NBA DFS action on Monday, April 26, locks at 7 p.m. ET with an 11-game main slate on Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel. Before locking in lineups, make sure to check out Awesemo’s daily fantasy basketball picks, rankings and projections. Let’s dig into some NBA DFS picks and daily fantasy basketball, including Mike Conley, Paul George and more.
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NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks, Monday, April 26th
Yahoo Play of the Day — Anthony Davis: Los Angeles Lakers at Orlando Magic
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 35.78 | DraftKings: 34.79
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 66.8% | FanDuel 0.2% | DraftKings 0.1%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $22 | FanDuel $9,200 | DraftKings $9,400
Yahoo is making things interesting, with Anthony Davis coming in with an enticing $22 salary. In his two games back after missing over two months and 30 games with a calf injury, Davis has played 16.6 and 28.3 minutes. On Saturday Davis took 19 shots on his way to a 39% usage rate. While it wasn’t pretty — he shot 26.3% and 0-for-6 from behind the arc — he did have 17 points, three rebounds and three assists for 24.1 Yahoo fantasy points. Tonight, with similar minutes and opportunities, it would not be a surprise to see him with 40 fantasy points. While that is by no means a Davis-like performance, it is perfectly acceptable at his current Yahoo salary.
Paul George: Los Angeles Clippers at New Orleans Pelicans
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 45.99 | DraftKings: 48.32
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 24.4% | FanDuel 21.4% | DraftKings 27.4%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $43 | FanDuel $10,000 | DraftKings $9,600
Kawhi Leonard will be missing his fourth straight game with a foot injury, and he has played only once in the last eight Clippers games. This has led to an ever-increasing salary for Paul George. However, with 22 teams in action and eight having played Sunday, there should be no shortage of NBA DFS value picks. NBA WOWY shows that George is averaging 1.24 Yahoo fantasy points per minute this season, and that jumps to 1.32 with Leonard off the court. Without his running mate, George sees a 35.2% usage rate, which would essentially be the highest in the league.
Over their last 15 games, the Pelicans are playing at the fifth-fastest pace in the league. This pairs nicely from a fantasy perspective when combined with their lack of defense. In the eight games he has played without Leonard, George is averaging 34 minutes and 22.6 field-goal attempts. This has resulted in 28.5 points 8.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.5 combined blocks/steals for 46.6 Yahoo fantasy points.
Mike Conley: Utah Jazz at Minnesota Timberwolves
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 35.15 | DraftKings: 37.17
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 21.2% | FanDuel 20.4% | DraftKings 12.8%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $26 | FanDuel $7,100 | DraftKings $7,400
Donovan Mitchell will be missing at least another week with his ankle injury. This is a phenomenal matchup for Mike Conley against one of the worst defenses in the league. In an interesting twist, the Timberwolves actually bested the Jazz on Saturday in Salt Lake City. Utah has only lost four games at home this season, with the Wizards and Suns being the other two visiting teams leaving Vivint Arena with victories.
In six games this year without Mitchell, Conley is averaging 30.2 minutes with 14.7 field-goal attempts. In these games, he is averaging 18 points, 3.2 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 2.7 steals for a tick over 40 fantasy points. With more and more NBA DFS value picks revealing themselves as we head towards lock, Conley is likely to get lost in the shuffle as gamers default to the preferred stars and scrubs roster construction strategy
Good Value
Sacramento Kings vs. Dallas Mavericks
There are seven key players from this game listed as questionable in addition to De’Aaron Fox being out in the health and safety protocol. Because this is the final game of the night, all of the details may not be released until after the contests lock. Being flexible and prepared will be key in order to take advantage of the likely opportunities that arise.
Richaun Holmes returned from a five-game absence caused by a hamstring strain. Last night, he started but played only 22.2 minutes across four rotations. There is a decent chance he will be rested tonight. Rookie Tyrese Haliburton stepped up as the replacement for Fox with 37.5 minutes and 41 fantasy points. He should see a similar role tonight. Harrison Barnes played a whopping 40.3 minutes in the loss to Golden State. Buddy Hield, Maurice Harkless and Delon Wright are also viable options. Hassan Whiteside was a healthy DNP-CD last night, but he would be the main beneficiary if Holmes gets the night off.
Luka Doncic is questionable with a bruised elbow, though he played through it on Saturday. Kristaps Porzingis (ankle) and Josh Richardson (hamstring) both missed Saturday’s game and are at best game-time decisions tonight. Maxi Kleber played Saturday, but he has been dealing with a sore back over the last two weeks and is questionable once again. Finally, though they do not have dramatic fantasy impacts, J.J. Redick (heel) and Dorian Finney-Smith (lower leg) are also questionable. With the Mavericks being favored by just 6 points tonight, speculation is that Doncic will play and Porzingis and probably Richardson will be out again. Sacramento has the worst defense in the league, so target the ambulatory Mavericks tonight.
Risky Value
Julius Randle: New York Knicks vs. Phoenix Suns
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 45.21 | DraftKings: 48.27
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 7.6% | FanDuel 17.6% | DraftKings 18.8%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $47 | FanDuel $10,100 | DraftKings $9,900
The Knicks and Suns have both been in the bottom five from a pace perspective this season while playing excellent defense. It is a surprise that Julius Randle may end up on as many as 20% of lineups tonight. The Awesemo Boom/Bust tool shows that there is a 10.7% chance of Randle being in the DraftKings optimal lineup tonight. His projected popularity moves him to a -8.1 leverage score.
While Randle’s fantasy production has been amazing this season, at his current salary there is only a 13.8% probability of him hitting his boom score of 59.5 DraftKings points. On the other hand, he has a 58% chance of busting below 49.5 DraftKings points. While his popularity is likely to drop throughout the day, it is fine to take him out of the player pool entirely.
Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies
- Facundo Campazzo: DEN vs. MEM – $10
- Delon Wright: SAC vs. DAL – $11
- Mohamed Bamba: ORL vs. LAL – $13
Final Thoughts on the Monday, April 26th NBA DFS Slate
Eight teams are on the second legs of back-to-backs, and four teams are on front ends. This will likely lead to late-breaking news that needs to be monitored tonight. Keep in mind that salaries and scoring formats differ across the various fantasy sites, and a slam-dunk play on Yahoo may be a below-average NBA DFS pick on DraftKings or FanDuel.
