NBA Fantasy: DraftKings + FanDuel Projections & High-Upside Plays 5/18

Today’s NBA DFS slate features the start of the play-in tournament. With this underway, I figured we wouldn’t see much injury drama, but this is far from the truth. I have already had to rewrite this entire column because Caris LeVert was placed in the health and safety protocols. This mostly likely will end his season, or at the very least makes him somebody we won’t have to worry about on FanDuel and DraftKings for some time. This also opens up potential value on the Pacers. A number of players on Indiana have favorable projections and come looking solid in the Awesemo NBA DFS Boom vs. Bust Tool.

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DraftKings + FanDuel Boom/Bust Projections | May 18

NBA Fantasy Picks: DraftKings + FanDuel Boom Candidates

Tristan Thompson vs. Wizards: $4,800 DraftKings/$4,400 FanDuel

49.2% DraftKings Boom/65.4% FanDuel Boom

Thompson has the best boom rating on FanDuel and DraftKings tonight. Even though Robert Williams is expected to return to action, he probably will not play a heavy workload. He missed each of the last four games with a toe injury, and Boston has played it cautious with his health all season. This leaves Thompson to play the bulk of the center minutes. He is cheap, in a favorable matchup and is averaging 29 minutes per game across his last four contests. In the Awesemo NBA DFS projections, Thompson is a top-10 point-per-dollar value play.

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Domantas Sabonis vs. Hornets: $10,000 DraftKings/$10,300 FanDuel

30.8% DraftKings Boom/32.1% FanDuel Boom

This is a tricky situation with a lot of variables. As the slate currently stands, Sabonis rates out as the expensive option with the top boom rating. He is even better in the projections than Russell Westbrook. The problem is that Sabonis is currently questionable to play. This comes in addition to Malcolm Brogdon also getting listed as questionable with Caris LeVert out. Since this is an elimination game for the Pacers, Sabonis will likely play and get as many minutes as he can handle. Other than a game he left due to an injury against the Bucks, Sabonis has scored at least 55 DraftKings points in seven of his last eight games — and he’s coming in right around that number (54.96) again in Awesemo’s NBA DFS projections tonight.

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NBA Fantasy Picks: DraftKings + FanDuel Bust Candidates

Ish Smith vs. Celtics: $3,900 DraftKings/$4,700 FanDuel

74.1% DraftKings Bust/81.3% FanDuel Bust

Smith was a hero for the Wizards in their last game. The Wizards needed a win to move up to the ninth seed, and Smith helped pull Washington back into the game after the team got off to a slow start. He ended up playing 32 minutes and scoring 36 DraftKings points. While it is not defensible to totally fade anybody on a two-game slate, Smith could pick up a bit more ownership than is warranted after his last game. It was only the second time he scored over 30 fantasy points all season, so a repeat performance is not likely. Another key here is that Raul Neto is probable to play. He missed last game, which boosted Smith’s playing time.

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Author

Greg Ehrenberg

Greg is a former stand up comedian who quit telling jokes to pursue a career in the world of DFS. He started playing fantasy sports in 6th grade when Greg and his friends would skip classes to meet in the bathroom for 20 team fantasy basketball drafts. Considering his current career path, it was the best education he could have asked for.