Friday wraps up the workweek with the NBA festivities locking at 7:00 p.m. ET on FanDuel and DraftKings. Let’s get into the top NBA DFS picks and building blocks, including Josh Giddey and Deni Avdija in the mix despite surging salaries, Sandro Mamukelashvili as the punt du jour on DraftKings and Nikola Jokic as a tournament target on FanDuel, coming off a 90-fantasy point masterpiece.
These picks are based on the latest available data. For real-time lineup updates, check out our NBA DFS Starting Lineups Page!
NBA DFS Picks Today – Building Blocks: Friday, April 4
NBA DFS Picks Today: Building Blocks
Sandro Mamukelashvili: Spurs vs. Cavaliers
NBA DFS Projections
DraftKings: 22.53 | FanDuel: 21.97
NBA DFS Ownership Projections
DraftKings: 31.1% | FanDuel: 1.4%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $3,700 | FanDuel: $4,700
For those of you playing on FanDuel, just get Nikola Jokic into your lineups. The blue site has included the final two games on the docket in its featured tournaments, and at $12,800, the three-time and reigning NBA MVP is projecting to be on less than 10% of all tournament lineups. He got a day of rest Wednesday after logging 52:38 in a double-overtime loss, where he had a 61-point triple-double. Denver only has a half-game lead over the Lakers and a 1.5-game lead on Golden State as the Nuggets hope to hold onto the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.
Sandro Mamukelashvili is looking like a strong discount dandy on DraftKings, where his salary is a full $1,000 less than on FanDuel. He had double-doubles in two of his last three games off the bench, and there should be plenty of time against the Cleveland backups with the Cavaliers 13-point road favorites tonight.
Chris Paul is also projecting well on DraftKings ($4,300, 41.3%), though he can be skipped on FanDuel ($5,300, 17.2%). There are enough pending news spots that we should see the soon-to-be 40-year-old with half of his current projected popularity once the music stops.
Stokastic gives the elder statesman a reasonable 26.1-minute projection, though much more than a minute or two over that would be a surprise. The game is in San Antonio, which does give Paul a couple different paths to more run. The least likely is the Spurs keeping this game close since they are without their main stars and keeping most of the other talent on shorter minutes with the season winding down. The second would be more run in the second half with the team going against the understudies from the Cavs, who are not the same lockdown defense.
That transpired against the Orlando Magic, when Paul had nine minutes in the fourth quarter, helping give Mamukelashvili, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie a veteran presence against a stronger opponent looking to make a comeback and ultimately close out a fourth quarter victory. That is the type of experience the youngsters need, and it is fruitless to give them that opportunity with the likes of Blake Wesley running the offense.
This is not a “go to the mattresses” type spot for Paul, but rather an explanation of his potential appeal. Keldon Johnson is the best San Antonio option on FanDuel ($5,200, 15.9%) as a decent small forward fit. He has some utility on DraftKings ($5,100, 12.0%), though with the more relaxed roster requirements, he is a placeholder value.
Stokastic’s NBA DFS Single Lineup Simulator is a groundbreaking tool that revolutionizes lineup building by providing data-driven simulations, making it a must-have for serious players. Check out how the Simulator evaluates this single lineup for today’s slate:
NBA DFS Picks Today: Building Blocks
Dalano Banton: Trail Blazers at Bulls
NBA DFS Projections
DraftKings: 43.04 | FanDuel: 41.12
NBA DFS Ownership Projections
DraftKings: 10.1% | FanDuel: 24.8%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $9,000 | FanDuel: $8,500
This is a rematch of Thursday’s game, though things have changed dramatically with Toumani Camara suffering an ankle injury last night, while Anfernee Simons (forearm) and Scoot Henderson (concussion) are both doubtful, trending towards missing their third and fourth consecutive games.
Duop Reath also tweaked his knee, further diluting the frontcourt depth, already missing Deandre Ayton, Robert Williams and Jerami Grant for the rest of the season.
Portland is going down swinging, still holding on to a puncher’s chance of gaining the three games needed to catch the Sacramento Kings for the final Western Conference Play-In Tournament slot. This, of course, assumes that the Phoenix Suns continue to implode, having lost the last four games and currently without the services of Kevin Durant.
Dalano Banton was a key asset in the Trail Blazers’ 112-103 victory last night. The Toronto native received a spot start against the Raptors, delivering 23 points, three rebounds and two assists in 37 minutes. The minutes and offensive opportunities will be there tonight, but it is up to the young guard to convert. Veteran Deni Avdija continues to rack up the fantasy goodness with an ever-climbing salary. There are enough discount dandies tonight that rolling with the former Washington Wizard should not be much of a challenge, even with him cresting over $9,000 on the main DFS sites.
Across his last dozen games, Avdija averaged 36.8 minutes and 16.3 field goal attempts with a stellar 52.6% success rate. He even had his long-range game on point, with a 47.1% conversion rate on 85 troikas during this timeframe. This resulted in 25.9 minutes, 11.2 (yes, not kidding) rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.7 “stocks” (combined blocks and steals).
Per the F-R-E-E Stokastic Starting Lineups page, it looks like Kris Murray is going to join the first five, which could have him as the punt du jour, depending on who else is out for Portland. Though he has not performed as well as his twin brother Keegan, the Trail Blazers did make him the 23rd selection in the 2023 NBA Draft, so the potential is there while he is still learning the ropes.
Shaedon Sharpe should get an uptick in opportunities and minutes with Simmons out, making him an interesting mid-tier target. Rookie Donovan Clingan has had mixed results, with tonight’s matchup expected to be more difficult than last night since Nikola Vucevic is a tough player to guard due to his proclivity for drifting out to the 3-point line.
Josh Giddey also continues to post ridiculous stat lines, which have been even better than Avdija’s. This has the Australian’s salary pushing five figures on DraftKings ($9,900, 15.9%) and FanDuel ($9,500, 19.1%), though with all of the shenanigans at this time of the season, there will be salary savers that facilitate rostering him. Over his last 10 games, he was close to a triple-double with 20.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 9.5 assists and 2.4 stocks in 32.7 minutes of run. Chicago has joined Miami in clinching Play-In Tournament slots, and the Bulls are half a game behind the Heat. The team with the better record will host the first game, and each could conceivably move up into the top 2. Miami’s loss last night has Chicago well positioned to make a move, which adds to both teams actually trying to win this freewheeling matchup between the Bulls and Blazers.
Coby White, rookie Matas Buzelis and Vucevic are the only Bulls worthy of rostering outside of Giddey. Now that Chicago is mostly back to full strength, the salaries are less forgiving, having risen over the last couple of weeks to a lofty level. White looks intriguing on the pick’em sites for more than 31.5 PRA (points + rebounds + assists). There is no issue with salary caps in that format, which is another way to take advantage of projections.
In that same vein, we can look at players on Toronto like Immanuel Quickley. Toronto has been alternating games off with Quickley and Jakob Poeltl as one pairing and RJ Barrett and Ochai Agbaji as another. Last night it was Barrett and Agbaji playing, so the expectations are that Quickly and Poeltl will start tonight. There is a good chance that Scottie Barnes will also be out, and while all of the Toronto regulars seem to have a mid-20s “soft” minutes cap, looking to someone like Quickley for over 26.5 PRA makes sense with his efficiency already having him close to that as his median projection. If Barnes is out, we could see Quickley with a couple extra ticks on the court, still staying under 30 minutes but also gaining additional opportunities that could push him over his milestone.
Today’s Top Sports Betting Picks
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No single bet defines a profitable night, just like no one DFS lineup guarantees a bink.
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Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today
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