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DraftKings and FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks (4/29/23): NBA DFS Lineups

The top daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on April 29th, 2023. Kyle Ringstad provides NBA DFS analysis and sleeper picks for building optimal DFS rosters.

It's time for Game 1 of a highly-anticipated Suns-Nuggets series, starting in the high altitude of Denver at Ball Arena. Jokic, Murray, Durant, Booker, Paul, and Ayton make up a star-studded matchup. It will be interesting to see how it unfolds after neither team had a challenging time putting away their first-round opponents.

Single-game slates are a whole different animal than the ones we typically work with. The clear difference is the way you set your lineups on FanDuel and DraftKings. On FanDuel, you play five players in a lineup, and you get multiplier bonuses for MVP (2x), STAR (1.5x), and PRO (1.2x) spots. The pricing stays uniform, and positions don't come into play. On DraftKings, you play six players in a lineup, and only one of them gets a multiplier bonus, the Captain (1.5x). The major change with DraftKings is that they make you pony up 1.5x salary to select your Captain, which also plays into lineup construction. There's a strong chance that you will share lineups with other people tonight if you're just blindly using optimizers, which makes identifying the correct contrarian plays all the more important on slates like these. Let's get to it.

This article will provide you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 4/29/23, with the slate locking at 8:30 pm ET. Remember to monitor NBA injury news and our live-updating NBA injury updates tool as the slate can completely change before lineups lock. As always, feel free to follow my Twitter (@RING_DFS).

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DraftKings and FanDuel Captains/MVP - NBA DFS Lineup Picks

Nikola Jokic - ($18,600 DK Captain, $17,000 FD)

The Nuggets are currently projecting to score 115 points and win by 3.5 points at home today, and I tend to agree with the oddsmakers on this one. I recommend Jokic as the top player on a single-game slate 99 times out of 100. He has the highest ceiling, median projection, and floor among all players on this slate, and it's not particularly close. He averaged 63.3 DK points per game at home this season and an incredible 73.6 DK points per game in his two games against the Suns. The two-time MVP didn't get off to a hot start in the first round, but he finished the series with monster outputs of 71.75 and 80.25 DK points to close it out against the Wolves. The Suns rank well defending every position, but Jokic is the type of player where we don't even need to look at positional matchups. He's just that good.

Chris Paul - ($12,300 DK Captain, $15,500 FD)

If there's one weakness in Denver's defense from a positional standpoint, it's defending the point guard position. This season, they allowed the 13th-most fantasy points per game to the position, including the third-most assists per game in the split. This is The Point God's 17th NBA season, and he's still doing his thing, averaging a solid 36.9 DK points per game on 14/4/9 splits. He stepped up against the Nuggets this season, averaging 42.7 DK points per game over three regular-season matchups. Importantly, he averaged 10.3 assists per game in the season series. As long as he can continue his typical CP3 ways, he will rack up the fantasy points controlling an offense that also features knock-down shooters in Booker and Durant. His salary makes filling out the rest of your lineup easier if you select him as Captain on DraftKings.

Kevin Durant - ($15,900 DK Captain, $15,500 FD)

Durant isn't a player I'll be trying to jam into the multiplier spots as I'm making Jokic the clear priority, but you can't be too dissatisfied with this guy leading the charge in your lineup. KD is about as consistent as they come in the NBA, playing heavy minutes, shooting a high volume of shots and making them at a high rate, and contributing enough in rebounds, assists, and "stocks" to be viable on just about any slate. His usage rate and penchant for "ceiling" games seem to have taken a bit of a hit with his move to an already-loaded Suns team, but he's still a stud who we can expect to hit the 50-60+ DK point range on most occasions. Look for the Slim Reaper to make a statement by coming out hot tonight in the Suns' bid to wrestle home-court advantage away from the get-go.

Others to consider (FanDuel): Devin Booker | STAR/PRO slots only - Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, Jamal Murray, Deandre Ayton

Others to consider (DraftKings): Devin Booker, Jamal Murray, DeAndre Ayton

 

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DraftKings and FanDuel Utility Plays - NBA DFS Lineup Picks

Michael Porter Jr. - ($10,200 DK, $10,000 FD)

Porter Jr. is relatively cheap, playing a boatload of minutes, and should provide enough fantasy points to be useful as a utility play tonight. He averaged 33.3 DK points per game in the quick series against the Wolves, and he mixed in a few strong games with 45.25 and 40.25 DK points. He's more-or-less the distant-third option in this Nuggets' offense, and he's one of the guys the Nuggets will be forced to lean on if one (or both) of Jokic and Murray are off their game.

