DraftKings NBA Picks April 23: Is Westbrook worth using again?

WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 22: John Wall #2 of the Washington Wizards celebrates after scoring against the Toronto Raptors in the first half during Game Four of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 22, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

DraftKings NBA Picks April 23: Is Westbrook worth using again?

Get used to these unbalanced slates now that the playoffs are here. We are down to two games today since a couple of teams have been eliminated. There isn’t a lot of separation available on slates like this, but let’s see what we can do!

Point Guards:

Best Bets:

Russell Westbrook ($10,700): Westbrook had his worst game of the season against Utah in Game 3. But honestly, how many times have we seen Russ shoot 29% from the field? The other stats and minutes were consistent with his season long output. I expect him to be back in the mid to upper 50’s in this one.

Chris Paul ($7,700): Once Minnesota committed to shutting down Harden, it was Paul who took over and had a huge game in Game 2. There is always a chance that he steps up here in Game 4 like he did then. However, if he doesn’t, Paul is likely not going to top 4x value, let alone 5x.

Honorable Mention:

Ricky Rubio ($7,500): Well, Paul’s stats fluctuate too much for me to get too excited about him. That leaves Rubio, who had the highest DraftKings point total of Saturday. The Thunder have talked about shutting him down since. Expect Rubio to come in below value tonight, but the potential is still there. I still think he outscores Paul.

Jeff Teague ($6,400): A horrendous Game 2 moved many off of Teague for Game 3, myself included. He looked much better in Game 3, and so long as he stays out of foul trouble, Teague is a sure 5x value or higher at this price. The last time Teague was under value at this price and played more than 20 minutes was on April 5th.

Dark Horses:

Derrick Rose ($3,800): Rose has been off and on in the series, but he has hit 24 DraftKings points in two out of the three games. The thing to take away from this is that Minnesota is going to run Rose for about 20 minutes per game. He should have no troubles hitting value at this price with that amount of court time.

Raymond Felton ($3,300): Felton was a consistent bench scorer throughout the season, but the Thunder didn’t lean on him in any capacity until Saturday. This is a trend that should continue, but at this stage of his career, Felton does little more than score.

My pick: Westbrook(PG), Rose(G), Felton(UTIL)

HOUSTON, TX – JANUARY 02: James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets goes up for a dunk during the game against the New Orleans Hornets at Toyota Center on January 2, 2013 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images) /

Shooting Guards:

Best Bets:

James Harden ($10,600): Not mentioning Harden in a DFS column is practically blasphemy. However, Harden has not been anywhere near value since Game 1. The Rockets are functioning well enough without him putting up huge numbers, but Minnesota has committed to making someone else beat them. It was Paul in Game 2. No one stepped up in Game 3. I’m inclined to fade Harden, even on the short slate.

Jimmy Butler ($8,000): Go figure, Butler comes up big and Minnesota wins. Simple, huh? The star of the Timberwolves took just 17 shots over the first two games combined. He took 19 on Saturday. Expect Minnesota to keep riding him. There is serious potential here.

Honorable Mention:

Donovan Mitchell ($7,800): Mitchell continues to pile it on for the Jazz, win or lose, in spite of what his teammates do or do not do. Mitchell is arguably the safest play out there. His floor is very high for a pure shooter, and his ceiling is high enough to warrant using him in all formats.

Dark Horses:

Corey Brewer ($4,400): Brewer continues to put up solid numbers game after game, but despite the fact that he starts, Brewer doesn’t have much for upside. However, you need to find value somewhere on this slate. Brewer is a solid place for that. He has a 21.3 DraftKings points per game average in this series. That’s close enough to 5x value for me.

Jamal Crawford ($3,700): Crawford is the best scorer off the bench, but the problem is that he only has 14 points over the last two games. Playing on a unit that is run by Derrick Rose has hampered Crawford’s value, but if he actually starts knocking his shots down, Crawford is taking more shots per game in this series than he did in the regular season.

