DraftKings NBA Picks April 16: Build around Ben Simmons

BOSTON, MA – APRIL 15: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics takes a shot against Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks during the first quarter of Game One of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs during at TD Garden on April 15, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

DraftKings NBA Picks April 16: Build around Ben Simmons

Now we move on to a couple of Game 2’s. It is likely that Curry is still out, so that opens up some Golden State value. We can use the first games of these series as a barometer from what to expect tonight. With only two games though, it’s going to be hard to find separation.

Point Guards:

Best Bet:

Ben Simmons ($9,700): The 52.25 DraftKings points that Simmons put up on Saturday helped anchor a lot of lineups. The Sixers have officially ruled out Embiid for Game 2, so expect another strong performance from Simmons. Simmons should prove to be a strong anchor again.

Honorable Mention:

Goran Dragic ($6,200): The shooting woes of Dragic continued in Game 1, but he still put up 26.75 DraftKings points. If Dragic can get his shooting back up to around 40-45%, he can easily hit 6x value. However, this is still not a very good matchup. There is little upside to using Dragic in this series.

Quinn Cook ($5,500): With the playoffs here, Cook became an afterthought. Steve Kerr pulled him from the starting five in favor of Iguodala. It worked out very well in Game 1, so expect that trend to continue. Cook played just 25 minutes in the blowout win over the Spurs. Keep in mind that his minutes will likely only be about 25 again tonight.

Dark Horses:

Markelle Fultz ($3,700): Fultz provided solid play off the bench in Game 1, putting up 17.5 DraftKings points. That puts Fultz a little above 5x value. He likely wont get as much run as the did at the end of the regular season, but we can’t be disappointed in 5x value from someone this cheap.

Shaun Livingston ($3,300): The Warriors look like they are going to ride the veterans more in the playoffs. That makes Cook a huge risk, but it also opens up value elsewhere. Livingston put up 19.75 DraftKings points in 19 minutes in Game 1. Expect similar production here.

My pick: Simmons(PG), Livingston(G)

PHOENIX, AZ – APRIL 08: Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriors reacts during the first half of the NBA game against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena on April 8, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Shooting Guards:

Best Bet:

Klay Thompson ($6,500): SG is a very weak position today. The36.5 DraftKings points that Klay put up in Game 1 is above value. The Spurs weren’t really stopping him. Of course, the real risk with Thompson is the same as it always is. He does little other than score, so that gives him a weaker floor.

Honorable Mention:

J.J. Redick ($5,800): Redick continued his hot streak in Game 1, dropping 35 DraftKIngs points on the Heat. A lot of the scoring load left vacant by Embiid has been picked up by Redick. As long as the sharpshooter is going like this, Redick remains a strong DFS play.

Marco Belinelli ($4,800): Belinelli’s sharpshooting off the bench has taken the Sixers to another level. Belinelli has at least 5x value in all but four games of the Sixers’ current win streak. Belinelli may not play big minutes, but he still gets a high volume of shots when he is on the court.

Dark Horses:

Andre Iguodala ($4,300): Honestly, putting Iguodala in the starting lineup does nothing for DFS purposes other than take any value away from Quinn Cook. Iggy only scored 19.75 DraftKings points Game 1 and played just 23 minutes despite starting the game. There is decent potential here, but Iguodala isn’t going to put up big numbers anytime soon.

Bryn Forbes ($3,000): Forbes put up 19.75 DraftKings points in 25 minutes in Game 1. That left him as the most productive guard other than Murray and his price is lower than Parker, Murray, Manu, and Danny Green. If you want value in the San Antonio backcourt, this is where you are going to find it.

My pick: Redick(SG)

PHOENIX, AZ – APRIL 08: Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors during the first half of the NBA game against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena on April 8, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Small Forwards:

Best Bet:

Kevin Durant ($10,500): KD is one of the few high priced options tonight, and he still may not be worth it. He put up 47 DraftKings points in 32 minutes in the whitewashing of the Spurs in Game 1. If the Spurs hang around, Durant should have no issues hitting value. If they don’t, Durant is going to miss value again, but probably not by a whole lot.

