Friday, April 29, brings one featured game between the Grizzlies and Timberwolves with the action starting at 9 p.m. ET on Yahoo, DraftKings and FanDuel. Let’s look at the player pool and discuss the top NBA DFS picks today for DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo lineups. As always, you can head over to the Awesemo NBA DFS & Fantasy Basketball home page for all the fantasy basketball content you need for any given slate.
NBA DFS Picks: Fantasy Basketball Building Blocks Today | Friday, April 29
Yahoo Play of the Day — Ja Morant: Memphis Grizzlies at Minnesota Timberwolves
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 52.56 | DraftKings: 54.96
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 69.5% | FanDuel 64.6% | DraftKings 69.5%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $44 | FanDuel $15500 | DraftKings $11800
It is hard to present any new information or analysis for this series that would differ much from the last few games where Steven Adams was rendered irrelevant and glued to the bench. Ja Morant had been a steady contributor with 44 to 49 fantasy points in the first four games before recording 63.1 fantasy points in the 111-109 Game 5 thriller where he led the Grizzlies to victory, logging a series-high 45 minutes.
Across the last four games of this series, the NBA’s Most Improved Player is averaging 37.2 minutes, 20 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists and 2.3 combined blocks and steals. It is hard to envision the winning lineup not having the second-year guard, though he may not be the top scorer.
Karl-Anthony Towns: Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Memphis Grizzlies
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 48.05 | DraftKings: 49.91
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 70.1% | FanDuel 64.2% | DraftKings 73.2%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $35 | FanDuel $15,000 | DraftKings $11,000
Though he has not had the most consistent set of results this series, Karl-Anthony Towns does have three games with 49 or more fantasy points. The main risk with Towns is that he has been whistled for five fouls in three of the last four games — all of which were Minnesota losses.
Brandon Clarke: Memphis Grizzlies at Minnesota Timberwolves
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 36.59 | DraftKings: 35.14
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 35.5% | FanDuel 37.8% | DraftKings 31.1%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $20 | FanDuel $12,000 | DraftKings $8,000
Steven Adams is in the health and safety protocol, though he had been played off the court earlier in this series. Even though Brandon Clarke is coming off the bench, he has seen 29 or more minutes in each of the last three games. Memphis also needs his presence in the paint for rebounding and defense against Towns. Jaren Jackson Jr. has fouled out of the last two games in 23 and 18 minutes, and it seems the directive for him to just do his best on Towns until he hits the foul limit. Then the team moves on to Clarke and Dillon Brooks as a two-man frontcourt with Desmond Bane and Kyle Anderson “playing big” as best they can, depending on the Minnesota on-court makeup. Yahoo is providing a nice salary point with Clarke, and he should be on at least half of all lineups for savvy gamers looking to press an edge in the single-contest format.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks for the Friday, April 29 Fantasy Basketball Slate
Last night we had a trio of Game 6 eliminations, with one tight game, one close game and a blowout. Tomorrow there are no games, so be sure to join in the contests tonight, as it will be a long wait until Sunday for the next chance at NBA DFS action.
