With the significantly smaller slates, making winning lineups are going to be tougher than they have been all season. Each teams rotation has shrunk, and players are going to find consistent value more scarce as the playoffs move on. Immediate backups like Patty Mills are always going to be considered safe options, but don't expect random explosions from other value plays at this point in the season.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel on 4/18/19. These DFS lineup picks can vary from higher-priced players and elite options to lower-priced players and value picks on FanDuel. You can also check out today's DraftKings lineup picks. Remember to check your lineups before tipoff for injury updates.
Feel free to reach out and ask questions in the NBA Chat Room or on Twitter @HalfCourtJester.
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FanDuel DFS Guards
Derrick White - PG, DEN @ SA (FD - $5,400)
If you roster Spencer Dinwiddie and Derrick White tonight, you are set. Both have incredibly useful value and you are going to need some cheaper plays that allow you to roster the likes Nikola Jokic, D'Angelo Russell, and LaMarcus Aldridge. White is already a proven player in the playoffs and he should continue to push that narrative down our throats with more solid play against the Nuggets backcourt.
Klay Thompson - SG, GSW @ LAC (FD - $6,500)
Every night Klay Thompson is available, DFS players let their imaginations run free. While it's possible for him to go off and I' not going to predict some record-breaking performance, but it's pretty obvious the Warriors are going to throw much more usage in Thompsons direction. Kevin Durant is struggling to deal with all the on-ball pressure and the only way to free him up is to get Thompson and Steph Curry shooting. I expect a decent chunk of the usage to go directly to Thompson and while this isn't his strong suit, I do expect him do a lot more scoring.
FanDuel DFS Forwards
Rudy Gay - SF, SAS vs DEN (FD - $4,900)
The Spurs would not be as competitive in this series without Rudy Gay. While he is not posting the best numbers in the box score, he is doing the little things that need to be done without losing spacing. Although he struggled to score last game, he kept shooting and he should have no problem getting his footing in Game 3. Since his price is so low, there is no real downside since it's pretty much a guarantee at this point that Gay won't completely flop when it comes to actual production.
Tobias Harris - PF, PHI @ BKN (FD - $5,100)
On the other hand, Tobias Harris had a very rough Game 1. He wasn't able to get anything going and he made me look like a jackass because I had so much confidence in him. Luckily, even after watching that game, I still trust Harris to figure things out. Even though he was unable to really score in Game 1, it allowed him to focus on getting his teammates involved. He'll score tonight, but look for him to post a very rare (for him) double-double on the road.
FanDuel DFS Centers
Jarrett Allen - C, HOU vs UTA (FD - $5,200)
There only seem to be two options at center tonight, Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid. There is also Jarrett Allen, the value option who I have learned not to trust against Philadelphia. I'll say this again like I did in a previous article, if Embiid doesn't play, you need to play Allen. If Embiid does play, expect it take Allen another game or two to actually be a productive frontcourt option. Do what you can to roster Jokic since there are very few safe options there.