Honorable Mention:

Robert Covington ($5,900): Philly got production from all over the court on Saturday, meaning that Covington didn’t have to do a lot of scoring. As is usually the case with Covington, he contributed across all of the other categories as well and ended up with 30.75 DraftKings points. Covington is a solid source of value, but doesn’t have a ton of upside due to all of the other talent on the team.

Justise Winslow ($5,100): Winslow has been key for the Heat down the stretch. His rebounding prowess keeps the floor pretty high, but Winslow is not a huge part of the offense. That does limit is value some, but he had a solid game in Game 1. I see no reason not to use him as a value play again.

Dark Horse:

Rudy Gay ($4,900): With news surfacing that Kawhi Leonard will likely miss the rest of the playoffs, that gives us the green light to use Gay for the rest of the series. Gay provides good production off the bench, and if the Spurs want to get out of this series without getting destroyed, they may have to move Gay into the lineup just to see if it can spark the offense.

My pick: Winslow(SF)

PHOENIX, AZ – APRIL 08: Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors handles the ball during the first half of the NBA game against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena on April 8, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Power Forwards:

Best Bet:

Draymond Green ($7,700): Green was big against the Spurs in Game 1, putting up 45.5 DraftKings points. That’s more than twice what Aldridge put up. Green is a strong play against the Spurs once again. The aging Spurs had no answer for Draymond.

Honorable Mention:

Dario Saric ($6,300): With Embiid out at least one more game, Saric is a strong value play still. His shot was true in Game 1, and he put up 33.5 DraftKings points. That puts him a touch above 5x value. There is always potential for more since Saric has done a great job against Miami this year. That didn’t change in Game 1.

Ersan Ilyasova ($5,700): Ilyasova was huge in Game 1, putting up 40.5 DraftKings points. As long as Embiid remains out, Ilyasova is a very strong value play. I don’t know that Philly will dominate like they did in the first game, but I certainly wouldn’t bet against it. Not with the way the Sixers are playing right now.

Dark Horse:

Kevon Looney ($3,800): Looney was strong off the bench for the Warriors, putting up 19 DraftKings points in the first game. That continues a string of strong play for Looney that is not a fluke. Looney lacks significant upside, but he is still a strong value play here.

My pick: Green(PF), Saric(F), Ilyasova(UTIL)

PHILADELPHIA, PA – APRIL 14: Kelly Olynyk #9 of the Miami Heat drives to the basket against Amir Johnson #5 of the Philadelphia 76ers in the fourth quarter during Game One of the first round of the 2018 NBA Playoff at Wells Fargo Center on April 14, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 76ers defeated the Heat 130-103. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

Center:

Best Bet:

Kelly Olynyk ($6,100): The Sixers shut down Hassan Whiteside, but had no answer for Olynyk. Olynyk put up a huge 40.75 DraftKings points in 31 minutes. The Heat were so much better with Olynyk on the court. That likely means that Olynyk will see more run that Whiteside until the Heat aren’t better with him in the lineup. That may not happen.

Honorable Mention:

Center is easily the thinnest position on this two game slate. Whiteside and LMA were a mess in the first game. So was Gasol for that matter. The silver lining is that Draymond is eligible at center. The whole middle tier scuffled in the first game. James Johnson is the only one I would even consider, and I’m not all that excited about it.

Dark Horses:

Amir Johnson ($3,800): Johnson put up a solid 18.75 DraftKings points in Game 1. With Ilyasova playing better than everyone not named Saric and Richaun Holmes are completely out for me. Amir is the only one I would even think about here.

Javale McGee ($3,600): McGee was huge in Game 1 for the Warriors, racking up 26 DraftKings points in just 16 minutes. The caveat here is that a lot of that was in garbage time. I’m not sure how much we can trust this going forward.

My pick: Olynyk(C)

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