DraftKings Main NBA Picks April 8: Durant or Rudy?

There are seven NBA games on our Sunday. The 2:30 pm Detroit/Memphis tipoff is off on its own little island, so we have three early and three evening games. The Memphis/Detroit tilt is only available in showdown formats, but there is plenty of hidden value with Memphis essentially running out a G-League team.

Point Guards:

Best Bets:

Tyler Ulis ($6,800): Ulis continues to run this team very efficiently. He has six straight games of 30 or more DraftKings points. His price has crept up to the point where Ulis wont always hit value, but there is still potential here. The Warriors allow a lot of points.

Quinn Cook ($6,200): Cook has racked up 84 DraftKings points in his two games against the Suns this year. There is serious potential for Cook here again. Cook doesn’t always hit value, but his floor has been really solid since Curry went down. There is a ton of upside in this one.

Honorable Mention:

Shelvin Mack ($5,000): Mack continues to thrive in his super sub role, outplaying Augustin nearly every game. Mack isn’t going to become the starter anytime soon, but he is still going to play at least 25 minutes a game down the stretch. He can hit value in that stretch, but has little to offer as far as upside.

Dante Exum ($4,800): Exum came up big on Thursday when Rubio was forced to exit with a sore hamstring. Rubio’s status is still up in the air for tonight, but the Jazz game is one of the early tips in the late games. We will know whether Rubio is in and it what capacity. If Rubio is out or limited, Exum is going to be a fantastic value tonight.

Dark Horse:

Fred FanVleet ($4,500): Using VanVleet is taking a leap of faith here. However, the Raptors have been limited the usage of Lowry and DeRozan lately. There is potential here, especially in a game where the score is likely to get out of hand.

My pick: Ulis(PG), Cook(G)

Best Bet:

Donovan Mitchell ($7,700): Mitchell has run his streak of 30+ DraftKings points games to 13. There is virtually no downside to using Mitchell. The floor is really solid with Mitchell and there is plenty of upside, especially against the Lakers.

Honorable Mention:

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ($6,100): KCP has 57 DraftKings points in two games against Utah this year. That would leave him rather close to value. We have seen KCP put up some pretty big numbers from time to time. That wont happen against Utah, but there is still reason for some optimism here.

Josh Hart ($5,300): Hart has 86.75 DraftKings points over the last three games with Lonzo Ball out. Ball is officially listed as questionable tonight, so keep an eye on this. The Lakers tip at the start of the evening slate. If Ball is limited or out, ride Hart again!

Dark Horses:

Danuel House ($5,000): The minutes were there for House on Friday even though the production wasn’t. Still, if he is playing 35 minutes a game down the stretch, that gives House the chance to put up pretty big numbers over the last few games. I really like this if Josh Jackson has to sit out.

Tyler Ennis ($4,400): Ennis has picked up 78.25 DraftKings points over the last three games. I don’t see the Lakers rushing to put Ball back in the lineup, so I can see Ennis and Hart continuing to perform well above their price range. I like Ennis a little more because of the price differential, but I can’t fault using either one.

My pick: Mitchell(SG)

Small Forwards:

Best Bets:

Kevin Durant ($11,400): I am going to preface this by saying that there is very little chance of KD hitting value tonight at this price. Not against the Suns. The Warriors are playoff bound, and will take every chance they can to rest Durant. This game should get out of hand. Durant has five straight games with more than 50 DraftKings points, and 12 of his last 13. He’s going to hit 50, but I don’t see him hitting 60. On a small slate, his 50 may still be worth it.

Josh Jackson ($7,800): Jackson is at least keeping the Suns closer in games. He has at least 40 DraftKings points in the last two games. If Jackson is able to take the court tonight, I’m interested.

Honorable Mention:

Joe Ingles ($6,400): Ingles has 65 DraftKings points in two games against the Lakers. Ingles has provided a solid floor for DFS usage. Friday marked his 13th straight game with 25 or more DraftKings points. 11 of those have been over 30. Ingles is one of the safer options out there.

Dark Horses:

Jae Crowder ($4,600): Crowder played just five minutes against the other L.A. team on Thursday because he got poked in the eye. It seems to be better now, and Crowder is good to go. He put up 27.5 DraftKings points on Tuesday against this same Lakers team. There is solid potential here.

Kevon Looney ($4,200): Looney has been putting up decent numbers, but the minutes remain constant in the 20’s. There is decent value potential here, especially against a Suns team that is likely going to get blown out.

My pick: Ingles(SF)

Power Forwards:

Best Bets:

Draymond Green ($8,500): The Suns are largely a disaster up front, and Green has taken full advantage of that. Draymond has 102.75 DraftKings points in two games against the Suns. Green’s value is cut a bit because of Durant being out there, but his past history against the Suns suggests that he could dominate this game.

Julius Randle ($7,600): It doesn’t matter who the opponent is, Randle is hitting at least 25 DraftKings points. It’s a solid floor, but I wouldn’t bet on Randle putting up any big numbers against a Jazz team trying to lock down a playoff spot.

Honorable Mention:

Marquese Chriss ($6,000): Chriss has at least 36 DraftKings points in four of the last five games. The Suns have him listed as questionable ahead of tonight’s game. This is something we want to keep an eye on. There could be huge value in the Suns frontcourt, especially if Chriss is out. The bad part is the full lineup locks three hours before tipoff of this game.

Serge Ibaka ($5,900): Quietly, Ibaka has run up five straight games with more than 32 DraftKings points. Ibaka is a pretty strong value play right now. Orlando is a great place to take advantage of this as well. Even though the last two games have been big Toronto wins, Ibaka has still played 56 minutes with 70.5 DraftKings points.

Dark Horses:

Derrick Favors ($5,500): Favors has 58 DraftKings points in two games against the Lakers so far. The Jazz are still in the heat of a playoff battle that could just as easily land them on the outside looking in. Look for Favors to have a strong showing again tonight.

Dragan Bender ($4,000): Regardless of the status of Chriss, Bender is a solid play. Bender has 80.25 DraftKings points over the last three games. He should continue to see good run through the end of the season. I really like Bender at this price, and is likely the safest Sun to use tonight.

My pick: Ibaka(PF), Favors(F)

Center:

Best Bet:

Rudy Gobert ($7,900): Gobert has 70 DraftKings points in two meetings with the Lakers so far this year. Gobert has taken it to both L.A. teams in the last two games. This could be another big game for Rudy.

Honorable Mention:

Jonas Valanciunas ($5,700): Valanciunas has slowed down lately, but there is good potential here against Orlando. However, his value is severely capped so long as he is playing less than 25 minutes. Valanciunas hasn’t played more than 25 minutes in nearly a month.

Dark Horses:

Khem Birch ($4,300): The impending return of Vucevic muddles an already screwy situation. I tend to think that if Vucevic plays, it wont be for very long. I also think that Birch will be the first off the bench over Bismack. To me, Birch is the safer value play here if you need to go cheap.

Ivica Zubac ($3,600): The Lakers have no reason to push Brook Lopez back. They have put up more of a fight than pretty much anyone expected. The Lakers want to see what they have in Zubac, and over the last two games, he has showed some good promise. However, the status of Lopez is going to determine whether Zubac is a safe or crazy value pick.

My pick: Gobert(C), Zubac(UTIL)

Next: DraftKings Early Slate NBA Picks

Stay tuned for our FanDuel/FantasyDraft picks! And the MLB is back as well!