Aaron Gordon - ($7,200 DK, $9,000 FD) FanDuel Preferred

The conceptual reasoning to get to Porter Jr. also carries over to Gordon tonight. He's an ancillary piece of this team after Jokic and Murray, but he plays at least 30 minutes per game and averages around a fantasy point per minute when he's on the floor. That steady production is huge at his low salary on FanDuel, but he's a little less appealing on DraftKings since the "cheap" players can be priced much lower on that site. He stepped up against the Suns this season, averaging 40.6 DK points per game over the three matchups in the regular season.

Josh Okogie or Torrey Craig

I'll be interested in whoever draws the start and is projected to play more minutes tonight for the Suns. Both players have had their moments in the postseason, but I'd be more inclined to get exposure to Okogie since he's the better producer from a fantasy points-per-minute perspective. These two players will both be in the game for their defense, but they also should have some wide-open looks with the way the offense creates opportunities.

Others to consider (FanDuel): Bruce Brown, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Jeff Green

Others to consider (DraftKings): Bruce Brown, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Jeff Green

 



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REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Griffin Conine

To Have Shoulder Surgery On Tuesday
Luke Keaschall

Twins Prospect Luke Keaschall Suffers Broken Forearm
Logan Gilbert

Leaves Friday's Start With Forearm Tightness

Vikings Select Tai Felton To Finish Day 2

Seahawks Select Quarterback Jalen Milroe With The 92nd Pick Overall

Browns Select Dillon Gabriel 94th Overall

Packers Pick Savion Williams At No. 87 overall

Steelers Snag Kaleb Johnson In Round 3

Broncos Select Wide Receiver Pat Bryant With The 74th Overall Pick

Texans Select Jaylin Noel With 79th Pick

Lions Select Wide Receiver Isaac TeSlaa With The 70th Overall Pick
Jack Leiter

To Start On Sunday

Patriots Add Wide Receiver Kyle Williams In Round 3

Browns Draft Harold Fannin Jr. With 67th Pick
Garrett Mitchell

Makes Early Exit
Luke Keaschall

Removed Early On Friday
Blake Snell

Likely Avoids Major Injury
Cole Ragans

Dealing With Mild Groin Strain

Broncos Add RJ Harvey To Backfield With 60th Pick

Raiders Select Jack Bech With 58th Pick

Chargers Add Wide Receiver Tre Harris In Round 2
Detroit Lions

Lions Acquire 57th Pick From Broncos

Seahawks Draft Elijah Arroyo 50th Overall
Carolina Panthers

Panthers Acquire 51st Pick From Broncos
Arizona Cardinals

Cardinals Snag Will Johnson At No. 47

Jets Add A Pass-Catcher With Mason Taylor At No. 42

Rams Select Terrance Ferguson With 46th Pick
Houston Texans

Texans Acquire 48th Pick From Raiders, Draft Aireontae Ersery

Saints Snag Tyler Shough At No. 40
Brenton Doyle

Out For Personal Reasons On Friday
Brandin Podziemski

Not On Injury Report For Game 3
Jimmy Butler III

Warriors Optimistic About Jimmy Butler III Playing Saturday
Jae'Sean Tate

To Remain Out Saturday
Jock Landale

Unavailable For Game 3
Terry Rozier

Out On Saturday
Jrue Holiday

Ruled Out For Friday Night's Game 3 Against Orlando
Kevin Love

To Miss Saturday's Game
Jaylen Brown

Available For Friday Night's Game 3 Against Magic
Gary Payton II

Iffy For Saturday's Action
Jayson Tatum

Officially Available On Friday For Game 3 Against Magic
Will Smith

Back From Injury On Friday
Luke Kennard

Questionable For Game 4 On Saturday
Darius Garland

Listed As Questionable For Game 3
Ja Morant

To Miss Game 4 On Saturday
Rui Hachimura

Available For Game 3 In Minnesota
Aaron Ekblad

