NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks for Monday, April 12th | Donovan Mitchell
NBA DFS action on Monday, April 12, locks at 7:30 p.m. ET with a nine-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 Joe Ingles, Donovan Mitchell and more.
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NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks, Monday, April 12th
Yahoo Play of the Day — Joe Ingles: Utah Jazz vs. Washington Wizards
Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 31.78 | DraftKings: 34.44
Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 41.4% | FanDuel 37.6% | DraftKings 29.0%
DFS Salary: Yahoo $16 | FanDuel $5,500 | DraftKings $5,700
While Ingles is doubling as the most popular play on Yahoo, do not miss out on this one. Mike Conley is out for load management, though he is expected to be ready for tomorrow’s matchup against the Thunder. Jordan Clarkson is dealing with an ankle injury and will likely miss his third straight game. This should mean another spot start for Ingles, along with his duties as the main facilitator when Donovan Mitchell is off the court.
When these teams squared off in Washington a few weeks ago, the Wizards actually pulled off a 131-122 upset by shooting 54.7% from the field. Conley also missed that game, and even with Clarkson playing, Ingles saw 33 minutes and produced 49 Yahoo fantasy points. While that is no guarantee of tonight’s production level, it was nice to see.
Donovan Mitchell: Utah Jazz vs. Washington Wizards
Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 47.58 | DraftKings: 50.95
Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 39.2% | FanDuel 46.8% | DraftKings 37.6%
DFS Salary: Yahoo $42 | FanDuel $9,000 | DraftKings $9,200
Mitchell made this article on Saturday since he was taking on Sacramento and Clarkson was missing that game. Clearly Mitchell did not disappoint, with 42 points, three rebounds, four assists, one block and one steal on his way to 57.6 Yahoo points. NBA WOWY shows that Mitchell is averaging a solid 1.22 Yahoo points per minute. In nearly 400 minutes without Clarkson or Conley, he sees a 10 to 12% increase in fantasy production. Much like Ingles, back in mid-March Mitchell rolled up 57.8 fantasy points during a loss in Washington.
Nikola Jokic: Denver Nuggets at Golden State Warriors
Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 52.88 | DraftKings: 55.13
Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 8% | FanDuel 16.8% | DraftKings 23.6%
DFS Salary: Yahoo $55 | FanDuel $10,800 | DraftKings $10,400
The Nuggets lost at home to Boston yesterday, managing just 8 points in the fourth quarter. It wasn’t like coach Mike Malone emptied the bench either, with all of the starters seeing action until the final few minutes. Jokic did get pulled a little quicker than the rest, which held him under 32 minutes. That bodes well for his prospects of seeing closer to 36 minutes today.
Golden State has been frisky, winning two of its last three games, and three of its last four have been decided by just under 3.5 points on average. While the Warriors will be without Kelly Oubre, the Nuggets traveling on the back-to-back are just 4.5-point road favorites. Denver has four of its next six games on the road and needs to hold serve at a minimum to stay in the top half of the Western Conference playoff picture.
The Nuggets host Miami on Wednesday before heading to Houston on Friday. Then it is back to Denver for a game with the Grizzles before a two-game road trip to Portland before wrapping up in Golden State once more 11 days from now. That is a lot of traveling in a short period of time, so they need to secure the win tonight.
Good Value
Brooklyn Nets at Minnesota Timberwolves
Buckle up, this is going to be a wild one. Brooklyn will be without James Harden for at least another 10 days, and Kyrie Irving is tending to a personal matter. LaMarcus Aldridge is out with a non-COVID illness, and Blake Griffin unlikely to play more than 20 to 22 minutes. Despite being short-handed and having gotten crushed by the Lakers on Saturday, the Nets are still favored in this matchup on the road by half a dozen.
This is a back-to-back for Minnesota, which as a rule generally does not put any energy towards defense. This game has a 235 projected point total, and there are several discount dandies to target from Brooklyn. Nicolas Claxton is a top NBA DFS pick with his near-minimum salary across the DFS world, and anything shy of a double-double will be a disappointment. Bruce Brown and Joe Harris will be starting alongside Claxon and Kevin Durant, which should have them playing a secure 30 to 32 minutes.
Jeff Green is not cheap, but he also projects for around 30 minutes. Landry Shamet has played in just three of the last 10 games after dealing with a sprained ankle and falling out of the rotation. He projects for 22 to 25 minutes.
Durant may approach 28 to 30 minutes, but it is hard to see him with more than that, which makes him untenable at his current salary. Chris Chiozza has seen wonky minutes, so it would be nice to see him as a starter. Finally, there are wild cards in the productive but inconsistent Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and the recently signed Alize Johnson. If either of these guys start, pencil them in for around 25 minutes; if they are coming off the bench, then it would not be a surprise if they play 25 minutes or fail to surpass 15 minutes, depending on the whims of coach Steve Nash.
Risky Value
Los Angeles Lakers at New York Knicks
The Knicks have one of the best defenses in the league under coach Tom Thibodeau, and they are playing at the slowest pace in the league. This year the Lakers have the best defensive efficiency rating in the league, allowing 105.5 points per 100 possessions. Over their last 10 games, all of which have been without LeBron James and Anthony Davis, they have been even better, allowing just 103 points per 100 possessions. Additionally, the acquisition of Andre Drummond has muddled the frontcourt rotation, making nearly everyone except him unplayable.
Yes, this is one of Julius Randle’s former teams, but he last played for them in 2017 and only Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma and Alex Caruso were on the squad when he was. This is a tough matchup for both sides, one gamers can confidently cross out of the player pool.
Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies
Mohamed Bamba: ORL vs. SAS – $13
Jaden McDaniels: MIN vs. BKN – $12
Kent Bazemore: GSW vs. DEN – $10
Final Thoughts on the Monday, April 12th NBA DFS Slate
Tonight nine teams are on the second legs of back-to-backs, and three teams are on the front end. Be on the lookout for unexpected news after lock. 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.
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