NBA DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Primer: Wednesday (4/6)

This final week of the NBA season is not for the faint of heart. Following news is the most important thing at this time of the year because there will inevitably be some wacky things happening. The bad teams are resting their best players to tank, while many of the elite teams are sitting players to stay healthy for the postseason. That gives us more value than usual, making for an interesting final week!

Wednesday cards tend to be some of the biggest days of the week, but that’s not the case here. We have just six games making up this Wednesday card, with most teams suiting up on Tuesday. That does leave us with a handful of back-to-backs, with Atlanta, Brooklyn, Chicago, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Utah, and Washington playing the second half of a B2B. That will undoubtedly cause chaos on this card, but we’ll do our best to project things out.

View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our NBA Prop Bet Cheat Sheet

Schedule and Odds

• DAL at DET (DAL -9.5) O/U: 221.5
• BKN at NYK (BKN -7) O/U: 232.5
• WAS at ATL (ATL -9) O/U: 227.5
• BOS at CHI (BOS -7.5) O/U: 224.5
• OKC at UTA (UTA -17.5) O/U: 223.5
• PHX at LAC (PHX -3) O/U: 229.5

Check out our consensus game odds as well as the odds from each sportsbook at BettingPros

Injury Report

• Tim Hardaway Jr.(foot) OUT
• Cade Cunningham (tanking) Questionable
• Jerami Grant (knee) OUT
• Marvin Bagley (hip) Questionable
• Joe Harris (ankle) OUT
• Seth Curry (ankle) Questionable
• Derrick Rose (ankle) OUT
• Kemba Walker (excised) OUT
• Julius Randle (quad) OUT
• Bradley Beal (wrist) OUT
• Kyle Kuzma (knee) OUT
• John Collins (foot) OUT
• Lonzo Ball (knee) OUT
• Zach LaVine (knee) Questionable
• Robert Williams (knee) OUT
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (ankle) OUT
• Josh Giddey (hip) OUT
• Luguentz Dort (shoulder) OUT
• Darius Bazley (leg) OUT
• Tre Mann (hamstring) Questionable
• Norman Powell (foot) Questionable
• Kawhi Leonard (knee) OUT

Core Plays

Kevin Durant (PF – BKN): $11,300 DraftKings, $11,500 FanDuel
We had Durant in this section on Tuesday, and we’re going right back to the well. KD has scored at least 72 DK points in two of his last three games, averaging nearly 60 DK points per game over the last two weeks. We love that form in this matchup, with Durant dropping 78 DraftKings points against the Knicks just three weeks ago.

Trae Young (PG – ATL): $10,500 DraftKings, $10,400 FanDuel
This 23-year-old has been one of the most consistent players in the NBA this season. He’s scored at least 31 DraftKings points in all but one game this year, posting a 51-point average over his last 19 games played. That directly correlates with the John Collins injury, and it’s clear Trae is doing everything possible to carry this offense in JC’s absence. Getting to face Washington is wonderful, too, with the Wizards ranked 25th in defensive efficiency.

Al Horford (C – BOS): $6,900 DraftKings, $6,500 FanDuel
With Robert Williams out for the next month, Horford is taking over the frontcourt in Boston. Big Al has scored at least 34 DK points in the three games since that injury and is averaging nearly 40 fantasy points per game without Rob-Will this season. That’s a monstrous total from a player in this price range, and we certainly don’t mind that he’s averaging 36 DK points per game in his two matchups with the Bulls this year.

Cash Game Considerations

Luka Doncic (PG – DAL): $12,000 DraftKings, $11,200 FanDuel
Luka has been one of the best players in fantasy all season, but he’s been even better since the Porzingis trade. He’s flirting with a 40 percent usage rate with KP out of the picture, averaging nearly 62 DK points per game across his last 24 outings. His stat-stuffing should flow here against a dreadful Detroit defense, with the Pistons ranked 19th in points allowed and 22nd in defensive efficiency.

Aleksej Pokusevski (PF – OKC): $6,700 DraftKings, $6,700 FanDuel
The injury report in OKC is laughable. In any case, it’s left Poku as the starting point guard, and he’s turned into a triple-double threat in this expanded role. In fact, Poku has scored at least 27 DK points in 10 straight games, dropping a career-best 55 fantasy points in his most recent outing. He actually had a triple-double in that masterpiece, and that alone is tough to find from a player in this price range.

