RADIO
We have arrived at the silliest of all silly season slates - the season finale in the NBA. There are a whopping 11 games on the main slate tonight, and we've already gotten a ton of news regarding teams listing their stars as "questionable" ahead of tonight's matchups. The Western conference is locked in at #1 (Phoenix) and #2 (Memphis), but the #3 and #4 seed is up for grabs between Dallas and Golden State while the #5 and #6 seed is still in flux between Denver and Utah. The Eastern Conference is more open, as Milwaukee and Boston are fighting for the #2 seed and Milwaukee, Boston, and Philadelphia could all fall to the #4 seed. The play-in seedings in the East are all up in the air as well, which includes Brooklyn, Charlotte, Cleveland, and Atlanta. I've highlighted the teams with a theoretical "something to play for" situation in my rankings model below.
With it being that last slate of games in the league, many teams are phoning it in since they either A) missed the playoffs and don't have anything to play for or B) made the playoffs and secured their seeding, meaning they have nothing to play for. I'll be focusing my recommendations on players who have (relatively) secure minute projections, though honestly, tonight's slate is going to be more "throw darts at a board" than pretty much any other slate on the schedule. It's going to be more essential than ever before to pay close attention to injury updates and news on minutes restrictions as we progress throughout the day today.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 4/10/22, with the slate locking at 7:00 pm ET. Remember to monitor NBA injury news and our live-updating NBA injury updates tool as the slate can completely change before lineups lock. As always, feel free to follow my Twitter (@RING_DFS) - I post about a variety of things but mainly NBA DFS with my K-Rate model. Let's get to it - good luck RotoBallers!
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DraftKings and FanDuel Guards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Donovan Mitchell - PG/SG, UTA vs. POR ($8,400 DK, $8,200 FD)
We'll have to pick and choose our spots to pay up very carefully today, as raw points from the high-end players are going to gain extra significance with so many teams limiting (or sitting) their starters. The Jazz are tied with the Nuggets for the #5 seed but they hold the tiebreaker, so while they could secure the #5 seed with a win, there's a question as to how much they really want that seed - so be aware of this and build lineups accordingly. Assuming Mitchell plays his typical 33-35 minute role, he's obviously in an incredible spot to produce against the G-League Blazers. They're projecting for the third-most points on the slate, and while the game currently holds a monster 19-point spread, there are countless examples of players reaching and exceeding value in blowout situations. The Blazers give up the third-most fantasy points per game to opposing teams, and Mitchell has a chance to break out of his mini shooting slump in a big way with this forgiving matchup.
Ayo Dosunmu - PG/SG, CHI vs. MIN ($3,900 DK, $3,900 FD)
Ayo will play all the minutes that he can handle tonight with DeRozan, Vucevic, LaVine, Ball, and Caruso all ruled out. He holds a solid 20.9% usage rate and 0.99 FPTS/min rate with those five off the floor this season, and he has a superb opportunity to hit 9-10x his value on both sites tonight as he's also playing in the top game environment on the entire slate. The matchup trails only the Kings-Suns game in terms of pace and implied total, and both of these squads allow a ton of fantasy points to opposing teams. He's simply too cheap for his projected role tonight.
Talen Horton-Tucker - SG/SF, LAL vs. DEN ($5,200 DK, $6,700 FD) | Better on DraftKings
I'm not quite as interested in him his elevated tag over on FanDuel, but DraftKings seems to have forgotten that the Lakers entered tank mode a few games ago and it's now the THT and Monk Show in Los Angeles. Horton-Tucker has put up 56.25 and 37 DK points since receiving tank-mode minutes in the mid-to-high 30's, and he hucked up 44 shot attempts in those two games alone. The Nuggets could still snag the #5 seed, but it could be a matter of them not really caring as they've listed Jokic as a game-time decision. Obviously, THT and the Lakers will be more appealing if they don't have to deal with Jokic in the paint, so give them a boost if he sits in the season finale.
