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The top daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on April 21, 2021. Mike Marteny provides NBA DFS analysis and sleeper picks for building optimal DFS rosters.
We have a giant 12-game NBA slate on tap for you tonight. So far only a few players have been ruled out, but as we know the normal is this year, there will be plenty more before the slate locks. I will try to stick to guys that I think will play, but we all know this is not an exact science at this point.
The Wizards and Warriors are tipping the scales at 240 tonight, so there's a lot of fantasy goodness in that one. The Kings and Timberwolves are close to that total at 239, but no other game is over 230. We have to potential game stack scenarios, even on a slate this large.
This article will supply you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for the DraftKings on 4/21/21. You can also check out today’s FanDuel lineup picks. It’s also important to monitor injury news as a result of COVID-19 as the slate can completely change before line-up lock. Without further ado, let’s dive into the picks!
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DraftKings DFS Guards
Russell Westbrook - PG, vs. New Orleans ($10,900)
It's impossible to fade Westbrook in cash games and getting increasingly harder to do so in GPP formats as well. Westbrook hasn't been under 50 DraftKings points since March 23 and has only been under 55 twice in the 16 games since then. 5x value has to be considered his floor right now. In fact, Westbrook hasn't been under that mark since April 3. It's nearly impossible to find this kind of upside in the high salary ranks where the players need mid-50's just to not be a bust. Westbrook is proving to be the most reliable commodity around.
Paul George - SG, vs. Memphis ($9,300)
I never like to tempt fate with the Clippers and their shenanigans, but with Kawhi Leonard already ruled out, it seems foolish to dismiss George based on what the team might do. If George plays, he's an elite commodity with Kawhi out. That said, George played 37 minutes last night. This is a team that is notorious for resting stars in back-to-back game sets even if injuries leave the team short-handed. If you don't have time to track this all the way up to the 10pm Eastern time lock, don't risk it.
Kyle Lowry - PG, vs. Brooklyn ($7,700)
Lowry has only played one game so far in April, but he is not on the injury report. This is a good time to fire him up against a poor perimeter defense in the Nets that is missing pieces. Even if Kyrie plays, his defense isn't enough to turn me away from Lowry. I'm a little worried that the tanking Raptors wont run Lowry as much as they usually do, but for this price it might be worth it to find out. His ceiling is well over 6x tonight.
Delon Wright - PG/SG, vs. Minnesota ($4,100)
I wondered just how in the world Wright would crack this rotation when he was traded to the Kings. Silly me. We all know how the Kings love their guards. Wright has at least 28 DraftKings points in each of the last three games. He has been a hot commodity off the Kings bench because he can score almost at will. He will definitely be able to against a team like the Timberwovles. He put up 33.25 DraftKings points on this team last night.
Bonus Guards: Stephen Curry ($10,500), Malcolm Brogdon ($7,700), T.J. McConnell ($5,200), Ricky Rubio ($4,800)
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DraftKings DFS Forwards
Luka Doncic - PG/SF, vs. Detroit ($10,800)
Detroit never runs with a full team anymore, so this should be an even easier matchup for Luka here. That's a bit concerning with his price this high, but I'm still willing to run him out there. Luka has been running hot again and getting it done all over the court. He lit up the Kings for 37 real points over the weekend and put up a staggering 19 assists on the Knicks when his shot wasn't falling on Friday. Blowout or not, Luka should still clear 50 DraftKings points tonight.
Anthony Edwards - SG/SF, at Sacramento ($7,100)
The Timberwolves let D'Angelo Russell run without a minutes limit last night for the first time, so I'm fairly certain they will either hard cap his minutes tonight or just sit him all together. Edwards put up 46.5 DraftKings points last night even with Russell putting up 42.75. Both are great options if they play, but I'll lean towards Edwards and his guaranteed 35+ minutes and forward eligibility.
Joe Ingles - SG/SF, at Houston ($6,400)
It is Jordan Clarkson who still comes off the bench even with Donovan Mitchell out, so Ingles gets the starting nod and therefore a lot of the usage left open by the injury to Mitchell. Ingles has a great matchup here and just racked up 88.25 DraftKings points in a weekend home-and-home with the Lakers, who are still a very good defensive team. Ingles is going to destroy value at this price against a team like Houston.
Davis Bertans - SF/PF, vs. Golden State ($4,300)
Bertans hasn't taken a two-point shot since April 3 against Dallas despite playing at least 20 minutes in every game since. He is a long-range sharpshooter and that's it. Sure, he'll grab the occasional wayward rebound, but despite his size, he is a perimeter guy only. For this reason, I'm willing to toss him out there against the Warriors. It's going to be raining threes in D.C. tonight and Bertans is going to be one of the main rainmakers.
Bonus Forwards: Julius Randle ($10,200), Pascal Siakam ($8,700), Bojan Bogdanovic ($5,900), Carmelo Anthony ($4,300)
DraftKings DFS Centers
Nikola Jokic - C, at Portland ($11,000)
Forget the matchup. I don't even care who Jokic is playing anymore. He's a triple-double threat every night with Jamal Murray out. He has not been under 5x value since before Murray went down and he hasn't been under 50 DraftKings points since April 1. Jokic is my one and only lock tonight in cash games. His 7x ceiling makes him a strong GPP play as well.
Nikola Vucevic - C, at Cleveland ($9,900)
You can go with dueling Nikolas as your anchor tonight if you want. Vucevic has taken on much of the scoring void left by the injury to Zach LaVine. His ceiling isn't nearly as high because he isn't the elite passer that Jokic is. However, he is the main offensive threat for the Bulls right now and it's not close. Now if he could only get those rebounds back up to double digits per game.....
Xavier Tillman - PF/C, at Clippers ($4,200)
It was Tillman who drew the start and played 41 minutes with Jonas Valanciunas out against Denver over the weekend. His price is way too low. Low enough that the Clippers can still contain him and he'll clear 5x value by halftime. Tillman is exactly the kind of value we need on this slate and he's still eligible at forward. Enjoy this value while it lasts!
Bonus Centers: Karl-Anthony Towns ($10,400), Chris Boucher ($7,600), Isaiah Hartenstein ($4,200), Goga Bitadze ($4,200)
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