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The top daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on April 19, 2019. Daniel Benjamin provides NBA DFS analysis and sleeper picks for building optimal DFS rosters.
The first Friday night slate of playoff games is extremely important to the six teams in action as the Celtics and Trail Blazers could take a commanding 3-0 series lead with victories. Meanwhile, the Magic will look hold serve at home and take a 2-1 series lead over the Raptors. In six games against each other, Toronto and Orlando have each won three times with the Magic taking two games in Toronto while the Raptors are 1-1 at the Amway Center this season.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on 4/19/19. These DFS lineup picks can vary from higher-priced players and elite options to lower-priced players and value picks on DraftKings. You can also check out today's FanDuel lineup picks. As always, don't set your lineups too early.
Be sure to check all the NBA starting lineups and player statuses. If you have any questions or need to talk NBA during the downtime, feel free to find me on Twitter @zonedeesports.
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DraftKings DFS Guards
D.J. Augustin - PG vs. TOR ($5,500)
If the Magic have any chance of upsetting the Raptors in this first-round series, they really need to take both of their upcoming home games. The key matchup of the series is at point guard and while I was tempted to recommend Kyle Lowry ($6,700) tonight, Augustin is cheaper and has been better at the Amway Center than on the road this season.
The 6-foot point guard is averaging 12.7 points, 5.8 assists, 2.2 rebounds, 1.8 triples, and 1.7 turnovers while shooting 53.2 percent from the field along with 61.1 percent from beyond the arc against the Raptors this season. He has been up and down versus Toronto overall, but the 31-year-old has scored in double-figures in three of the six games -- which includes pouring in 25 points in Game 1 -- between the teams. Augustin also has doled out six or more assists on three occasions and committed one or fewer turnovers four times. The Magic have won each of the games in the series that Augustin has topped 10 points.
Russell Westbrook, Damian Lillard, and Kyrie Irving are the top options at the one. Terry Rozier is always a threat to have a big game as is Dennis Schroder. However, Michael Carter-Williams and Tyreke Evans are the lone legitimate cheap options.
C.J. McCollum: PG/SG at OKC ($6,700)
The Blazers and Thunder are expected to produce the most points on the night with the over/under set at 222. While neither of the two playoff games have reached that mark, three of the four regular-season matchups between the teams did reach that point total, including both games in OKC.
McCollum has not shot the ball particularly well against the Thunder this season, however, he is averaging over 21 shot attempts a game. The 6-foot-3 combo guard has tallied at least 24 points and four rebounds in four of the six games between the teams.
McCollum is coming off a fabulous 33-point, eight-rebound and five-assist effort in Game 2. Overall, he is averaging 22.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 3.1 triples against OKC this season.
DraftKings DFS Forwards
Marcus Morris: SF/PF @ IND ($4,700)
Paul George and Kawhi Leonard are the top wing options tonight. However, there are plenty of other good choices at lower price points. The issue with choosing some of those players is their consistency. That said I've decided to go with Morris. The 29-year-old has struggled with consistency as well, but he is extremely cheap, a solid rebounder and a tough physical defender — meaning playing time shouldn’t be an issue even if he struggles offensively.
Morris is coming off a poor shooting performance (0-for-8) as he finished with zero points and four rebounds in 21 minutes on Wednesday. That performance came three days following a 20-point and seven-rebound effort in Game 1 as he sank all seven of his free throws.
He has scored 20 or more points in three of the six games against the Pacers and grabbed at least six rebounds on four occasions this season. Overall, the former Kentucky Wildcat is averaging 13.7 points along with 5.7 rebounds and two triples against Indiana.
Aaron Gordon, Jayson Tatum, Thaddeus Young, Bojan Bogdanovic are all in play due to their modest price point. Evan Fournier, Gordon Hayward, Terrence Ross, Al-Farouq Aminu, Jaylen Brown, and Jonathan Isaac are other options due to their low-cost. Maurice Harkless ($4,500) is perhaps the biggest boom or bust option.
Pascal Siakam: PF/C @ ORL ($7,300)
Siakam and Al Horford are the two best big men in tonight's set games and you can't go wrong with either one. I chose to go with Siakam because he has a better matchup against the Magic, who are giving up the 12th most fantasy points to opposing power forwards during the playoffs. Orlando permitted 20.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, two triples and 3.3 assists to opposing power forwards during the regular season while allowing them to shoot 45.9 percent from the field and 34.1 percent from beyond the arc.
Siakam has been very good early in the playoffs, scoring 19 points and grabbing nine rebounds while making 50 percent of his shots in each of his first two outings. He also has totaled 81.25 DK fantasy points over the past two games and has now compiled at least 34.5 DK fantasy points in each of the past five games that he has totaled 30 minutes of playing time. The third-year pro, who has been up and down against the Magic this season, has recorded two double-doubles in six games against Orlando.
DraftKings DFS Centers
Steven Adams: C @ POR ($5,700)
Adams has been one of the most consistent fantasy players this year. He has been highly efficient on the offensive end and has come up with four steals defensively during the first two games of the playoffs, although he has no blocks despite being very capable of swatting some shots away. The seven-foot center has just missed a double-double in each of his last two outings, coming up just a rebound short in both contests.
Adams has dominated Enes Kanter on the offensive end this series, averaging 14.5 points and shooting 66.7 percent from the floor in 100 possessions against the Turkish national. Portland ranks in the bottom fourth of the playoffs against opposing centers.
Marc Gasol is a decent mid-tier option while Aron Baynes and Nerlens Noel are cheaper plays. Khem Birch and Zach Collins are possible punt plays.
