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We get a nice-sized slate for a Thursday night, as seven contests are on tap. There’s already one virtually confirmed notable absence, as Giannis Antetokounmpo is considered doubtful to face the Mavericks. That takes some of the luster off the Milwaukee-Dallas matchup, but it’s far from the only intriguing game of the night.
A Lakers-Heat Finals rematch – albeit without LeBron and A.D. – and Western Conference Suns-Clippers and Blazers-Jazz showdowns should make the ledger interesting, especially since Phoenix and Utah will be on the second night of a back-to-back set after facing each other Wednesday.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel on 4/8/21. I’ll be providing multiple player suggestions for players at guard, forward and center on FanDuel, aiming to highlight one option apiece at the high, middle and lower end of the salary scale. You can also check out DraftKings lineup picks and injury news before lineups lock. Good luck, RotoBallers.
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FanDuel DFS Guards
De'Aaron Fox, PG – vs. DET ($9,300)
Fox just racked up 53.7 FD points against the Timberwolves on Monday night, but his salary hasn’t budged whatsoever, and he’s locked into another favorable matchup Thursday. The star guard racked up 49.0 FD points against the Pistons over 38 minutes in his first meeting with them this season, and Detroit is allowing the seventh-most FD points per game (48.9) to point guards in the last 15 contests. Fox is also shooting 48.8 percent, including 40.0 percent from three-point range, with two days of rest between games, his best figures of any time interval between contests.
Collin Sexton, SG – at OKC ($7,500)
There’s little doubt there will be plenty of DFS attention heaped on Sexton’s backcourt mate Darius Garland, considering he just exploded for a career-high 37 points against the Spurs on Monday and carries a $6,8K salary. However, that was largely an outlier performance for Garland, and it’s actually Sexton who’s been the more consistent of the two this season. Sexton has delivered over 5x a return on his current salary on 16 occasions this season, with nine of those instances coming on the road. He also checks in averaging 37.4 FD points per game over the last nine contests, while the opposing Thunder surrender the fifth-highest offensive efficiency (24.8 percent) to shooting guards, along with the most FD points per game (47.3) over the last 15 contests to the position.
Deandre Bembry, SG – vs. CHI ($5,200)
Bembry has seen a $1.5K boost in salary over Tuesday, when he turned in 34.5 FD points versus the Lakers partly on the strength of five steals, which tied his career high. It was Bembry’s second straight tally of more than 30 FD points, and although backcourt mate Malachi Flynn is likely to draw more attention after scoring 33.5 to 47.2 FD points in the last three, he also requires $900 in additional investment. Bembry’s defensive skills also dovetail well for fantasy purposes with the fact the Bulls are giving up a co-NBA-high 8.6 steals per game. Bembry is also averaging 29.6 FD points per 36 minutes with Kyle Lowry (foot) and Fred VanVleet (hip) off the floor this season, and with both players sitting again Thursday, he could once again deliver a strong return on investment.
Also consider: Luka Doncic ($10,300); Jrue Holiday ($8,800); Mike Conley ($7,200); Malachi Flynn ($6,000)
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FanDuel DFS Forwards
Jimmy Butler, SF- vs. LAL ($9,400)
Butler has a tough matchup on paper against the Lakers, but their numbers against small forwards have largely been forged with LeBron James. Meanwhile, Jimmy Buckets has been one of the more automatic propositions fantasy-wise for the majority of the season, and he’ll come into Thursday’s matchup having scored 41.5 to 52.2 FD points in five of the last six games. Butler also recorded 42.1 FD points across 34 minutes in the first meeting between the teams Feb. 20 with James on the floor, so his return could certainly be even greater Thursday, especially in a game that could be a wire-to-wire affair.
Kevin Love, PF – at OKC ($5,600)
Love has seen a notable salary bump from a Monday matchup versus the Spurs, when he posted 27.1 FD points across just 26 minutes. That followed a tally of 26.5 FD points across 23 minutes against the Heat a game prior, with Love progressively seeing his playing time increase the more he’s removed from his calf injury. The matchup against the Thunder is a strong one for Love in what should be another start at center with Jarrett Allen (concussion) already ruled out. OKC is allowing the fourth-most FD points per game (58.9) to fives over the last seven contests, which encompasses the amount of time Moses Brown has been starting at center subsequent to the shutting down of Al Horford for the season. It’s also worth mentioning the Thunder allow an NBA-high 9.0 steals per game on their home floor and are giving up 41.1 percent three-point shooting to centers, opening up some additional paths to a strong fantasy return for the multi-talented Love.
Isaiah Stewart, PF – at SAC ($3,700)
Stewart has been delivering some solid returns recently relative to salary, posting 19.4 to 33.2 FD points in five of the last seven games. The rookie big could enjoy some extra opportunity Thursday with Jerami Grant ruled out with knee soreness, as he’s averaging 34.1 FD points per 36 minutes without his teammate on the floor. Stewart’s 6-foot-8 frame makes him an ideal power forward candidate as well, so it isn’t out of the question for him to even enter the starting five in Grant’s stead Thursday. The matchup bodes well for him, as the Kings surrender the highest offensive efficiency to frontcourt players (85.1 percent) and in the paint (62.3 percent). Stewart only needs 18.5 FD points to deliver 5x return on his current salary, a feat he’s already accomplished on 24 occasions.
Also consider: Kristaps Porzingis ($8,400); Bobby Portis ($5,800); Saddiq Bey ($5,100)
FanDuel DFS Centers
Nikola Vucevic– at TOR ($9,900)
It took him a couple games, but Vucevic is back to generating the caliber of production he regularly put up with the Magic prior to his trade to Chicago. The star center has scored 51.6 and 57.7 FD points over his last pair of contests on the strength of two impressive double-doubles. Vucevic is already averaging 45.2 FD points over his first two games against the Raptors this season, and Toronto is allowing 51.6 FD points per game to centers over the last 15 games. It’s also worth noting Vucevic put up a whopping 29 shot attempts in his most recent contest and has averaged 19.5 per game in the last four, so he’s encouragingly beginning to approach the usage he was enjoying in Orlando.
Richaun Holmes – vs. DET ($6,500)
Holmes is another player whose salary has taken a bit of a tumble recently, but he draws an appealing matchup that already helped him to 45.9 FD points in the one prior meeting between the teams Feb. 26. Holmes has put up 19.4 to 37.0 FD points in the last four games, but prior to that stretch, he’d averaged 42.5 FD points over the last 10 contests. The Pistons are also allowing the eighth-highest offensive efficiency (33.0 percent) to centers, along with the 10th-most FD points per game (54.7) to fives over the last seven games. Then, Detroit is tied for the most points in the paint allowed per game (52.3), while Holmes is averaging a career-high 10.3 points per contest in that part of the floor this season.
Moses Brown – vs. CLE ($5,100)
Brown has seen almost a $2K drop in salary since Monday, when he put up his third straight sub-30-FD-point tally. The fact he’s underperformed recently combined with his new bargain salary makes him particularly appealing Thursday, and the favorable positional matchup is just the proverbial icing on the cake. The Cavaliers are surrendering 54.0 FD points per game to centers for the season, including the seventh most (56.4) in the last 15 contests. Cleveland also ranks in the bottom half of the league with 53.4 rebounds per away game surrendered, and the combination of the Cavs’ 42.9 percent shooting on the road with the Thunder’s own pedestrian 45.5 percent success rate from the floor at home should afford Brown plenty of opportunities on both the offensive and defensive glass.
Also consider: Rudy Gobert ($8,100); Mason Plumlee ($6,200); DeMarcus Cousins ($4,100)
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