so I can see them both having success together. Hampton is a scorer. MCW is not. I have no issues running them both if the Pacers aren't at full strength.
Bonus Guards: Paul George ($8,200), Kevin Porter Jr. ($7,000), Terrence Ross ($6,300), T.J. McConnell ($5,600)
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DraftKings DFS Forwards
Jayson Tatum - PF, vs. Minnesota ($9,000)
It feels like I say this in every article, but it's still true. You go after Minnesota with bigs. The problem is that Boston is a very balanced team with guards that scan score almost at will. The good news is that Tatum plays a ton of minutes. The price is a little off-putting, but this is a perfect matchup for Tatum. If this game stays close, he should have no problems clearing 5x value. However, if Giannis plays without limitations, he's clearly the best forward.
Kelly Oubre Jr. - SF, vs. Washington ($6,300)
The entire Warriors team is in a good spot. I prefer someone with the ceiling of Oubre over the inconsistency of Andrew Wiggins. Draymond Green is a strong play too, but Oubre is the cheapest of the three and his ceiling is by far the highest aside from Curry. Again, that's where the price difference comes into play. The good part is that Washington has the firepower to hang around in this game. It could be a huge game for Oubre if they do.
Kelly Olynyk - PF/C, at Clippers ($6,000)
Olynyk is showing that he can be successful when given a consistent role. He is playing very well with the Rockets even with Christian Wood back. Olynyk has 121.5 DraftKings points over the last three games. This is not a great matchup, but when Olynyk is going for an average of nearly 7x value as a Rocket, he's worth the risk. Even if he's closer to 6x value, we'll be happy with that. At least I will.
Davis Bertans - SF/PF, at Golden State ($4,300)
When Bertans is on, he's one of the best three point shooters in the league. He has nailed 11 of 19 from long range over the last two games while hauling in a healthy amount of rebounds. I don't really care for the matchup, but the Wizards have shown they are going to give Bertans decent run of late. His good shooting gives him enough upside to chase this, even against a team like the Warriors.
Bonus Forwards: Julius Randle ($9,900), DeMar DeRozan ($8,000), RJ Barrett ($6,600), Keldon Johnson ($5,400)
DraftKings DFS Centers
Karl-Anthony Towns - C, at Boston ($10,900)
Another game, another flirtation with 60 DraftKings points for Towns. Boston doesn't have anyone that can guard Towns. His usage is through the roof, even with D'Angelo Russell back and Anthony Edwards putting on a show. Towns is playing the kind of minutes that he did under Thibodeau. That's now eight straight games over 50 DraftKings points for Towns. Right now you can set him and forget him. He's going to get you what you need.
Nikola Vucevic - C, at Atlanta ($9,100)
Vucevic has been taking a ton of shots since he joined the Bulls. Yes, I'm a little shocked about that considering that Zach LaVine is healthy. It's really tough for Vucevic to miss value with that kind of shot volume. If Clint Capela is sidelined, Vucevic even deserves consideration when compared to the top two centers on this slate. It's a way to get different in large field GPP's.
Tristan Thompson - C, vs. Minnesota ($4,600)
Thompson played 22 minutes against the Knicks in his return and racked up 24.5 DraftKings points. That's a solid number for the price and that was against a good defense. Now Thompson gets the Timberwolves. Thompson is likely only going to play around half the game again, but I'm willing to bet he pushes 30 DraftKings points. I'll take that for under $5,000.
Bonus Centers: Nikola Jokic ($10,500), Jonas Valanciunas ($7,100), James Wiseman ($4,800)
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