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The top daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on April 12, 2023. Juan Carlos Blanco provides NBA DFS analysis and sleeper picks for building optimal DFS rosters.
We're set for another two-game play-in slate on Wednesday night, with two projected competitive matchups in Bulls-Raptors and Thunder-Pelicans on the docket. Each team comes in healthy overall in terms of its most pertinent players, which gives us a solid player pool to work with.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for the DraftKings and FanDuel slate beginning at 7 pm ET on 4/12/23. Remember to monitor NBA injury news and our awesome new NBA injuries report tool as the slate can completely change before lineups lock.
Good luck RotoBallers!
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DraftKings and FanDuel Guards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - PG, OKC at NOP ($10,500 DK, $10,800 FD)
Gilgeous-Alexander is naturally the linchpin of the Thunder attack, and he enjoyed plenty of success against the Pelicans this season. SGA averaged over 50 fantasy points on either site in four games against New Orleans. He finished the regular season averaging an outstanding 32.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.6 steals across his last 14 games.
The Pelicans also finished the regular season being relatively generous to point guards, as they gave up 49.6 DK/47.7 FD points per game to the position in the last 15 contests. Given the stakes at play and his past body of work in the matchup, SGA shapes up as worthy of the hefty investment on the small slate.
Gary Trent Jr. - SG/SF, TOR vs. CHI ($4,200 DK, $5,900 FD)
Trent makes for an intriguing tournament play, with his DK salary particularly standing out as a bargain. The sharpshooter drained 47.2 percent of his attempts, including 40.0 percent of his tries from three-point range, over his three games against the Bulls this season. He averaged 29.1 DK/29.2 FD points per contest along the way.
Trent displayed a ceiling north of 40 fantasy points on both sites on multiple occasions this season. Chicago has allowed 37.3 percent three-point shooting to two guards on the season. The Bulls also gave up over 42 DK and over 39 FD points per contest to the position in the last 15 games, enhancing Trent's appeal at his salaries.
Others to consider: CJ McCollum, NOP vs. OKC ($7,900 DK, $8,600 FD)
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DraftKings and FanDuel Forwards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Pascal Siakam - PF/C, TOR vs. CHI ($9,400 DK, $9,900 FD)
Siakam finished the regular season off with a flourish, averaging 24.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 1.2 steals while shooting 52.1 percent across his last 12 games. The big man put up over 45 fantasy points per contest on either site during that span. With his floor-spacing ability, he offers a ceiling well north of 50 fantasy points on a fairly regular basis.
The Bulls were also more giving than usual to centers at the end of the regular season, surrendering over 53 DK and over 52 FD points per game to the position in the final 15 games. Given Siakam's typical usage rates, the big man should once again play an outsized role in Wednesday's game.
Zach LaVine - SF/SG, CHI at TOR ($7,300 DK, $8,200 FD)
LaVine shapes up as an excellent mid-salary play on Wednesday considering he averaged 39.2 DK/37.3 FD points per contest during the regular season. LaVine also put together impressive numbers against the Raptors this season. He shot 53.1 percent, including 38.5 percent from three-point range, over two games.
The veteran wing finished the regular season on an extended hot streak as well. He shot 53.2 percent, including 39.4 percent from distance, over his last 22 games while averaging 27.0 points, 4.7 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per contest. Toronto also allowed the third-highest three-point shooting percentage of any team on its home floor (37.4) during the regular season, enhancing LaVine's appeal.
Trey Murphy III - SF/SG, NOP vs. OKC ($6,400 DK, $6,500 FD)
Murphy was a key complementary source of scoring down the stretch for the Pelicans, averaging 21.7 points on 52.0 percent shooting, including 45.9 percent from three-point range. The second-year guard averaged 33.5 FD points per contest in that span as well, giving him plenty of upside at his current salaries.
Murphy shot 46.9 percent, including 40.0 percent from behind the arc, in four games against the Thunder this regular season. OKC finished the campaign allowing the seventh-highest offensive efficiency rating to shooting guards (24.7). OKC also conceded the seventh-most DK (48.8) and eighth-most FD (46.5) points per game to two guards in the last seven games of the season. This ups the chances of Murphy finishing as one of the better fantasy-point-per-dollar plays of the night.
Others to consider: Brandon Ingram, NOP vs. OKC ($10,000 DK, $10,300 FD)
DraftKings and FanDuel Centers - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Nikola Vucevic - CHI at TOR ($7,400 DK, $8,500 FD)
Vucevic was ultra-efficient in his three games against the Raptors this season. He shot 58.5 percent, including 46.7 percent from three-point range, while averaging 18.7 points, 10.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.0 blocks per contest. The big man showed off a massive ceiling during a season in which he played in all 82 games for the first time, eclipsing 60 fantasy points on each site on three occasions.
The Raptors allowed 58.0 percent shooting, including 37.3 percent from behind the arc, to centers on the season. Toronto also allowed over 50 DK and over 49 FD points per contest to centers in the last 15 games of the regular season. This should give Vucevic an excellent chance of delivering strong returns on his very reasonable salaries.
Jonas Valanciunas - NOP vs. OKC ($6,800 DK, $7,500 FD)
Valanciunas averaged only 22.1 minutes per contest in four games against the Thunder this season, but he shot 61.5 percent over that span. The veteran big man also stepped up his play considerably down the stretch, averaging 14.9 points, 13.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.4 blocks per game in that span.
The Thunder were hardly a prohibitive matchup for centers this season. They ranked No. 18 in offensive efficiency allowed to the position (32.4) and allowed 52.7 DK/51.5 FD points per game to the position in the last 30 games. What's more, OKC allowed an NBA-high 56.8 rebounds per road game, upping Valanciunas' prospects further.
Others to consider: Jakob Poeltl - TOR vs. CHI ($5,700 DK, $6,700 FD)
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