Friday is the penultimate day of the regular season, with Sunday being the finale. Tonight the action gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on DraftKings and FanDuel. There are several options in the player pool worth analyzing to find the top NBA DFS building blocks and NBA DFS picks. Let’s dig into the NBA DFS picks and core plays like Jordan Poole, Grizzlies galore and other recommended options.
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NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: Friday, April 12
NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks
Jordan Poole: Wizards vs. Bulls
Stokastic’s Fantasy Point Projections
DraftKings: 35.98 | FanDuel: 34.35
Stokastic’s Rostership Projections
DraftKings: 7.4% | FanDuel: 26.7%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $7,700 | FanDuel: $7,400
Kyle Kuzma is out and several players are listed on the afternoon injury report as questionable with an illness. This includes Jordan Poole, Deni Avdija and Eugene Omoruyi. If Poole and Avdija are starting, they should be considered a full-go. In the event only one answers the bell, it would make them a core play.
If neither suit up, then the Wizards will be providing plenty of value options on what is shaping up to be a chaotic slate.
Chicago won last night in Detroit, crushing the Pistons 127-105. They also have the tiebreaker against Atlanta, and considering the Bulls can’t move up, it would not be a surprise to see the likes of Nikola Vucevic, DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso and Coby White get the night off. Keep in mind that Andre Drummond is hurt, so we could see the remaining understudies get a healthy helping of minutes against a weak defensive squad.
Patrick Baldwin Jr. has posted 75 total fantasy points over the last two games in just over 72 minutes. The more players who are out, the better positioned he will be to continue that trend. Corey Kispert is also in play as he would become the secondary scoring option if one of Poole or Avdija sit and he can at least sort of create his own space. Rookie Tristan Vukcevic sat the last game, with a sore knee, but he is in play as well if he returns to action with the first five.
Jordan Goodwin: Grizzlies vs. Lakers
Stokastic’s Fantasy Point Projections
DraftKings: 35.89 | FanDuel: 34.94
Stokastic’s Rostership Projections
DraftKings: 52.1% | FanDuel: 56.7%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $5,900 | FanDuel: $6,100
Memphis is pretty much starting a group of players who are unlikely to get any minutes with the team next season. That is not a particularly bold statement, considering that eight of the top 10 players are on the injured list.
The Lakers are now in a three way tie with Sacramento and Golden State, with the bottom portion of the Play-In Tournament seeding still up for grabs.
Anthony Davis (eye) has indicated that he will play, while LeBron James is questionable, but we know the drill by this point. It is a key game and unless the Lakers elect to just rest the next two games, it makes sense to go for it tonight and see what unfolds for Sunday’s strategy.
That means Memphis could play the spoiler and we have seen short-handed teams be feisty all season with upsets. That is unlikely tonight as Los Angeles has been installed as 15 point road favorites, but it could help in pushing the regulars to play into the fourth quarter. Among those looking to keep things spicy is Jordan Goodwin. The Grizzlies are the second team that Goodwin has played for this year and the third in the last two seasons. He came over from Washington as part of the Bradley Beal transaction, seeing minutes off the bench in 40 games before being dealt to the Brooklyn Nets as part of a three-way deal that saw him released the next day. He was then picked up by Memphis and has now moved into the starting lineup due to all of the injured players.
To his credit, Goodwin has shown enough that he will probably remain in the league for a couple more seasons, which is not bad for a four-year college player who was undrafted. He does a little bit of everything, including some defense, but nothing particularly well. But tonight he should get minutes and usage, which is all that is required by DFS gamers.
Memphis will have eight players, but identifying the last two could be a little tricky. Maozinha Pereira was released and now Lamar Stevenson is hurt, so that leaves Gregory “GG” Jackson, Scotty Pippen Jr., Jake LaRavia, Trey Jemison and Zavier Simpson. In the battle of create-a-players, Timmy Allen and Jack White got 30 combined minutes in the last game, so they are likely to round out the roster with perhaps one more 10-day contract guy or one of the injured players suiting up as “active” but not leaving the bench.
Davis and LeBron are very much in play, with Rui Hachimura as the other intriguing option who has been making some noise covering the frontcourt positions.
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Today’s Top Sports Betting Pick
Andrew Wiggins is someone to short in the sports wagering market with his under 14.5 points prop looking like a wager to target at -120 on BetMGM and Hard Rock.
By using OddsShopper to do the heavy lifting when researching favorable bets, we can quickly spot inefficient lines like this one, and having accounts at multiple sportsbooks allows us to pivot to the best number quickly.
Per the true odds of -120 (how OddsShopper measures the potential expected ROI of a given wager), this opportunity has a steady 4.0% positive expected ROI as a function of the inefficient line.
NBA Bet Pro currently has Wiggins projected for 29.6 minutes and 13.78 points. Golden State has won nine of the last 10 games and could move as high as the No. 8 seed over the next 72-hours with a little luck and help. Sunday they play Utah, which should not be too much of a problem, so the matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans is the crucial win. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green did not play last night, so they should be fresh tonight. They also are going to take away offensive opportunities from Wiggins.
For the season, Wiggins is averaging a career low 27.0 minutes and 13.1 points per game. He is typically the third if, if not the fourth offensive option when he is on the court and that makes it tricky for him to reach 15 points tonight. He could get there with efficiency and a little luck, but in his last five games he has scored 15, 17, 10, 23 and four points. Courtesy of the tightened rotation, over the last fortnight he has typically seen around a dozen field goal attempt’s per game, while converting just over 45% this season.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today
Get all the latest news and updates tonight on the Stokastic NBA Live Before Lock Show starting at 6 p.m. ET on YouTube, breaking down all of the key elements for today’s slate. Brought to you by Sleeper – new users, use this link to receive a $500 first deposit match! Full details here.
