DraftKings NBA Picks April 7

There are nine games on our Friday night. We have both Westbrook and Harden available on DraftKings tonight, and there is likely enough value to play them both, but should we? Let’s check out some stats and trends in the NBA tonight.

Point Guards

Best Bets:

Russell Westbrook ($14,000): Behold, we have our first $14K player! Why? Well, Westbrook has averaged 86.8 DraftKings points per game against the Suns this year. Averaged! You can’t fade him and hope to cash. Not when he does that to the Suns.

Kyle Lowry ($7,900): Lowry racked up 53.75 DraftKings points in his return to the court on Wednesday against the Pistons. I think it’s safe to say that he’s fine. The Heat held him to 41 DraftKings points in the first meeting, but Lowry was also a dismal 4-15 from the floor in that game. Even at this price, Lowry looks like a huge bargain. Is it worth fading Westbrook for? I will let you be the judge of that.

Honorable Mention:

Kyrie Irving ($7,700): Irving has 108.75 DraftKings points in just two games against the Hawks so far this year. He is also playing at a high level right now. Will the Cavs let up a bit since they have essentially clinched the number one seed? That remains to be seen, but Irving looks like a strong play as well tonight.

Jrue Holiday ($7,500): Holiday racked up 47.5 DraftKings points against Denver on Tuesday night. Not much has changed since then, so I don’t see any reason why Holiday not to do it again. There are so many good options at point guard that it is feasible to consider fading Westbrook. Still a hard sell for me though.

Ish Smith ($6,200): Smith has at least 5x value in each of the last five games and in seven of the last eight. Now that he doesn’t have to worry about Reggie Jackson stealing time, he is a good bet to hit value here. The Pistons are using Udrih pretty heavily as well, but so far, it hasn’t taken away from Smith’s production.

Dark Horses:

Jamal Murray ($4,500): It looks likely that Jameer Nelson will be out tonight. That means that Murray will draw another start. He has done well in the role with Nelson out so far. Murray has 94.75 DraftKings points over the last four games. That puts him close to 5x value with the potential for more considering he put up 31.25 DraftKings points on the Pelicans on Tuesday.

Yogi Ferrell ($4,500): Ferrell has been kind of inconsistent, but there is no shame in struggling against Memphis. He picked up 31.5 DraftKings points in his first start against the Spurs this year. He played well against the Clippers on Wednesday. Expect more of the same tonight.

Beno Udrih ($3,500): You need the money. On a night like tonight, you do. And who is a better bargain than Beno right now? He has 56 DraftKings points over the last two games, and hasn’t been under 5x value since before Reggie Jackson went down. He is a reliable producer with good upside that wont kill your lineup. If you are paying for a stud, you need Beno to balance you out.

My picks: Westbrook(PG), Holiday(SG), Udrih(G); Irving(PG), Smith(G)

Shooting Guards

Best Bets:

Devin Booker ($8,000): It seems as though we have seen Booker’s game grow up right in front of us with Eric Bledsoe out. Not only is he scoring a ton of points, but he has at least five assists in all but one of his last eight games. Booker improving his all-around game is a welcome sight for us DFS players, and I am not nearly as leery to use him at this price as I would have been a month ago.

DeMar DeRozan ($7,800): Yes, Miami is a solid perimeter defensive team, but they are less so with Dion Waiters out of the lineup. DeRozan averaged 40.8 DraftKings points in three games against the Heat, two of which Waiters participated in. HIs production suffered a little from the return of Lowry, but not enough to shy away from using him if I have the cap room.

Honorable Mention:

James Harden ($12,100): I don’t consider Harden that prime of an option tonight because he “only” picked up 56 DraftKings points in the first meeting with the Pistons. That said, Reggie Jackson isn’t on the floor this time, and Harden has been over 5x value at this price in five of the last eight games. He is still an interesting contrarian play to Westbrook. I just don’t trust him as much against this defense.

Buddy Hield ($6,000): Hield has hit 5x value in seven of the last ten games. The Kings are playing him around 30 minutes per game. Unless he runs into a team with a good shooting defense, Hield is worth throwing out there. He definitely is against the Lakers regardless of if D’Angelo Russell can play or not. This is setting up to be a really good game for Hield.

