Daily Fantasy DraftKings and FanDuel NBA Picks - Friday, April 5, 2024

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Point Guard/ Shooting Guard

Luka Doncic FD - $12600 DK - $12800
Opponent - GS
Proj Pts FD - 63.52 DK - 69.62

We are in the final weeks of the NBA regular season, and this is when things get weird. With so many teams tanking, injured, or otherwise, there will likely be a lot of savings around the slate. That means spending up for Luka Doncic won’t be much of an issue at all. Dallas is still fighting to stay out of the play-in (currently the 5th seed), and Luka is obviously at a different level.

In close games, he’s playing massive minutes, averaging a triple-double over the last month with 32.5 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. Few others in the game can do what he does on a nightly basis. Paying up here in a leverage game makes all the sense in the world.

Scoot Henderson FD - $6800 DK - $7100
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 36.77 DK - 41.27

Dalano Banton FD - $7000 DK - $6900
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 38.39 DK - 41.48

We’ve got a couple of bottom-feeders squaring off on this slate with the Blazers and Wizards taking the court. Both teams have a ton of guys out and this is one neither organization will be all that interested in winning. That being said, the Blazers have been running Scoot Henderson and Dalano Banton for major minutes, considering the roster is down so many guys.

Banton has been a popular play of late even coming off the bench, and it’s easy to see why. He’s been able to pile on stats across the box score, averaging 21.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 2.4 blocks+ steals over the last five.

And Scoot is starting to turn it around as well, registering 10 assists last game and nine the game before. The scoring can come and go, but he’s also not prohibitively expensive.

Scotty Pippen Jr. FD - $5200 DK - $5300
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 39.2 DK - 40.9

Jordan Goodwin FD - $5700 DK - $4600
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 35.93 DK - 37.24

The Grizzlies are one of those teams that’s a total and complete mess right now, and really have been for weeks. Tonight, they will be without Jaren Jackson Jr., Santi Aldama, Luke Kennard, and John Konchar, in addition to guys like Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Marcus Smart, who’ve been out forever (this isn’t even the whole list, mind you). We could see both Jordan Goodwin and Scottie Pippen Jr. start here, or at minimum play a lot of minutes on a decimated squad. Both are coming the mid tier, but should see a lot of run.

Strongly consider Josh Giddey (FD 8000 DK 7500), as the Thunder are still missing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams.

Small Forward

GG Jackson II FD - $5900 DK - $6000
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 36.3 DK - 39.14

Jake LaRavia FD - $5100 DK - $4500
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 35.59 DK - 37.36

Again, the Grizzlies are just down so many guys right now and we should see both GG Jackson and Jake Laravia start and potentially play a ton of minutes in this one against the Pistons. With some of the other big guys out of the lineup, we’ve seen Jackson ramp of the usage in certain games.

This could be one of them. If he saw close to 20 shots in this game I wouldn’t be surprised. The efficiency leaves something to be desired, but against a weak Detroit team, I’m not as worried about that.

And then there is Laravia who can score in his own right. Per 36 minutes, he’s averaging 16 points, 6.3 rebounds, and two blocks+ steals. If he’s in the starting lineup then I have no issue running him in cash on both sites where his price still helps fit stars.

Lamar Stevens (FD 4800 DK 3900) or Maozinha Pereira (FD 3700 DK 3100) could also draw the start here which tells you everything you need to know about this team.

Power Forward/ Center

Deandre Ayton FD - $7900 DK - $8000
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 46.33 DK - 48.59

Deandre Ayton was a very popular play on FanDuel especially the last time the Blazers played. It could be the case again with Portland facing off against the lowly Wizards. He lived up to the ownership with 24 points and 16 rebounds in 37 minutes against the Hornets. A similar line is definitely in play here against Washington who could be starting Tristan Vukcevic at center. Either way, the minutes are encouraging for Ayton and give him a very high projectable floor.

Jabari Walker FD - $5700 DK - $5500
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 38.78 DK - 41.39

Jabari Walker is another one benefiting from the Blazers basically having no players left to play. Last game, Walker played 42 minutes, tallying 14 points and a crazy 22 rebounds. You read that second number correctly. This late in the season, we always get some weirdness, but if Portland is going to keep running out there with just 8-10 guys, then I’m pretty confident with Walker getting massive run again.

Sandro Mamukelashvili FD - $4500 DK - $4000
Opponent - NO
Proj Pts FD - 32.76 DK - 34.91

The Spurs are also a team dealing with a ton of injuries meaning we could see Sandro Mamukelashvili enter the starting lineup. After Cedi Osman went down last game, Mamuk stepped in to play 24 minutes, scoring 10 points and adding nine rebounds. If he starts alongside Victor Wembanyama then the usage and rebounding take a hit, but not to the degree we would be avoiding playing him in cash. This is one we will have to keep an eye out for leading in close to lineup lock, but I do think the minutes for Mamukelashvili should be in the mid 20s almost regardless.