James Harden - SG/SF, PHI vs. DET ($8,700 FD)
Others to consider (FanDuel): Luka Doncic ($11,600), Immanuel Quickley ($6,600), Tyrese Maxey ($6,300), Alec Burks ($6,100), Malik Monk ($5,800), Marcus Smart ($5,500), Brandon Boston ($3,900), Troy Brown ($3,500), Shake Milton ($3,500), Luke Kennard ($4,500), Terance Mann ($4,900), R.J. Hampton ($3,900), Vit Krejci ($4,700), Zavier Simpson ($5,300)
Others to consider (DraftKings): Luka Doncic ($12,200), Tyrese Maxey ($6,800), Malik Monk ($6,600), Mike Conley ($6,000), Melvin Frazier Jr. ($3,600), Shake Milton ($3,300), Zavier Simpson ($4,800), Vit Krejci ($4,7000), Terance Mann ($4,700), R.J. Hampton ($4,100)
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DraftKings and FanDuel Forwards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Jaylen Hoard - SF/PF/C, OKC vs. LAC ($7,000 DK, $7,700 FD)
We know we're at the end of the season when Jaylen Hoard, on a 10-day contract, is up over $7,000 on both sites. And I'm still recommending him as a top play tonight. I don't care that the Thunder currently hold the second-lowest implied total on the slate or that they received an "F" in my model - this dude is playing 36-47 minutes per night and has exceeded 59.25 DK points in two of his last three games played. He's going to play regardless of the status of the game, and he's going to hog usage and chuck up a lot of shots against a Clippers squad that has nothing to play for. They're also allowing the 12th-most fantasy points per game to opposing teams over their last 15 games. Ride the hot hand here.
Naz Reid - PF/C, MIN vs. CHI ($3,300 DK, $3,500 FD)
Reid will be stepping into huge minutes tonight with Karl-Anthony Towns already ruled out, and he's dirt-cheap on both sites. D'Angelo Russell and Patrick Beverley are questionable and may sit out as well, but Reid averages a very useful 21.9% usage rate and 1.11 FPTS/min with just KAT off the floor this season. While the Bulls rank middle-of-the-pack against centers, this game projects as the top game environment to target on the entire slate. Getting to a productive forward stepping into high-20's minutes at near minimum pricing is always a good idea.
Others to consider (FanDuel): Tobias Harris ($6,100), Robert Covington ($5,500), Saddiq Bey ($5,200), Melvin Frazier ($3,900), Caleb Martin ($3,500), Javonte Green ($4,000), Amir Coffey ($4,300), Georgios Kalaitzakis ($4,800), Kyle Anderson ($4,300), Derrick Jones ($3,500), Stanley Johnson ($4,300)
Others to consider (DraftKings): Anthony Edwards ($8,000), Brandon Boston Jr. ($3,000), Georgios Kalaitzakis ($4,800), Amir Coffey ($4,500), Paul Reed ($3,100) Keita Bates-Diop ($3,000)
DraftKings and FanDuel Centers - NBA DFS Lineup Pics
Nikola Jokic - C, DEN vs. LAL ($12,400 DK, $12,200 FD)
I'll preface this by saying that the 2022 MVP is listed as a game-time decision and there's a good chance he doesn't play. Just get to the near-minimum-priced DeMarcus Cousins in that scenario and don't think twice about it. If Jokic does play, we have to like his chances to continue his incredible run of production against one of the worst frontcourt defenses in the NBA. Jokic has scored at least 70 DK points in seven straight games. Cousins is an auto-play if Jokic is out - he has averaged a 32.3% usage rate and 1.41 FPTS/min with Jokic off the floor this season.
Others to consider (FanDuel): Tristan Thompson ($3,500), Dwight Howard ($4,400), Greg Monroe ($3,500), Dwight Powell ($4,900), Drew Eubanks ($5,800)
Others to consider (DraftKings): Tristan Thompson ($3,100), Xavier Tillman ($3,500), Greg Monroe ($3,000), Isaiah Hartenstein ($5,400), Dwight Powell ($4,800)
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