Victor Oladipo ($5,900): He lacks upside being alongside Westbrook every night, but in his one game against the Suns this year, Oladipo put up 34.75 DraftKings points. That leaves him comfortably above 5x value if he can do it again.

Dark Horses:

Courtney Lee ($4,800): Lee has racked up double-digit points in five straight games, and has not been below 20 DraftKings points since March 20th. He is one of the few constant producers in this lineup right now, which makes Lee a very good value play.

David Nwaba ($4,500): Nwaba will play in the rest of the games this season, but just how much remains to be seen. He has been a solid source of value points, but with his price up this far, it limits just how much value he can truly have. Nwaba has mostly had a limited offensive impact, so he isn’t the bargain he was when he cost was over $1,000 less.

J.R. Smith ($4,400): With Kyle Korver ailing again, Smith has taken over as the shooting guard, and he isn’t letting go anytime soon. Smith has at least 5x value in six straight games. He is as safe as anyone in this price range, especially with the way the Cavs are playing right now.

My pick: N/A; Smith(SG)

Small Forwards

Best Bets:

LeBron James ($10,600): James has racked up 118 DraftKings points in two games against the Hawks this year. They haven’t quite clinched the one seed yet, so don’t expect the fire that the Cavs have shown over the past week to go away. LeBron has as least 5x value in seven of the last eight games. He doesn’t have the upside that Westbrook does, but I think I trust him more than Harden tonight.

Danilo Gallinari ($6,300): I was tempted to put Carmelo Anthony here simply because the Knicks are operating with about eight players right now. They couldn’t rest him if they wanted to. However, Gallinari has far more upside. He has at least 5x value in four straight games. He put up 34.25 DraftKings points in Houston two nights ago. Expect that kind of production again.

Honorable Mention:

Andrew Wiggins ($6,200): Normally I wouldn’t recommend Wiggins in a game like this, but he went nuts last night on a Portland team that is also in the top five of small forward defense. After a slow start to March, Wiggins is starting April with a bang. He is averaging 42 DraftKings points per game this month. He may not get quite that many tonight, but I would bet that he is still above 5x value.

Trevor Ariza ($5,900): Ryan Anderson and Sam Dekker are both still out, so Ariza will get as many minutes as he can possibly handle. Ariza has averaged 35.6 DraftKings points per game with Anderson out. Detroit is a tougher nut to crack, but with Ariza playing so many minutes, he should still be able to get us 5x value due to his defensive chops.

Josh Richardson ($5,700): Richardson is finally coming around since being handed the starting gig with Dion Waiters out. He has at least 5x value in seven of the last eight games. We all know that Richardson has good upside. He is finally starting to realize that, but he wont bust out with a huge game with Dragic and Whiteside playing like they are.

Dark Horses:

Taurean Prince ($4,600): Paul Millsap will be resting tonight, so that means that Prince will get significant run again. He did last night, even with Millsap in the lineup. Prince has at least 6x value in four of the last six games. He is a good source of value with the potential for more.

Jonathon Simmons ($3,900): It seems likely that Simmons will get the start with Kawhi Leonard out tonight. It will be either Simmons or Kyle Anderson, and both are nearly the same price, so you can easily swap one for the other, depending on who gets the start. The problem that we run into here is with the (still) idiotic lack of a late swap. At least they brought it back for baseball. Here’s hoping the Spurs decide on a starter before the lock time tonight.

My Pick: Prince(SF), Richardson(UTIL); James(SF), Anderson/Simmons(F)

Power Forwards

Best Bets:

DeMarcus Cousins ($10,800)/ Anthony Davis ($10,400): Cousins went off for 69 DraftKings points in the Nuggets on Wednesday. Davis was “held” to 58.25. Both of them hit value, but the value of Davis increases significantly if Cousins sits with a sore Achilles. If both play, I’m on Cousins again unless he is on a stated minutes limit.