Rudy Gobert (C – UTA): $7,900 DraftKings, $8,800 FanDuel
Rudy has been in this section all season. His league-leading rebounding is the primary reason why, establishing a 27-point floor for the year. He’s also averaging 41 fantasy points per game, which is all you can ask for from a sub-$8K player. The matchup with OKC is the icing on the cake, though, with the Thunder owning one of the worst frontcourts in the NBA. In their three matchups this season, Gobert is gobbling up 14.3 points, 18.3 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game!

GPP Targets

Mitchell Robinson (C – NYK): $6,100 DraftKings, $6,100 FanDuel
Robinson has always been a great GPP option, but he becomes even more intriguing with Julius Randle expected to miss this game. The big man has scored at least 32 fantasy points in 21 games this season, showing us a 50-point upside on a handful of occasions. That’s what you’re looking for from a GPP player, especially with Brooklyn ranked 23rd in total defense.

Reggie Bullock (SG – DAL): $4,900 DraftKings, $4,500 FanDuel
Bullock has taken over the Tim Hardaway role in Dallas. What we love is his workload, averaging over 36 minutes a night since the beginning of February. He’s certainly had some duds in that span, but anyone playing that much should never be this cheap. All he needs is 20-25 DK points to reach value, and that seems way more likely against a 22nd-ranked Detroit defense.

Carsen Edwards (PG – DET): $3,500 DraftKings, $5,300 FanDuel
If Cade Cunningham misses this game, Edwards is one of the best value plays on the board. He got a start for him in his Detroit debut, collecting 35 DK points across 31 minutes of play. The simple fact is, this Detroit team is tanking, and they might give Edwards all he can handle with Jerami Grant out as well. With all that said, we’re avoiding him if Cade plays.

Value Plays

Ish Smith (PG – WAS): $4,800 DraftKings, $4,400 FanDuel
With Beal and Kuzma both out in Washington, someone needs to handle the ball. Ish has been the guy recently, playing at least 28 minutes in three straight games. More importantly, Smith has scored at least 21 DK points in five straight fixtures and can always produce when given the opportunity. Atlanta is an astounding matchup, too, with the Hawks ranked 22nd in points allowed and 26th in defensive efficiency.

Obi Toppin (PF – NYK): $5,600 DraftKings, $5,500 FanDuel
With Randle likely out for the rest of the year, we should get all the Obi we can handle. He’s regularly playing 35-40 minutes a night in this starting role, averaging 34 DK points per game across his last six starts. That’s unbelievable from such an affordable player, and it’s clear that Thibs will give this guy every chance to succeed from here on out.

Olivier Sarr (PF – OKC): $4,200 DraftKings, $5,500 FanDuel
We didn’t know much about this guy a few weeks ago, but there are some crazy things happening in OKC. They have over half of their roster out, and it’s left Sarr with the most prominent role of his career. Olivier is averaging 29 DK points per game across 28 minutes a night over the last four games. They simply can’t pull this guy off the floor with so many frontcourt players missing, and it makes him a heck of a value in this price range.

Advantageous Pricing

• Rudy Gobert (C – UTA): $7,900 DraftKings, $8,800 FanDuel
• Carsen Edwards (PG – DET): $3,500 DraftKings, $5,300 FanDuel
• Olivier Sarr (PF – OKC): $4,200 DraftKings, $5,500 FanDuel
• Saddiq Bey (SF – DET): $7,300 DraftKings, $5,400 FanDuel
• Killian Hayes (PG/SG – DET): $5,600 DraftKings, $6,800 FanDuel
• Saben Lee (SG – DET): $3,600 DraftKings, $4,800 FanDuel
• Kyrie Irving (PG/SG – BKN): $10,000 DraftKings, $8,600 FanDuel
• Onyeka Okongwu (C – ATL): $3,900 DraftKings, $5,300 FanDuel
• Patrick Williams (SF/PF – CHI): $3,500 DraftKings, $4,800 FanDuel

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