FanDuel NBA Picks and DraftKings NBA Picks - Wednesday, 4/21/21

Tuesday's article went really well! That led to one of my better days in a while, and it has us ecstatic for this crazy Wednesday slate. We have almost every team playing, with 12 games making up this slate. That creates a monster player pool, and it's going to be critical to keep an eye on all the news out there. With that in mind, let's get into it!

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Point Guard

Stephen Curry FD - $10200 DK - $10500
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 54.47 DK - 58.19

It's pretty insane what this guy is doing right now. Since returning from injury a few weeks back, he's been arguably the best player in fantasy. That's on full display when you see that he has at least 49 fantasy points in 11 straight games while providing a 58-point average in that span. That's absurd since he's being double-teamed all the time, and we certainly expect him to continue that ridiculous form in a majestic matchup like this. The Wizards currently rank second in pace while surrendering the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing point guards. Golden State is a Top-3 team in terms of pace, too, and it's scary to think how many open threes Curry will get in a game script like this.

Malcolm Brogdon FD - $7500 DK - $7700
Opponent - OKC
Proj Pts FD - 42.09 DK - 43.7

The Pacers are expected to be without Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner here, leaving Brogdon as the focal point of the offense. With those two guys off the floor, Brogdon is second on the team with a 34 percent usage rate while averaging over 1.2 DK points per minute. That's a heck of a rate from a guy in a fantastic stretch, with Brogdon averaging 44 DraftKings points per game across his last seven outings. That's right on par with our projections, and it's amazing to think that he did that damage with those guys healthy. Oklahoma City is certainly not a worrisome matchup either, with the Thunder owning a 22nd OPRK against opposing PGs this year.

Kyrie Irving could be in line for a monster workload with Kevin Durant and James Harden both out.

Shooting Guard

Paul George FD - $9400 DK - $9300
Opponent - MEM
Proj Pts FD - 48.7 DK - 50.94

Now that Kawhi Leonard is out for the next week, Paul George should continue to go off. He's been doing just that recently, scoring at least 46 fantasy points in seven straight games. He's actually averaging 32.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 1.5 steals per game in that span, skyrocketing his usage with Kawhi out. That's the guy we saw in Indiana, and he should continue to run this offense. We absolutely love this matchup, too, with Memphis surrendering the third-most fantasy points to opposing small forwards this year which is likely where PG will likely play with this new-look lineup.

Josh Jackson FD - $5500 DK - $5400
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 30.36 DK - 30.68

Jackson has always been a talented player, and he's finally getting a chance to run this offense. What we really love here is that Killian Hayes is out, which should force Jackson into a ball-handling role. That has led to one of the best stretches of his career, averaging over 30 DraftKings points per game across his last six outings. His best games have been the ones without Hayes, too, and there's still always a chance that more Pistons will get rested. Dallas is definitely not a worrisome matchup either, with the Mavericks ranked 20th in defensive efficiency. That makes it hard to believe that he's sitting around $5,500 on both sites, which makes him one of the best bets to reach 5X value.

C.J. McCollum is running things in Portland with Damian Lillard out and could crush Denver.

Small Forward

Norman Powell FD - $6200 DK - $6600
Opponent - DEN
Proj Pts FD - 37.61 DK - 38.8

Powell has been one of the primary playmakers for the Trail Blazers, making it hard to understand why he remains below $7K. The craziest thing about Powell is his monstrous role, playing at least 38 minutes in four straight games while attempting at least 15 shots in each of those. That's usually the role you'd see from a $9K player, and it's amazing how much damage this guy does when getting usage like that. In the 20 games he's played at least 35 minutes, Powell is averaging over 40 DraftKings points per game. We certainly don't mind that Denver owns a 24th OPRK against opposing SFs either.

Oshae Brissett FD - $3800 DK - $3100
Opponent - OKC
Proj Pts FD - 25.68 DK - 25.87

Someone needs to play in this Pacers frontcourt, and it appears Brissett might be the guy. With Turner and Sabonis out on Monday, OB got his first career start, dropping 24 DraftKings points across 25 minutes of play. I'd be lying to you if I told you I knew much about this guy, but anyone who plays 25 minutes at this price is hard to overlook. A game like that equates to 8X value at these dirt-cheap price tags, and he could be in for even more minutes if Goga Bitadze sits as well. The best part of this might be the matchup, though, with OKC sending out a G-League roster that owns a 24th OPRK against opposing power forwards,

Anthony Edwards has been rolling the last two months and should thrive against the worst defense in the NBA.

Power Forward

Kristaps Porzingis FD - $8300 DK - $9000
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 46.31 DK - 48.02

Kristaps has quietly had a really nice stretch since the All-Star break, and it's slowly creeping the Mavs up the Western Conference standings. Over his last 11 games, KP is averaging 22.4 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks en route to a 44-point average. That's really all you can hope for from a player in this price range, scoring at least 43 fantasy points in eight of those 11 games. The matchup with Detroit isn't too bad either, with the Pistons surrendering the second-most fantasy points to opposing power forwards. He's killed them throughout his career, too, dropping at least 41 DraftKings points in five of their eight meetings.

Aaron Gordon FD - $5100 DK - $5500
Opponent - POR
Proj Pts FD - 30.7 DK - 31.25

This is one of our riskier players because of how Gordon has looked at times in Denver, but this price is getting to a very tempting number. We're talking about a player who was $7K on both sites about a month ago and has the potential to drop 30-40 fantasy points anytime he steps on the floor. What adds to his intrigue is that Jamal Murray is out, which should force Gordon into more ball-handling duties. We absolutely adore that in a matchup like this, with Portland ranked 29th in defensive efficiency ratings while surrendering the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing PFs.

If Bam Adebayo is out, Precious Achiuwa should be in line to play 25-30 minutes at a dirt-cheap price tag.

Center

Nikola Jokic FD - $11300 DK - $11000
Opponent - POR
Proj Pts FD - 60.2 DK - 62.75

Joker was the best player in fantasy before Jamal Murray got injured, and it's scary to think how good he's going to be in the final month of the season. Jokic is posting a 34 percent usage rate with him off the floor while averaging 1.7 DK points per minute. That fantastic rate is great news for a guy leading the NBA with 59 DraftKings points per game and has been even better recently. The big man has 144.3 combined fantasy points in the last two games without Murray, which is honestly a good two-week span for many players. Not to mention, he dropped 58 fantasy points against this putrid Portland defense in their one meeting earlier this year.

Hassan Whiteside FD - $5400 DK - $6200
Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 33.82 DK - 34

Whiteside has started the last two games for Richaun Holmes, and he's hard to fade when he's getting the minutes. We're talking about a dude who's averaging 19.5 DK points per game in just 15 minutes a night. That's nearly 1.4 DK points per minute, and that's brilliant news considering he's getting a minutes bump recently. Whiteside is averaging 30 fantasy points per game in 22 minutes a night over his last four games. It's not like we're worried about him facing the T'Wolves either, with Minnesota owning a 25th OPRK against opposing centers while sitting 28th in defensive efficiency.

If Goga Bitadze suits up, he's an excellent play with Sabonis and Turner both out.

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