NBA DFS action on Saturday, April 24, locks at 7 p.m. ET with a six-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, Luka Doncic, Zion Williamson, and more.
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NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks, Saturday, April 24th
Yahoo Play of the Day — Mike Conley: Utah Jazz vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 36.27 | DraftKings: 38.54
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 30.4% | FanDuel 27.6% | DraftKings 30.0%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $26 | FanDuel $7,100 | DraftKings $7,000
This is an “island” game for Utah, who last took the court on Wednesday in Houston, where they cruised by the Rockets 112-89, and their next game is on Monday. This bodes well for Mike Conley, who has not played on consecutive nights since the All-Star Break. Donovan Mitchell is still out with his ankle injury, which means Conley will be the lead guard for the Jazz.
In half a dozen games without Mitchell, including the last three, Conley has been a stellar source of fantasy production. In these games, he is averaging 30.2 minutes with 14.6 field goal attempts. This has culminated in 18.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, 9.0 assists and 2.4 steals for 40.6 Yahoo fantasy points. For this matchup without Mitchell, we are getting Conley at a good 25-30% discount for his $26 Yahoo salary.
Luka Doncic: Dallas Mavericks vs. Los Angeles Lakers
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 47.52 | DraftKings: 50.41
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 14.2% | FanDuel 26.8% | DraftKings 24.4%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $54 | FanDuel $11,500 | DraftKings $11,000
There is no shortage of value options tonight, so we can afford to treat ourselves with a couple of luxury plays. Topping that list is Luka Doncic. While the matchup against the Lakers is a tough one, we just saw him drop 30 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and three steals in 36 minutes on Thursday in Los Angeles. That makes five straight games of 50+ fantasy points for Doncic, who is edging back in the MVP conversation.
That performance was not a fluke considering in his two games against the Lakers, he is now averaging 35.2 minutes with 28.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 8.2 assists, and 1.4 combined blocks/steals for 51.1 fantasy points. Maximillian Kleber missed the last game with a sore back, and Kristaps Porzingis suffered a sprained ankle. They are both questionable tonight, along with Josh Richardson, who is managing a sore hamstring. The more players that are out, the more opportunities there will be for Doncic to produce fantasy goodness.
Zion Williamson: New Orleans Pelicans vs. San Antonio Spurs
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 43.82 | DraftKings: 44.72
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 21.2% | FanDuel 34.2% | DraftKings 10.4%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $45 | FanDuel $9,700 | DraftKings $10,100
In his last game, the Pelicans needed just 23 minutes from Zion Williamson as they rolled over Orlando 135-100. Williamson still had 23 points, seven rebounds and two assists, so it was not a complete letdown for his fantasy proponents on Thursday. Things are projected to be much more competitive tonight, with New Orleans favored by a bucket at home against San Antonio. The Spurs rested several key players in their last game, and as long as DeMar DeRozan’s quad “injury” is minor, there is a strong likelihood that we see full run from Zion. Jakob Poeltl, Drew Eubanks, Gorgui Dieng and Keldon Johnson are not equipped to deal with someone like Williamson who should own the paint tonight.
Good Value
Detroit Pistons at Indiana Pacers
Miles Turner is out indefinitely with a toe injury, and Domantas Sabonis will be missing a third straight game with a sore back. Goga Bitadze left the last game with an ankle injury, but if he is healthy, this is a good matchup for him. In the event he is out, then we can look to Oshae Brissett, who logged an impressive 42 minutes in the Pacers’ last game. Malcolm Brogdon, Caris LeVert, T.J. McConnell and Edmond Sumner are the other Indiana players we should target. Their salary varies across the different DFS sites, so it is hard to give them a composite ranking without additional context such as roster construction and risk tolerance. The other wildcard is the status for Doug McDermott and Jeremy Lamb, who have both been dinged up for the last fortnight. If they are out, this is a tremendous opportunity for the other ambulatory Pacers.
Tonight we should see Jerami Grant, Mason Plumlee and Cory Joseph who have been resting every other game as the Pistons are trying to collect the most lottery balls in the upcoming draft. They are the primary targets with Saddiq Bey and Josh Jackson tournament dart throws. With both Grant and Plumlee likely to play, Isaiah Stewart is someone I will be avoiding in tournaments tonight.
Risky Value
Nikola Jokic: Denver Nuggets vs. Houston Rockets
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 55.35 | DraftKings: 58.21
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 29.8% | FanDuel 29.8% | DraftKings 45.2%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $56 | FanDuel $11,400 | DraftKings $10,900
Well, I certainly did not envision listing Nikola Jokic in this section today, yet here we are… of course, context is everything. This is a back-to-back for both the Nuggets and Rockets. We know that John Wall has already been ruled out for rest, and Christian Wood is doubtful with an ankle injury. David Nwaba, Eric Gordon, D.J. Augustine and Dante Exum remain out with various injuries. Kevin Porter Jr is still in the health and safety protocol, and both Jae’Sean Tate and Avery Bradley are questionable. That leaves Denver favored by a dozen points.
On the Nuggets side, Jamal Murray is out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL, Will Barton could miss up to two weeks with a hamstring injury and Paul Millsap is likely out for rest. While the Nuggets definitely need to bank this win, it remains to be seen how much of a fight Houston will be able to muster.
It is hard to see a scenario where Jokic tallies less than 40 fantasy points, except he only had 34.2 in 33 minutes last night in a crushing 118-97 defeat by the Warriors. We can go right back to the well again with Jokic. However, in tournaments, we may be better served looking to Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns, or Nikola Vucevic, who all have similar upsides to The Joker, but who are less popular and coming with discounted salaries by comparison.
Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies
- P.J. Dozier: DEN vs, HOU – $11
- Facundo Campazzo: DEN vs, HOU – $10
- K.J. Martin Jr.: HOU at DEN – $10
Final Thoughts on the Saturday, April 24th NBA DFS Slate
There is only one game tipping off in the first hour. 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.