Available To Return Saturday
Erik Swanson

Ryan Burr Progressing
Daulton Varsho

To Return On Tuesday At The Latest
Max Scherzer

Takes Positive Step On Friday
Aleksander Barkov

Questionable For Saturday
Gabriel Landeskog

Set For Larger Role In Game 4
Calvin Pickard

To Start Game 3 For Oilers
Randy Arozarena

Resting For First Time This Year
Jonas Siegenthaler

To Play Limited Minutes In Game 3
MLB

Red Sox-Guardians Game Postponed On Friday
Luke Hughes

Remains Out On Friday
MLB

Tigers-Orioles Postponed On Friday
Patrik Laine

A Game-Time Decision Friday
Yainer Diaz

Out On Friday Against Royals
Iván Herrera

Ivan Herrera Hopes To Start Rehab Assignment Next Week
Salvador Perez

Sitting Out For First Time This Season
Jaylen Brown

Questionable For Game 3 On Friday
Brendan Donovan

Back In Action On Friday
Jimmy Butler III

Could Miss Game 3 On Saturday
Coby Mayo

Getting On A Roll At Triple-A
Carlos Prates

Looks To Remain Undefeated In The UFC
Ian Machado Garry

Set For UFC Kansas City Main Event
Cade Cunningham

Collects Double-Double In Loss
Jalen Brunson

Drops 30 Points In Game 3
Karl-Anthony Towns

Leads All Scorers In Game 3 Victory
Zhang Mingyang

Scheduled For Co-Main Event
Anthony Smith

Set For His Final UFC Bout
David Onama

Set For Featherweight Bout
Giga Chikadze

Looks To Bounce Back
Abus Magomedov

Looks For His Third Consecutive Win
Michel Pereira

Returns To Action At UFC Kansas City
Nicolas Dalby

An Underdog At UFC Kansas City
Randy Brown

A Favorite At UFC Kansas City
Andre Muniz

Set To Open Up UFC Kansas City Main Card
Ikram Aliskerov

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Sergei Bobrovsky

Shuts Out Lightning In Game 2
Cam Fowler

Finishes Thursday's Win With Five Points
Robert Thomas

Posts Four Assists In Game 3 Win
Pavel Buchnevich

Celebrates Hat Trick During Four-Point Performance
Dylan DeMelo

Battling An Illness
Marcus Johansson

Exits Early Thursday
Aleksander Barkov

Hurt In Game 2
Jrue Holiday

Tagged As Questionable For Friday
Jayson Tatum

Likely Out Again On Friday
Anthony Cirelli

Good To Go Thursday
Andrei Vasilevskiy

Looks To Bounce Back In Game 2
Rasmus Ristolainen

To Miss Training Camp
Jonas Siegenthaler

Returns To Practice
Aliaksei Protas

Traveling With Capitals
Gabriel Vilardi

Still Out On Thursday
Max Pacioretty

Set To Join Maple Leafs Lineup For Game 3
Cam Davis

Looking For Better Fortunes At TPC Louisiana
Adam Svensson

Making Third Apperence At Zurich Classic
Max Greyserman

Aiming For Similar Success At TPC Louisiana
Lee Hodges

A High-Upside Player In New Orleans
PGA

Nico Echavarria Looks To Ride Off Of Elite Putting In New Orleans
Gary Woodland

A Player Worth Watching In New Orleans
Max McGreevy

Returns To The Zurich Classic Of New Orleans
Rasmus Hojgaard

In Search Of Consistency Ahead Of Zurich Classic
Sam Stevens

A Boom-Or-Bust Candidate In New Orleans
Nicolai Hojgaard

Looking To Turn Season Around At Zurich Classic
Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Looks To Sway A Hot Putter In Teams Favor At Zurich Classic
Akshay Bhatia

Looking To Bounce Back At TPC Louisiana
Carson Young

Looks To Turn Things Around At TPC Louisiana
Erik Van Rooyen

Looking For Momentum In Louisiana
Andrew Novak

Making Start At TPC Louisiana After Near Miss At Harbour Town
Ben Griffin

Making Third Career Start At Zurich Classic
Taylor Moore

Competing With A New Teammate In New Orleans
Wyndham Clark

Making Return To New Orleans
Kurt Kitayama

Teeing It Up Again In New Orleans
Collin Morikawa

Back At Zurich Classic For Fifth Time
Thomas Detry

Making Third Appearance At New Orleans Team Event
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