Kevin Love ($7,900): Julius Randle has good upside, but he is way overpriced. So I will turn to Love with Millsap out. Love has only played one game against the Hawks this year. He broke the 50 DraftKings point barrier in that one. He may do it again since he wont have to tangle with Millsap.

Honorable Mention:

James Johnson ($6,600): The Heat finally gave Johnson his first start of the season on Wednesday. Johnson responded with 41.5 DraftKings points. Johnson hit ten of 12 shots, including six of seven from beyond the arc. Johnson will likely start from here on out, and I full expect him to come up with at least 6x value again.

Marquese Chriss ($5,800): Chriss is still getting extensive run, and has emerged as one of the scorers on this young Suns team. The Thunder have actually been tougher on power forwards since the acquisition of Taj Gibson. That may cause Chriss to underperform compared to his recent lines, but for this price, he is still worth playing.

Dark Horses:

Skal Labissiere ($5,000): Labissiere has not been all that consistent with production lately, but the Lakers are the worst team in the league against power forwards. We should be able to count on Labissiere tonight.

Mason Plumlee ($4,400): Plumlee hasn’t been seeing consistent minutes lately, but he has played 20 minutes or more in the last two games against New Orleans. The only such games in that span that he has. Regardless of who else is available for Denver, they need the size against New Orelans, so expect Plumlee to see more minutes than usual.

Thomas Robinson ($4,400): Robinson continues to see right around 20 minutes per game, but he does a lot in his little minutes. The Kings are improving up front, but not to the point where I wouldn’t consider using Robinson for a value play.

My pick: Johnson(PF), Robinson(F); Labissiere(PF), Robinson(F)

Center

Best Bets:

Rudy Gobert ($8,700): We all know the issues that Karl-Anthony Towns has on the defensive end of the court. Gobert is capable of exploiting that matchup for all it’s worth. He has 104.75 DraftKings points over the last two games. I trust Gobert a lot more than Nikola Jokic against the Pelicans. He has been below averaged against them in every game this year.

Hassan Whiteside ($7,900): Whiteside has averaged 43.7 DraftKings points per game in three games against the Raptors this year. He also has three straight games of more than 40 DraftKings points. Whiteside looks like a bargain at this price.

Honorable Mention:

Marc Gasol ($7,500): Gasol had a big game with Mike Conley out on Wednesday night. The Grizzlies are saying that Conley will play tonight, so that would take away from Gasol’s production a bit. Gasol put up 34 DraftKings points in the Knicks in the first meeting, but he only played 30 minutes. There is risk of a blowout again tonight, so that could keep Gasol’s minutes in check. If Conley’s eye takes a turn for the worse though, I am all over Gasol again.

Andre Drummond ($7,400): Drummond racked up 42.5 DraftKings points in the first meeting with Houston this year. His superior rebounding skills always give him a high floor. He will tower over the Houston frontcourt once again, and could produce well beyond what his price suggests.

Dwight Howard ($7,000): Howard’s production suffered in both games since Millsap’s return, but with Millsap resting tonight, Howard could have a big game, even against Cleveland. He has 73.25 DraftKings points in two games with Cleveland this year. That leaves him a shade over 5x value. With Millsap out, he could go for 6x or higher!

Dark Horses:

Willie Cauley-Stein ($6,700): Cauley-Stein has topped 5x value six times in the last eight games. He has really grown into his role lately, posting 110 DraftKings points in the last three games. The Lakers’ defensive struggles in the frontcourt are well known. Sacramento is going to take full advantage of it tonight!

Ersan Ilyasova ($4,900): With Millsap sitting, Ilyasova will snag another start. He did well filling in for Millsap when he was out. With his price this low, he should have at least 5x value. Even against Cleveland. The minutes will certainly be there.

Tarik Black ($3,700): Black is splitting the center minutes with Robinson, but Black still sees the better end of the deal. He plays at least five more minutes per game. That has afforded Black the opportunity to put up at least 5x value in four straight games. He looks like a great punt play against the Kings.

My pick: Black(C); Whiteside(C)

Stay tuned for our FanDuel picks, and our picks for NHL and the PGA tour! We even have some EPL picks coming your way! We are also kicking up our MLB DFS