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The top daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on April 17, 2021. Mike Marteny provides NBA DFS analysis and sleeper picks for building optimal DFS rosters.
We only have six games on the NBA slate for today. One of those is a matinee game, so that leaves five for our nightcap. If you are playing the L.A. matinee, There is plenty of value out there. LeBron, Anthony Davis, and Donovan Mitchell are likely out. Kyle Kuzma and Andre Drummond are expected to play though. My philosophy on this showdown is to use Jordan Clarkson or Joe Ingles at captain and load up on the stars that are playing.
The nightcap gives us another Wizards game and the Spurs on a back-to-back. This is going to be an interesting one, but at least Zach LaVine is the only main player out for now. You never really know what the Spurs will do. The Grizzlies-Bucks and Suns-Spurs are both over 230. The Pistons and Wizards should be as well. Then we have the Cavs-Bulls all the way down at 212. Yikes!
This article will supply you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for the DraftKings on 4/17/21. 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
Russell Westbrook - PG, vs. New Orleans ($11,000)
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 14 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. His streak of six consecutive triple-doubles ended by on assist last night, but he still racked up 69.25 DraftKings points. Fade at your own risk.
Darius Garland - PG, at Chicago ($6,700)
Garland has been on quite a roll lately with at least 30 DraftKings points in every game since April 1. Collin Sexton was out for a handful of those games, but it was encouraging to see Garland keep his run going even when Sexton returned on Thursday. The Bulls are pretty good against guards, but their perimeter defense takes a big hit with LaVine and Tomas Satoransky out. Garland is proving to be a really good scorer along with his distribution skills. That gives him a high floor.
Coby White - PG, vs. Cleveland ($5,200)
White exploded for 27 points, six assists, and five rebounds last night starting in place of Tomas Satoransky. White, Denzel Valentine, and Ryan Arcidiacono are the only active guards for the Bulls once again tonight. Both of the latter struggled last night, but White has a legitimate shot at 10x value. He's not the most consistent guy you'll find, but few at any price have the potential that he does tonight. I'll take this kind of upside any time.
Bonus Guards: Stephen Curry ($10,300), Collin Sexton ($7,500), Cameron Payne ($3,500)
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DraftKings DFS Forwards
Jaylen Brown - SG/SF, vs. Golden State ($8,300)
The entire top tier of forwards is a land mine tonight. The only one that I'm remotely interested in is Brown. He dropped 40 actual points on the Lakers on Thursday. Draymond is going to be a problem for Jayson Tatum, so I'm electing to go with the upside of Brown. He takes a high number of shots and usually hits half or more. That's a good floor to start from.
Jerami Grant - PF, at Washington ($6,500)
Grant has the best upside of any forward on this slate. He has over 35 DraftKings points in three straight games and has a superb matchup with the Wizards here. Grant is still one of the best threats on the Pistons team. Considering that Grant rested on Friday, he should be good to go tonight. The guys that played last night may not be available though. The Pistons are aggressively resting players down the stretch.
Pat Connaughton - SF, vs. Memphis ($4,300)
Donte Divincenzo is still out and it appears that Connaughton is the safest replacement option. The team doesn't appear to trust Bryn Forbes. There isn't a lot of upside for Connaughton with Khris Middleton and Giannis both healthy, but he can put up points in a hurry when he plays. He's a strong rebounder as well, something that is usually ignored when evaluating Connaughton.
Bonus Forwards: Draymond Green ($7,300), Kyle Anderson ($5,900), Josh Jackson ($5,100), Juan Toscano-Anderson ($3,600)
DraftKings DFS Centers
Nikola Vucevic - C, vs. Cleveland ($9,800)
Vucevic has turned it up a couple of notches with LaVine out. He has 107.75 DraftKings points in 67 minutes over the last two games. This is a good matchup against Cleveland, but the matchup doesn't matter that much right now. There is no other accomplished scorer for the Bulls besides Vucevic right now. He is the one guy that I am okay paying up for on this slate.
Jonas Valanciunas - C, at Milwaukee ($7,900)
Vucevic shut down Jonas (kind of) last night, holding him to 32.75 DraftKings points. He should get back on track here against the Bucks. With Memphis still in the heat of the playoff race, don't expect them to rest anyone tonight. This could be a winnable game for them. Milwaukee doesn't defend the interior all that well and Jonas is a force when he's in there.
Mason Plumlee - C, at Washington ($4,900)
Plumlee was one of the guys that also rested last night. I expect the Pistons to operate with a skeleton crew once again, leaving a lot of usage out there on the court for a guy like Plumlee. My gripe with Plumlee of late is that Detroit isn't playing him half the game anyway. That should change tonight in a superb matchup for Plumlee. He is too cheap for the potential, so long as Detroit rests several players again. Plumlee is still a good play regardless, but the upside isn't quite as high if, say, Isaiah Stewart plays.
Bonus Centers: Jarrett Allen ($7,600), Deandre Ayton ($6,800), Brook Lopez ($5,000)
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