NBA

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Tuesday 4/6/21

Nikola Vucevic has been dominating in his brief time with the Bulls. Is he someone to build around tonight?

With eight games to choose from on Tuesday's slate -- which locks at 7:00 p.m. EST -- let's look at the top options across all five positions for NBA DFS.

Be sure to check out our projections, which are updated throughout the day as news breaks, and our other DFS tools such as advanced stats and a matchup heat map.

Here are some of the top plays on today's DraftKings slate. As always, good luck.

Point Guard

Lonzo Ball ($7,500) - On Tuesday, the New Orleans Pelicans are going to be without both Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Josh Hart in the backcourt, and that should lead to more playmaking and playing time for Ball. Ball returned from nearly a month's absence on Sunday to play 37 minutes, rack up 27 points and finish with 52.5 DraftKings points. He also benefited from the missing Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, whom remain questionable heading into this one. Ball might be a lock regardless of the status of the two stars.

Malachi Flynn ($3,900) - Speaking of locks, it's hard to not love Flynn in this spot. The Toronto Raptors are most likely going to be down their own starting backcourt, in Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet, which should amount to a boost in playing time and opportunities for the rookie guard. In the last two games (both off the bench), Flynn has turned 31 and 33 minutes into 33.25 and 43 DK points, respectively. Not only has he been scoring, but he added a combined seven blocks and steals on Monday. It's not hard to see him putting up another big performance against the shorthanded Lakers.

Shooting Guard

Zach LaVine ($7,800) - It seemed like a night off was all LaVine needed to get his scoring ways back on track. Following up two straight sub-20-point games, the All-Star took a seat to rest an ankle injury only to go for 23 and 25 in the last two, including a much-needed win over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. When he's scoring at his typical levels, LaVine is a 35-to-40 DK point guy with upside for much more. The roster shakeup might not be settled quite yet, but he's scoring efficiently and should do so again versus the Pacers. Indiana is 15th in defensive rating since the All-Star break, allowing 111.4 points per 100, according to NBA.com.

Caris LeVert ($7,200) - This game is worthy of a mini-stack of sorts, given the 1.5-point spread in the home team's favor, according to NBA Finals odds. On the Indiana side, you would typically see love for Domantas Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon, but they are potentially out another game. Last time out, LeVert took advantage to the tune of 26 points, 9 assists, and 51 DK points. As long as the other two are out he's going to out-produce his salary-implied total of 36 fantasy points. Chicago's defense is improved, but not enough to outweigh LeVert's potential workload.

Small Forward

Gary Trent Jr. ($6,200) - Trent has been killing it so far in Toronto. Through six games to date, he has scored at least 15 points on four occasions, all while averaging 34 DK points in his four most recent matchups. He's shot better than 45% in three straight, and while Lowry and VanVleet are out he's seen a boost in usage. Given the Lakers' injury issues, the Raptors are actually favored by 2.5 on Tuesday night.

Bogdan Bogdanovic ($6,200) - If you're sensing a theme here, it's because there is one, revolving around injuries and injury replacements. For Atlanta, they should get Clint Capela back, but De'Andre Hunter had surgery while John Collins, Cam Reddish, and Kris Dunn remain out. That's allowed Bogdanovic to finally carve out his role alongside Trae Young, averaging 21.5 points and 43.1 DK points in the last four contests alone. He's getting up shots and playing north of 30 minutes on a consistent basis. If you aren't feeling Trent on the back-to-back, Bogdanovic is the perfect pivot for you.

Power Forward

Giannis Antetokounmpo ($10,700) - Giannis is looking to bounce back from a one-game absence due to injury. He'll do so against a Golden State team that is playing at a pace 0.7 possessions faster than Milwaukee this year, and though they are a top-10 defensive team on the year, they have fallen down to 25th in the last five games. For those reasons alone, we should expect a high-scoring game with Giannis and Stephen Curry going back and forth in the primetime matchup. There's no reason to fade Giannis on a slate like this.

James Johnson ($5,200) - Johnson is getting a lot of run and doing things with it without Zion in the lineup. Stepping in as the primary power forward, the veteran has logged 28, 29, and 33 minutes in the last three, tallying 35.8 DK points per game thanks to 17 points and 12 shot attempts a night. Again, keep your eye out for news around Williamson's go or no-go. He would be someone to steer well clear of if Williamson is going to be back in there in his usual role versus Atlanta.

Center

Nikola Vucevic ($8,700) - At center, there is some viability to building around Joel Embiid, but why use so much of your available salary when Vucevic is in a good matchup of his own? In his new home, the former Orlando Magic center has shot 53% and has averaged 1.39 DK points per minute in five games as he clicks with LaVine and company. Now, he draws a Pacers squad that allows 55 DK points per game to opposing centers, and that could be furthered by Sabonis being inactive.

Jaxson Hayes ($4,100) - In addition to Alexander-Walker, Ingram, and Williamson, the Pels could be missing the services of center Steven Adams, who was put into the concussion protocol, per coach Stan Van Gundy. If he's forced to miss the contest, it will allow Hayes to make his fourth start of the season after most recently starting back-to-back games for New Orleans. In that two-game stretch, he scored in double figures twice and averaged 23.1 DK points. He could return some monster value down low if both Adams and Williamson are out.



Brett Oswalt i
s not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Brett Oswalt also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username BRO14THEKID. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.