My pick: Mitchell(SG), Brewer(F)

OAKLAND, CA – FEBRUARY 06: Paul George #13 of the Oklahoma City Thunder reacts after making a three-point shot over Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors during the second half of their NBA basketball game at ORACLE Arena on February 6, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Small Forwards:

Best Bet:

Paul George ($7,600): George continues to be the most consistent player for the Thunder on a night to night basis. Even though his rebounds were way down on Saturday, George still put up 34 DraftKings points in that game. That would appear to be his floor here. If so, I can live with that kind of production out of George.

Honorable Mention:

Andrew Wiggins ($5,800): Wiggins put up his best game since April 1st in Game 3 in Minnesota’s first win of the series. It seems like the Timberwolves were hitting almost everything from outside, which has been a sore spot lately. If they are to remain competitive in this series, they will need Wiggins and Butler to keep hitting shots.

Joe Ingles ($5,700): That’s what the Jazz were missing over the first two games of the series. Ingles poured in 21 points en route to 34.75 DraftKings points in Game 3. The Jazz are a better team with Ingles contributing as well. They certainly were in Game 3. I expect the Jazz will get Ingles involved heavily in Game 4 as well.

Dark Horses:

Trevor Ariza ($4,300): Ariza wasn’t much of a factor on the offensive end again, but that’s always the risk you take with using a guy like Ariza. His court time always gives Ariza a chance to hit value, but you could wind up with totals like he put up in Games 1 and 3. There is risk involved here because Ariza is never a lock to be part of the offense.

Jerami Grant ($3,600): Grant usually gets decent run for the second unit of the Thunder lately. However, his minutes have fluctuated quite a bit in the Utah series. Grant still comes up with somewhere close to value. The issue here is that there is no upside with him either.

My pick: Wiggins(SF)

LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 30: Derrick Favors #15 of the Utah Jazz grabs a rebound from Willie Reed #35 and C.J. Williams #9 of the LA Clippers during a 126-107 win over the LA Clippers at Staples Center on November 30, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

Power Forwards:

Best Bet:

Derrick Favors ($6,000): Favors continues to be a force for Utah up front. His average for the series looks good because of his huge Game 2, but this is mostly a guard oriented team. It can be difficult for Favors to hit value. That said, he still gets to take on Melo. That makes him worth taking a chance on.

Honorable Mention:

Carmelo Anthony ($5,600): Anthony has had a strong series against Utah. If you paid attention to the numbers during the regular season, this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. I’m still a fan of Anthony at this price. With all of the other talent on this squad, Anthony doesn’t have much for upside, but the value translates well to any format on this short of a slate.

Dark Horses:

Ryan Anderson ($3,700): Anderson is finally healthy enough to get back to his sharpshooting ways off the bench. Anderson hit four triples in Game 3. His production was sporadic for much of the season, and that isn’t likely to change. The amount of upside here is enough to fly with Anderson in GPP formats, but his inconsistency makes him a rough play in cash games.

Patrick Patterson ($2,800): Patterson got his most minutes since March 12th in Game 3. He responded with 13.25 DraftKings points. That’s not huge value, but it is enough if you need to go this cheap.

My pick: Anthony(PF)

DENVER, CO – APRIL 05: Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves puts up a shot over Paul Millsap #4 of the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center on April 5, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

Center:

Best Bet:

Karl-Anthony Towns ($8,600): Towns had easily his best game of the postseason in Game 3. Will it continue? That’s what everyone in the great white north wants to know. We all know the potential that Towns has. We’ve seen it time and time again. If Towns can put up a game similar to Game 3, he is a huge bargain at this price.

Honorable Mention:

Rudy Gobert ($6,900): Gobert has put together two big games in a row. I think he’s a pretty safe play here. Gobert has 87.25 DraftKings points in the last two games. 5x value seems like a sure thing here.

Steven Adams ($5,200): There is risk here because Adams has been in constant foul trouble over the last two games. It’s nearly impossible for him to hit value when he is only playing about half the game. Adams was solid in Game 1, but that was the only game in the series so far in which he has played more than 26 minutes.

Dark Horse:

Gorgui Dieng ($3,000): Dieng is putting up a lot of value on a per minute basis, but the problem with that is his minutes are not very good. Dieng has played less than 10 minutes twice in three games, but he has been over 10 DraftKings points in every game. Want to play roulette? Dieng is your man.

My pick: FTowns(C)

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