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There are just three games on the main slate tonight, and the matchups are clearly separated by two tiers in terms of their fantasy appeal. The Nets-Hawks showdown currently sports an eye-popping 242-point implied total, and it also features the fastest projected pace and most combined fantasy points per game allowed. It's going to be difficult to fade that game in any capacity, but we'll need to identify some pieces from the less-attractive Heat-Bulls and Jazz-Warriors affairs as well.
Trae Young (groin) and Zach LaVine (knee) are probable to play through their injuries while Bruce Brown, Seth Curry, Hassan Whiteside, Max Strus, Caleb Martin, and Gabe Vincent are all currently questionable to suit up tonight. None of the six teams in action are playing in the second half of a back-to-back set.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 4/2/22, with the slate locking at 6:30 pm CT. 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
Kyrie Irving - PG/SG, BKN vs. ATL ($10,300 DK, $9,200 FD) | Better on FanDuel
Obviously, Kyrie looks much better at his FanDuel pricing as he's somehow a full $1,100 less over on the blue site. You can absolutely make a case for playing him on both sites, though. He has been in a bit of a funk over a four-game stretch now, failing to exceed 41 DK points and falling to as low as 29 DK points despite seeing between 30-45 minutes in each contest. However, we have to remember that he put up 87 DK points just five games ago and if there's any matchup for him to explode for another mega-ceiling game, it's tonight against the Hawks. They've been middle-of-the-pack against point guards and give up the ninth-most fantasy points per game to opposing shooting guards, but the real appeal here is simply the game environment as a whole. With an insane 242-point implied total, the fastest projected pace, and the most combined fantasy points per game allowed, this is the matchup to target on this slate. Getting to an underpriced Kyrie Irving in the best spot on the slate feels like a good idea.
Trae Young - PG, ATL vs. BKN ($10,600 DK, $9,900 FD)
Decisions will need to be made over on DraftKings as both Irving and Young are priced up a bit, but you can get to both a lot easier over on FanDuel at their softer pricing. Either way, Young is a player you'll want to prioritize tonight. He has been playing minutes in the high-30's in competitive matchups, and there are a few factors contributing to him being a top play on this slate. First, his usage rate (35%) and FPTS/min rate (1.47) both see a small jump with forward John Collins off the floor, as he will be tonight. Second, Young's positional matchup is among the best for anyone on the board. The Nets have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points per game to opposing point guards this season - they've given up huge games to Jrue Holiday (19/8/4/6), Cade Cunningham (34/1/6/2), and LaMelo Ball (33/7/9/3) over their last three contests. Trae Young is better than that trio. Lastly, as stated in the Kyrie blurb, this game environment can't get any juicier. Fire up Ice Trae.
Alex Caruso - PG/SG, CHI vs. MIA ($4,700 DK, $4,300 FD)
Jordan Poole - PG, MIA vs. CHI ($7,200 DK)
Others to consider (FanDuel): Donovan Mitchell ($8,100), Mike Conley ($5,300), Seth Curry ($4,400), Zach LaVine ($7,300), Bogdan Bogdanovic ($5,900)
Others to consider (DraftKings): Donovan Mitchell ($8,400), Kyle Lowry ($5,700), Zach LaVine ($7,400), Seth Curry ($4,900), Bogdan Bogdanovic ($6,100)
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DraftKings and FanDuel Forwards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Max Strus - SG/SF, MIA vs. CHI ($3,800 DK, $4,500 FD) | Better on DraftKings
I really, really don't like the idea of deploying Strus over on FanDuel as he's only eligible at shooting guard and priced up by $700 from DraftKings. However, getting him in lineups as a punt play over on DraftKings makes a ton of sense as he makes building comfortable lineups a lot easier at his price point. The great thing about this punt play is that he has an above-average chance to see at least 30 minutes of action tonight, as he has in three of his last four. He averages a paltry 0.79 FPTS/min on the season and he hasn't been lighting the world on fire recently by any means, but he did post a value-crushing 34.75 DK points in a tough matchup against Boston in his last time out. Value is so hard to come by on this slate that if we can get to a guy who projects for around 30 minutes at under $4,000, we take it all day and we don't think twice about it.
Otto Porter Jr. - SF/PF, GSW vs. UTA ($4,200 DK) | Better on DraftKings
Andrew Wiggins - SF, GSW vs. UTA ($5,600 FD) | FanDuel-only
You're never too excited to play either of these guys, but with the way roster constructions are shaking out and the lack of value on this slate, I think it makes a lot of sense to pay down at the forward positions in order to fit some combination of Irving, Young, and Mitchell tonight.
Porter is a bit underpriced over on DraftKings. He's a relatively volatile play as he's a low-usage (14.9% with Curry and Wiseman off the floor), scoring/rebound-dependent player, so there are certainly going to be nights where he's going to crush your lineup with under 15 fantasy points. That being said, he's the perfect kind of tournament dart throw we're looking to deploy on a three-game slate due to that exact concept of volatility. Sometimes, it's going to swing the other way. He needs just 21 DK points to reach 5x value and he has exceeded 32 DK points in three of his last five games played. He's also averaging a great 0.97 FPTS/min rate with Curry and Wiseman off the floor, so he really just needs to see enough minutes to become a valuable play. This isn't a good matchup by any means, but he's well worth the risk on a tiny slate.
Wiggins is an easy choice at small forward over on FanDuel as he's now priced in the value range, below Bogdanovic and Kevin Huerter. He doesn't have an appealing ceiling as he very rarely hits the 40 FD point mark, but he has been pretty consistently finishing with around 30 FD points this season and that'll get the job done at his salary tonight. He holds a 25.3% usage rate with Curry and Wiseman off the floor, and while his 0.87 FPTS/min rate in that split isn't inspiring in the slightest, it's enough to get him near the top of the priority list at a shallow SF position on the blue site tonight.
Others to consider (FanDuel): Jimmy Butler ($7,800), Royce O'Neale ($3,700), De'Andre Hunter ($4,800), Kevin Durant ($10,800), Draymond Green ($6,000)
Others to consider (DraftKings): Draymond Green ($5,600), P.J. Tucker ($3,100), Kessler Edwards ($3,000)
DraftKings and FanDuel Centers - NBA DFS Lineup Pics
Andre Drummond - C, BKN vs. ATL ($6,000 DK, $6,800 FD)
Drummond is a top-priority play at his mid-range pricing tonight. He has played right around 30 minutes per game in four of his last five as LaMarcus Aldridge being healthy hasn't impacted the big man's minutes in the slightest, and he's averaging 34.65 DK points per game over that stretch. He even put up a massive, value-smashing 52 DK point performance on 3/27 against Charlotte, a team that allows the second-most fantasy points per game to centers. The Hawks haven't been quite as bad at defending bigs as they have in past seasons, but they have allowed the 11th-most fantasy points per game to opponents overall and rank 26th in the league in defensive rating. The game has the highest implied total on the slate (by a mile), the fastest projected pace, and the most combined fantasy points per game allowed. Eat the good chalk with Drummond tonight.
Others to consider (FanDuel): Kevon Looney ($3,700), Clint Capela ($6,400), Nikola Vucevic ($7,700)
Others to consider (DraftKings): Onyeka Okongwu ($3,800), Rudy Gobert ($7,600), Kevon Looney ($3,700), Bam Adebayo ($8,000)
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