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The top daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on April 3, 2021. Mike Marteny provides NBA DFS analysis and sleeper picks for building optimal DFS rosters.
It's a slightly less busy Saturday in the association with eight games tonight. There is some overlap from last night. Dallas, New York, Minnesota, Indiana, Utah, Oklahoma City, Portland, Milwaukee, and Sacramento are all on the second game of back-to-back sets. You know we're going to have some players out and it doesn't really do any of us any good to have me speculate as to who is going to rest. I'm basing this on the information available to me at this early hour. Things will likely change. That's the nature of the NBA right now.
The Bucks-Blazers has the highest implied total at 236.5. That's a spot for DFS goodness. Minnesota and Memphis aren't far behind. The Thunder/Suns matchup is the only one under 220 right now, but these lines can change a lot throughout the day. In this age of the NBA, rest is prevalent on the condensed schedule and we'll see news throughout the day that can turn this article on its ear.
This article will supply you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for the DraftKings on 4/3/21. 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!
DraftKings DFS Guards
Luka Doncic - PG/SF, at Washington ($10,600)
Doncic was solid against the Knicks last night, but he should have a much better night as Dallas moves down the coast. There's a chance that Dallas sits Luka and/or Kristaps Porzingis. If either one sits, the other takes on must-play status. Regardless of the status of Porzingis, Luka is very much in play. Washington is not a good defensive team anywhere on the court. This has the highest implied total on the entire slate, though Milwaukee and Sacramento are right up there. This game has the potential to be a DFS gold mine.
CJ McCollum - PG/SG, vs. Oklahoma City ($8,100)
Lillard torched the Thunder twice in CJ's absence. So why am I not picking him again? You could very easily sub Lillard in this spot and I wouldn't argue it. However, CJ has four straight games over 40 DraftKings points. Even Lillard can't claim that. There's probably more upside on Dame, but the massive savings and better floor has me looking towards CJ. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is out again and there is no possible way that Svi Mykhailiuk can guard McCollum. There's big upside here.
Anthony Edwards - PG/SF, at Philadelphia ($7,300)
Yesterday was another game and another 40+ DraftKings points for Edwards. The rookie is on fire right now. He's not just scoring at a high level, he's putting up crooked numbers in every other category as well. The 76ers are really only missing Embiid, but they still aren't playing all that well without him. Sure, they're capable of slowing down Edwards, but I just don't see them pulling together enough to do it. This is more betting on Philly to fail than on Edwards to continue performing at a high level. Maybe a little of both.
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk - SG, at Portland ($5,500)
So what it Svi doesn't play defense? This guy can put up points with the best of them. Is he going to haul in nine rebounds like he did against the Raptors? Probably not. The minutes are there for Mykhailiuk right now. While they are, his ceiling is pretty high. Svi has hit 16 of 24 shots in the last two games. He showed in college that he's a streaky shooter and can have hot streaks that last for a while. He's riding one of those now. There's no reason for us not to go with him.
Bonus Guards: Damian Lillard ($9,900), Tyrese Haliburton ($6,200), Donte Divincenzo ($5,800), T.J. McConnell ($5,000)
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DraftKings DFS Forwards
Julius Randle - PF/C, at Detroit ($9,400)
Randle has dominated the Pistons twice so far this year, putting up 111 DraftKings points in the two games so far. The Knicks need to get back in the win column here and they're going to use Randle to do it. Randle put up 44 DraftKings points last night despite going 5 for 20 from the field. Surprisingly, it was two rebounds that kept him away from a triple-double. The quickly rising assist numbers mark the completion of Randle's ascension to the elite DFS players in this league. We should see the fruits of that tonight.
Robert Covington - PF/C, vs. Oklahoma City (6,500)
It appears that Covington is finally starting to get comfortable with his new team. He has at least 35 DraftKings points in four of the last five games. The precipitous rise in peripheral numbers to the levels of what made Covington a coveted DFS asset in the first place is spearheading this surge. Will this continue? Covington's previous stops prove that this isn't a fluke, but he has also done it against Detroit, Toronto, and Orlando. Many players have looked good against those teams. Oklahoma City has been eaten alive by power forwards for much of the last three years or so. That's not going to stop now.
Chuma Okeke - PF/C, at Utah ($5,800)
I'll be honest. The prospect or running a relative unproven like Okeke at Utah is kind of terrifying, but hear me out. Okeke has at least 5x value, even at this price, in four straight games. He posted his first double-digit rebound game of his career last night against the gutted Pelicans. The thing that is standing out to me is that Orlando is playing rather well since the fire sale. Okeke is a big reason for that. It's bleeding through to the DFS side of things. This is a prove-it game against Utah. I'm very curious to see how he answers the bell.
Hamidou Diallo - SG/SF, vs. New York ($4,900)
I don't make it a point to target the Knicks, but Diallo is the best bargain on the entire slate. He has 79.25 DraftKings points over the last two games. That's nearly 8x value! You aren't going to find that anywhere else on the slate. Yeah, he wont hit that number against the Knicks, but I'll be shocked if he doesn't hit 6x. Diallo will be in every one of my lineups tonight. There's simply no good reason not to use him.
Bonus Forwards: Giannis Antetokounmpo ($10,900), Kristaps Porzingis ($8,300), Aleksej Pokusevski ($5,100), Deni Avdija ($4,400)
DraftKings DFS Centers
Karl-Anthony Towns - C, at Philadelphia ($10,000)
Even if Joel Embiid does return, he will be on a minutes limit. Minnesota has no real reason to push Towns, so I wouldn't be all that surprised if he ends up sitting this game. If he doesn't, Towns is doing nothing but dropping 50's in his wake. He has five straight games of more than 50 DraftKings points and six of the last seven. Three of those cleared 60. Even without Embiid, Philly has done a good job protecting the interior. The fact remains that Towns has so much shot volume and grabs so many rebounds that he can't help but hit 50.
Richaun Holmes - PF/C, vs. Milwaukee ($7,400)
Milwaukee doesn't protect the interior very well. Holmes put up 28.75 DraftKings points in just 21 minutes in the first meeting. Now that the Kings run Holmes for 30-35 minutes a game, it's reasonable to assume that 7x value is on the table here. Holmes has eight double-doubles over the last nine games and recorded on in the first meeting in those 21 minutes. There's a lot of upside here and a high floor for Holmes. I really like him in this situation.
Isaiah Hartenstein - C, at Miami ($4,300)
The return of Kevin Love hasn't hurt Hartenstein so far. He has 61.75 DraftKings points in just 46 minutes over the last two games. What makes that even more impressive is that it came against Utah and Philadelphia, both of whom are strong up front. The Cavs seem willing to run Hartenstein to see what they have in him. He's a very good value play right now. Cleveland really has no reason to give Kevin Love more minutes, and his reputation of having a glass body has only been confirmed this year. There's less risk with Hartenstein than with most value plays tonight.
Bonus Centers: Bam Adebayo ($8,500), Moses Brown ($7,200), Mason Plumlee ($6,400)
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