FanDuel NBA Picks and DraftKings NBA Picks - Saturday, 5/8/21

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Point Guard

Stephen Curry FD - $10200 DK - $10800
Opponent - OKC
Proj Pts FD - 53.65 DK - 57.02

It’s close between Curry and Russell Westbrook (FD $12000 DK $11100) at these prices and the latter is probably the better play on DraftKings. Both the Warriors and the Wizards are fighting to get their seeding correct and stay out of the bottom half of the play-in game. Curry is going against the Thunder who have given up 118 or more points in three of the last four games. Meanwhile, Curry has a crazy usage rate in the short term putting up 21 or more shots in each of the last five games. He’s averaging 36 points per game in that stretch and is just bombing from beyond the arc, taking 17 or more threes in four of the last five. These are just crazy stats and he could be in line for a similar game on Saturday.

Malachi Flynn FD - $5300 DK - $4700
Opponent - MEM
Proj Pts FD - 29.51 DK - 29.68

Both Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet have already been ruled out for this game and the Raptors look like they are fully in the tank to finish the season. With the guard starters out there should be a lot of minutes there for Flynn in this one. The last time both sat out Flynn played 36 minutes and scored 10 points while putting up six assists and five rebounds. In a matchup against the Grizzlies and the Raptors playing with a borderline skeleton crew, Flynn has a high floor at these prices. He’s an especially good value on DraftKings.

Shooting Guard

Caris Levert FD - $8600 DK - $9100
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 46.2 DK - 46.57

The Washington-Indiana game has a lot of leverage around it with both teams fighting for seeding around the play-in game. This LeVert play is somewhat contingent on Malcolm Brogdon sitting, but the latter has been shelved for a number of games with a hamstring injury. Last game, Caris played 40 minutes and took 20 shots even with Domantas Sabonis back in the lineup. He finished with 31 points and 12 assists, running the offense as essentially the point guard. In a matchup against the Wizards which could be an absolute track meet, LeVert has a high floor here. The price is getting a little steep on DraftKings but he’s still a FanDuel value.

Gary Trent Jr. FD - $5000 DK - $5500
Opponent - MEM
Proj Pts FD - 30.94 DK - 32.06

Trent played 36 minutes in the start on Thursday and had a solid usage rate, taking 16 shots and finishing with 25 points. He needs to score to really hit the upper tier in fantasy scoring because he doesn’t do a whole lot else, but the minutes should definitely be there with the Raptors so thin in the backcourt. Again, this is a weird situation with Toronto because they are clearly calling the ball on their season and even these starters might not play a ton of minutes. But I think we can take the risk.

Small Forward

Kevin Durant FD - $10600 DK - $10200
Opponent - DEN
Proj Pts FD - 55.05 DK - 56.63

The Nets haven’t been shy about giving Durant a lot of minutes as they gear up for the playoff run and that’s given him a solid floor even at these prices. He’s played 36 or more minutes in each of the last four games and is averaging 34 points and eight rebounds per game in that stretch. The Nets are clearly not being shy with his run and that’s encouraging. This is an okay, but not great matchup against the Nuggets but there are going to be opportunities to spend up at different positions on Saturday.

Michael Porter Jr. FD - $7000 DK - $8700
Opponent - BKN
Proj Pts FD - 38.39 DK - 39.14

With the Nuggets dealing with a lot of injury issues, especially around their primary scoring threats, it’s left a lot of minutes for Porter and a lot of shots as well. He’s averaging 17 shots per game over the last six and putting up 24 points per game in that stretch. The rebounding has been solid in that stretch as well and should continue against a Nets team that allows opponents to get on the boards at higher than league average rates.

Power Forward

Domantas Sabonis FD - $10600 DK - $10500
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 48.45 DK - 51.04

It’s likely there is once again a lot of savings on this slate because a bunch of the teams playing are on back-to-backs. Sabonis should have an incredibly high minutes floor in this game and will be playing against a mostly subpar Wiz defensive frontcourt in a game that should be up and down. This is just too good a spot for a guy with triple-double potential nearly every time he steps on the court. Again, we are likely to get some savings at other positions on this slate with some starting lineups likely to get weird so going stars and scrubs should be fine all things considered.

Kenyon Martin Jr. FD - $6400 DK - $5300
Opponent - UTA
Proj Pts FD - 33.72 DK - 33.8

The Rockets skeleton crew put up a fight against the Bucks on Friday night ultimately losing the game, but not before they put up 132 points. Martin got the start with Christian Wood out of the lineup and that should be the case again on Saturday. In fact, over the last two games, Martin has played an average of 40+ minutes and put up 25 points, seven assists, and eight rebounds. Those are elite numbers and the run should be there again against the Jazz. Sure, these aren’t punt prices, but Martin has an incredibly high floor right now and is still coming too cheap for how much, and how well he is playing.

Center

Nikola Jokic FD - $11200 DK - $10900
Opponent - BKN
Proj Pts FD - 60.25 DK - 62.37

I know I’ve given a lot of expensive options on this slate and you are probably only going to be able to play two, maybe three of them. We’ve tried to sprinkle in some cheaper options and there will be more to come on a day in which injuries and rest almost definitely play a factor. The Nuggets are on a back-to-back here which is cause for a little concern with Jokic’s minutes. But he should also be able to totally dominate a Nets team that’s been brutalized by opposing big men this season. He has an incredibly high floor especially if Denver is really motivated to win this game.

Rudy Gobert (FD 8200 DK 8800) should have a fairly easy time with the Houston front court, such as it is in this game, but there’s also some blowout risk.

There’s some chance that Joel Embiid sits out this game on the back-to-back meaning there could be value that really opens up on the cheaper side of things.

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