Friday night presents a value filled seven-game NBA slate, and below are some players I will be targeting at each position on DraftKings.
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Point Guard
Worth Paying Up For: Russell Westbrook, Washington Wizards at Oklahoma City Thunder, $11,000
With the Wizards aggressively chasing a playoff spot, Westbrook is going to be the top play at point guard every night he is in action. In 13 of his last 15 starts, the former MVP has reached the DraftKings triple-double bonus, and he is averaging 61.1 DKFP per game for the month of April. Mostly due to Westbrook’s impressive play, Washington has won six straight and is only 3.5 games behind Charlotte for the eight seed in the East. From here on out, every game is crucial for the Wizards to at least secure a spot in the play-in tournament, and tonight, Westbrook has a date with his original team in Oklahoma City.
While it may be three years since he was a member of the Thunder, best believe the point guard is going to be highly motivated to put on a show on his old home floor. This month, Oklahoma City has been the third worst rated defense in the league, and a triple-double of at least 60 DKFP is almost guaranteed for Westbrook.
Best Bang For Your Buck: Brandon Goodwin, Atlanta Hawks vs. Miami Heat, $3,400
Trae Young suffered a grade-two ankle sprain Wednesday night, and will miss a minimum of two games. Brandon Goodwin is the next man up for the Hawks and will start tonight against the Heat. Young has missed three games this month, and Goodwin started on all three occasions, supplying 29.75 DKFP with 33.9 minutes per game.
Going against the Heat and their top-five ranked defense is never easy, but quite frankly, there isn’t a matchup in the NBA that would stop me from rostering Goodwin at this near minimum salary. Plain and simple, he is the best value available for Friday night.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $325K All-Star Appearances [$100K to 1st, Record Breaker]
Shooting Guard
Worth Paying Up For: Paul George, Los Angeles Clippers at Houston Rockets, $9,300
With Kawhi Leonard (foot) out of the picture, George is a building block for cash games and GPPs. Leonard was inactive Tuesday vs. the Blazers, and George led the Clippers with 56.25 DKFP in the impressive road win. Los Angeles will also continue to be without Serge Ibaka and Patrick Beverley tonight, and we can’t forget that Lou Williams is now in Atlanta.
In total, George has collected a team-best 53.25 DKFP per game in the five he has played without these four players this season, behind a mammoth 39.2% usage rate. Enter in a matchup with a horrible Rockets defense (24th in defensive efficiency), and PG13 is a must-have at $9,300.
Best Bang For Your Buck: Lou Williams, Atlanta Hawks vs. Miami Heat, $4,300
Goodwin is without a doubt the better value, but Williams should also be able to beat his low price tag with Young injured. Since being acquired by Atlanta last month, Williams has suited up for three contests with Young missing, and is generating 26 DKFP per game off the bench for those instances.
Williams brings great upside for a player this cheap, and he shouldn’t be overly popular with Goodwin gaining all the attention.
Small Forward
Worth Paying Up For: Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat at Atlanta Hawks, $9,700
Returning from a two-game absence due to a sprained ankle, Butler showed no signs of the ailment Wednesday night, recording 45.25 DKFP in the 20-point blowout win over the Spurs. Sitting as the 7th seed in the East, Miami can’t lose any ground with only 13 games remaining, and we should see a heavy dose of Butler tonight against the Hawks, with Victor Oladipo (knee) still on the shelf and Tyler Herro (questionable, foot) banged up.
Butler is amassing 44.9 DKFP per game in his last ten, and should come with single digit ownership in GPPs, with most DFS players paying up at other positions.
Best Bang For Your Buck: PJ Dozier, Denver Nuggets at Golden State Warriors, $3,800
Nobody is going to fill the void left behind by Jamal Murray, but Dozier has been making solid contributions since the point guard went down. In these first four since Murray tore his ACL, Dozier has chipped in with 24 DKFP per game thanks to 28.5 minutes per game off the bench. This is a huge leap from his 18.5 minutes per game Dozier was logging in his previous ten, and this new role shouldn’t go anywhere with the Nuggets winning four in a row, and Monte Morris (hamstring) also out for the foreseeable future.
While the Warriors are a top-ten defense, they are the second fastest team in the league, and Dozier should be able to exceed 20 DKFP in this spot.
Power Forward
Worth Paying Up For: Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics at Brooklyn Nets, $10,000
We have to wait and see the injury report for the Celtics, but Tatum could be in line for an absurd role tonight. Kemba Walker should be rested with this being the second night of a back-to-back, Evan Fournier (health protocols) might not be ready to make his return and Jaylen Brown (shoulder) has a real chance of missing his second in a row.
Fournier’s absence would obviously be a boost, but Brown’s status is the pivotal factor here. If the first time All-Star is unable to suit up and joins Walker on the sidelines, Tatum will become one of the better expensive spends on the slate. The duo has yet to miss a full tilt collectively this season, but when they have been off the court, Tatum has taken on a sky-high 37.2% usage rate.
Best Bang For Your Buck: Davis Bertans, Washington Wizards at Oklahoma City Thunder, $4,300
Back to full strength, Bertans has been very effective off the bench for the Wizards, scoring 30.6 DKFP per game in his last two, including a 30.75 DKFP showing against the Thunder, who he will face again tonight. Rui Hachimura (knee) missing these past two has been the primary reason for Bertans’ success, and the forward has already been ruled out for Friday night. Additionally, Washington just lost Deni Avdija (ankle) for the season, and Bertans should almost certainly log over 30 minutes tonight, possibly with a starting role.
He has collected 0.9 DKFP per minute with Avdija and Hachimura off the floor, and Bertans is one of the top punts of the night against this terrible Thunder defense.
Center
Worth Paying Up For: Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets at Golden State Warriors, $10,900
By his standards, Jokic had a quiet night in the victory vs. the Blazers on Wednesday (44.25 DKFP), but we need to forget about this and go right back to the Joker again tonight. As the current favorite to win the MVP on DraftKings Sportsbook (-350), Jokic is having an incredible month, generating 56.5 DKFP per game, and his role is on another level without Murray and Morris.
Whenever Jokic has been on the court sans these two guards this season, his usage and assist rates have been at 37% and 40.5%, respectively. From a fantasy perspective, this is a massive 1.64 DKFP per minute and Jokic should have a field day against this Warriors team that lacks size. Friday night will be the third time he has matched up with Golden State this season, and in the first two meetings, Jokic produced 61.4 DKFP per game.
Best Bang For Your Buck: Daniel Gafford, Washington Wizards at Oklahoma City Thunder, $3,800
On Wednesday night, Gafford tallied his first double-double in a Wizards uniform, finishing with 38.5 DKFP across 24 minutes vs. the Warriors. The former Bull may not start, but he has by far been the most productive center for Washington recently, providing 29.9 DKFP per game over his last four.
It’s just a matter of time before Gafford joins Washington’s first unit, but starter or reserve, the center should effortlessly surpass five-times value tonight against the Thunder. This defense is yielding the 4th most DKFP per game to opposing centers this season, and Gafford just scored 21.25 DKFP when these two clubs met this past Monday night.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $325K All-Star Appearances [$100K to 1st, Record Breaker]
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