Basketball Picks Daily Fantasy Expert Advice
Daily Fantasy NBA News and Injury Updates - 4/7/18
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As the regular season winds down, we have five games on the schedule tonight and DFSR has all of the info and details you need to know before locking those lineups at 7:30. Start out with our daily NBA picks article and then read on for all the latest.
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What We Know
Giannis Antetokounmpo is out.
The Greek freak suffered a sprained ankle and will be held out of the Bucks tilt with the Knicks tonight in New York. Jabari Parker stands to see an increased workload with Giannis out of commission, while Khris Middleton and Eric Bledsoe each see a spike in usage with no Giannis. Bledsoe's usage goes up just about 2% per NBAWowy.com while Middleton's usage goes up nearly 7%.
Eric Gordon is listed as questionable for the Rockets.
Gordon was held out of the Rockets last game with a foot issue that seems to still be nagging. With the number one spot in the west all locked up, there is a good chance the Rockets hold Gordon out as a precaution.
DeMarre Carroll will miss a second straight game.
Carroll is suffering from a strained left hip that will keep him out of a second straight game after missing Thursday night's game with the Bucks. Joe Harris drew the start for Carroll on Thursday and will likely do so again tonight. In that game, he paid nearly 7X points per dollar and is in a great spot tonight against a bottom ten Chicago defense at the three.
Noah Vonleh is out for a second game in a row.
Vonleh will miss a second straight game with a calf injury after missing last night's game with the Celtics. Bobby Portis and Sean Kilpatrick will all see added time in his absence. The Bulls haven't been running anybody on heavy minutes as of late so the whole situation is best avoided.
The Warriors continue to deal with injuries.
While Curry remains out, he'll be joined once again by Patrick McCaw who has missed three in a row, and Omri Casspi looking at his tenth straight absence. In addition to those guys, Nick Young has been fighting an illness and Andre Iguodala has been dealing with knee soreness. Both of those are listed as probable for the Warriors who at least have a healthy Thompson, Durant, and Green in their starting rotation as they prepare for the postseason.
Tim Hardaway Jr. and Enes Kanter are out for the Knicks.
THJ walked away from last night's game against the Heat with an ankle sprain and Kanter continues dealing with a sore back. Kanter will miss his fourth in a row and will be joined on the bench by THJ. Kyle O'Quinn has been excellent through the last three games with Kanter sidelined and will once again be a top consideration. Courtney Lee will be the primary beneficiary of THJ being ruled out.
Every Lineup Guys
Nikola Mirotic FD - $5600 DK - $5100
Opponent - GS
Proj Pts FD - 23.63 DK - 24.18
While the east is coming together rather nicely, there's a dogfight going on in the west as several teams look to go down swinging fighting for playoff spots. One of those teams is the New ORleans Pelicans. The Pels currently sit in the five spot, but numbers 6-8 all sit within a half a game while the Nuggets, currently on the outside looking in are only one game out. Every. Win. Matters. The Pelicans will turn to Nikola Mirotic who has really turned up the heat as of late coming off a 25 point, seven rebound outing against the Grizzlies on Wednesday night. Mirotic paid 6.3X points per dollar on these prices that night, and the Pels will look for another big outing against the Warriors who have the second spot in the west all wrapped up and may not be as motivated as New Orleans. Vegas sees this one going to the Dubs, but they're only six point favorites so there's a chance. Regardless this game projects for the highrst scoring affair of the evening with a 226 O/U and these are two of the top teams in the gsme in terms of pace. Mirotic is a value play who should be a lock for cash games with potential upside for days.
Kyle O'Quinn FD - $6700 DK - $5900
Opponent - MIL
Proj Pts FD - 34.67 DK - 35.04
I mentioned KO'Q earlier in the write-up of the Knicks injury situation, so let's delve a little further down the rabbit hole and look at the appeal. In three games that Enes Kanter has now missed with back soreness, O'Quinn has been phenomenal. He posted 44.8 FanDuel points last night in just 21 minutes against the Heat, posting a 14/14/2/3/1 line. In the two games prior he averaged 30 minutes, 10.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 3.0 blocks. The Knicks haven't a thing to play for, but they have clearly demonstrated no aversion to running their starters out there for big-time minutes. Even as ten point dogs, You have to like the upside on a guy like O'Quinn, especially against a Milwaukee defense allowing the most fantasy points to opposing centers over the past week.
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image sources
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jeremy Lamb: (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)