NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks for Thursday, April 15th | Devin Booker

NBA DFS action on Thursday, April 15, locks at 7:30 p.m. ET with a four-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 Devin Booker, Stephen Curry and more.

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NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks, Thursday, April 15th

Yahoo Play of the Day — Devin Booker: Phoenix Suns vs. Sacramento Kings

• Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 36.91 | DraftKings: 39.46

• Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 34.2% | FanDuel 29.0% | DraftKings 20.6%

• DFS Salary: Yahoo $35 | FanDuel $9,000 | DraftKings $8,700

Today Yahoo has gifted close to a 20% discount with Devin Booker’s $35 salary. On tap tonight is a cherry matchup with the Kings, who lost last night in Sacramento to the Wizards 123-111. Richaun Holmes (hamstring) missed last night’s game and is out again tonight, which has led to the Suns being listed as 12.5-point home favorites.

Despite being saddled with an eight-game losing streak, the Kings have not been blown out in this recent stretch. They have enough firepower to potentially hang around long enough for the Suns’ starters to see something close to their normal fantasy production. Skipping his last game where he only played 22.5 minutes in a blowout win, Booker has been a fantasy goldmine, averaging 45.2 Yahoo fantasy points in his other seven most recent games. In this stretch he has topped 50 Yahoo fantasy points three times, and his two worst games were 32.3 fantasy points against the Clippers and 39.9 against Houston.

Stephen Curry: Golden State Warriors at Cleveland Cavaliers

• Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 48.02 | DraftKings: 51.54

• Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 29% | FanDuel 31.4% | DraftKings 28.6%

• DFS Salary: Yahoo $49 | FanDuel $10,500 | DraftKings $10,600

Last night the Warriors cruised to a 147-109 victory in Oklahoma City. Stephen Curry was sublime, dropping 42 points and shooting 11-for-16 from behind the arc in just 29 minutes. This is the second game of Golden State’s current five-game swing through the East Coast, but the other games all will have a day off in between. The Warriors are in the thick of things for the play-in tournament, and if they can bank a few more wins, they will be able to play the role of host. The Warriors are 7.5-point road favorites, and he works as a core play across the NBA DFS board tonight. On Yahoo he can be paired with Draymond Green at $31 as part of a synergistic strategy.

Dennis Schroder: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Boston Celtics

• Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 31.25 | DraftKings: 32.66

• Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 30.4% | FanDuel 25.8% | DraftKings 23.0%

• DFS Salary: Yahoo $23 | FanDuel $6,600 | DraftKings $6,300

Boston is by no means an easy matchup, but with the increase in field-goal attempts that Dennis Schroder is seeing without LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the downside is somewhat mitigated by volume. While this is not a flashy play, the key selling point is secure minutes and a strong likelihood of 30 to 35 fantasy points. On a short slate that could potentially be without Giannis Antetokounmpo and/or Trae Young, finding raw points may become crucial.

Good Value

Phoenix Suns vs. Sacramento Kings

The Suns are projected to score 123.5 points against the defensively challenged Kings. That is nearly 10 points more than their season average, and the secondary options should see ample run in the second half. The first three reserves to consider are Cameron Payne, Cameron Johnson and Dario Saric. Payne should see ample run in place of Chris Paul if the Suns get out to a comfortable lead. Dario Saric matches up well against the Kings, who are running out of imposing frontcourt options. Johnson is available at a favorable salary across the DFS world, and he is a masterful performer in garbage time. The wild card will be Torrey Craig, though on the two-game late slate he is in play for his ability to rack up blocks and steals while playing against the Sacramento reserves.

Risky Value

Chris Paul: Phoenix Suns vs. Sacramento Kings

• Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 35.56 | DraftKings: 36.45

• Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 27.8% | FanDuel 24.4% | DraftKings 18.8%

• DFS Salary: Yahoo $32 | FanDuel $8,000 | DraftKings $7,900

There are just eight teams in the player pool and Antetokounmpo and/or Young could miss, which is going to limit the top-shelf options. Awesemo’s NBA DFS projections have that duo in, though if one or both are out, the popularity of Paul could rise in the neighborhood of 10% more than the figures above, landing him on around one-third of all rosters.

This is not a bad thing when looking for a safe fantasy floor. However, it could be something that limits upside when considering that the Suns are favored by over a dozen points. Plus, Paul could get some in-game rest before next week’s five-game East Coast swing.

Awesemo’s Boom/Bust tool gives Paul a 13.3% chance of landing in the DraftKings optimal lineup. He is projecting to be rostered 18.8%, which gives him a -5.4 leverage score. However, if Antetokounmpo or Young are out, that will push his popularity even higher than his slightly increased chance of being in the optimal lineup, generating a worse leverage score.

Think of it this way: There is just a 7.4% chance of Paul exceeding his boom score (5x salary + 10) of 49.5 DraftKings points. Conversely, there is a 63.2% chance of him failing to reach his bust score (5x salary) of 39.5 DraftKings points. While these probabilities are similar to his teammate Devin Booker, which player would head to the bench first if Phoenix puts away the Kings early? In tournaments, while it is not going to be comfortable, letting other gamers assume the risk of “only” 30 of 35 DraftKings points from Paul is not a bad strategy.

Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies

1. Kevin Huerter: ATL vs. MIL – $10

2. Kevon Looney: GSW vs. CLE – $10

3. Hassan Whiteside: SAC at PHX – $10

Final Thoughts on the Thursday, April 15th NBA DFS Slate

Though there are only four games, four teams (Warriors, Cavaliers, Kings, Bucks) are on the second legs of back-to-backs, and there is a twin-bill 10 p.m. ET nightcap that could spawn unexpected, late-breaking news. 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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