NBA DFS action on Wednesday, April 14, 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 De’Aaron Fox, Russell Westbrook, Miles Bridges and more.
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NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks, Wednesday, April 14th
Yahoo Play of the Day — Miles Bridges: Charlotte Hornets vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 32.26 | DraftKings: 32.88
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 37.6% | FanDuel 18.0% | DraftKings 11.6%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $18 | FanDuel $6,300 | DraftKings $6,200
This is a nice matchup for Miles Bridges, particularly with P.J. Washington already ruled out of tonight’s action after suffering an ankle injury on Sunday. While both Jarrett Allen (concussion) and Larry Nance Jr. (illness) will play, they have missed eight and seven games, respectively, so they will likely be rusty from the long layoff.
In the three games that Bridges has started when Washington was on the sideline, he has averaged 35 minutes. As a starter in the last five games, Bridges has surpassed that minutes average in four appearances. The $18 salary on Yahoo is a favorable one, and gamers are likely to overlook him when employing the stars-and-scrubs strategy tonight. He should be in range of low- to mid-30 Yahoo fantasy points, and 40 fantasy points is attainable in this matchup.
Russell Westbrook: Washington Wizards at Sacramento Kings
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 53.94 | DraftKings: 57.66
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 6.0% | FanDuel 12.0% | DraftKings 18.0%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $55 | FanDuel $11,200 | DraftKings $11,000
There are 22 teams in action tonight, eight of which played last night, and three play tomorrow night. Between injuries, rest and tanking, there will be value options galore. Do not worry about Russell Westbrook being too expensive tonight, as salary constraints should not be an issue.
The Wizards and the Kings both play at a fast pace, and defense is an afterthought. Tonight’s 240.5 projected point total is the highest on the slate. When these teams met a month ago in Washington, Sacramento won by a bucket 121-119. Westbrook now has triple-doubles in 23 of his 46 games, and he is just a dozen shy of tying Oscar Robertson for the all-time record. Currently Westbrook is second with 10.8 assists per game while averaging 21.7 points and 10.7 rebounds.
Westbrook and Bradley Beal have managed to co-exist, with Beal leading the league in scoring at 31.0 points per game and posting the second-highest usage rate among players with at least 1,500 minutes, at 33.7%. Westbrook has a 30.5% usage, which ranks eighth overall. While Westbrook is the preferred target, both can be employed in the same lineup tonight.
De’Aaron Fox: Sacramento Kings vs. Washington Wizards
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 45.6 | DraftKings: 47.08
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 11.4% | FanDuel 15.6% | DraftKings 11.2%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $44 | FanDuel $9,600 | DraftKings $9,600
Over his last four games, De’Aaron Fox is back to seeing heavy minutes with 38 per outing along with 21.3 field-goal attempts including 7.3 from beyond the arc along with eight trips per game to the charity stripe. This works out to 31.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.8 steals for 52.2 Yahoo fantasy points. Pairing him with Westbrook and/or Beal makes for a nice synergistic strategy. Buddy Hield is questionable and Richaun Holmes is doubtful, which will secure the elevated minutes and opportunities for Fox.
Good Value
Toronto Raptors vs. San Antonio Spurs
Kyle Lowry is out for rest for a second straight game. Fred VanVleet is dealing with a hip injury and will be joined on the sideline by DeAndre’ Bembry (hamstring) and Gary Trent Jr. (ankle). This opens up the usage for Pascal Siakam, though he played 40.4 minutes last night and it would not be a complete shock if he were a late addition to the “resting” list. Malachi Flynn, Chris Boucher, O.G. Anunoby and recent addition Khem Birch should all play 25 to 30 minutes, and the matchup against San Antonio is not particularly daunting these days.
The Spurs are 5.5-point road favorites and we can look to Dejounte Murray, DeMar DeRozan and Jakob Poeltl as core building blocks tonight. San Antonio is still in the playoff mix, and they do not seem to be tanking just yet. This is the fifth and final game of their current road trip, with the next game at home on Friday against Portland.
Risky Value
Kent Bazemore: Golden State Warriors at Oklahoma City Thunder
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 25.89 | DraftKings: 25.62
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 38.6% | FanDuel 25.6% | DraftKings 17.0%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $13 | FanDuel $5,100 | DraftKings $4,800
It is a tad surprising that Kent Bazemore popped up with a risky outlook on both DraftKings and FanDuel in Awesemo’s Boom/Bust tool. Kelly Oubre is doubtful and is in line to miss a third straight game. Bazemore has started in his stead the last two times, so it makes sense that would continue tonight. Golden State is favored by double digits against an Oklahoma City squad that is tanking in earnest. However, last night they put a scare into the Jazz in Salt Lake City behind a career-high 42 points from Luguentz Dort.
The tricky part with Bazemore is that his salary has come up and he doesn’t do much besides score when it comes to his fantasy production. He is projected as the fifth-most popular option on FanDuel. When comparing his popularity with his 13.2% probability of appearing in the FanDuel optimal lineup, that creates a -13.2 leverage score.
There is only a 17.2% chance that Bazemore will exceed his boom score threshold (5x salary +10) of 35.5 FanDuel points. Conversely, there is a 34.7% chance of him falling below his bust score (5x salary) of 25.5 FanDuel points. With little available upside and a one-in-three chance of disappointing, let other gamers assume this risk in tournaments. The outlook is very similar on DraftKings as well.
Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies
- Bruce Brown Jr.: BKN at PHI – $12
- Nicolas Claxton: BKN at PHI – $10
- Ty Jerome: OKC vs. GSW – $10
Final Thoughts on the Wednesday, April 14th NBA DFS Slate
Tonight seven teams are on the second legs of back-to-backs, and three teams are on the front ends. 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.
