The Oklahoma City Thunder took tanking to an all-new level last night, as they refused to play the likes of Aaron Wiggins and Lindy Waters due to their ability to score the ball. The Thunder are our biggest priority on tonight’s six-game NBA DFS slate, but there is a ton of value across the slate. We have made it to an interesting point in the season where winnings games are essential for some teams and somewhat irrelevant for other teams. We are typically looking to spend up for studs from teams that need to win, while we are looking at the tanking/resting teams for cheaper value.
Here’s Two Core Plays For DFS Basketball 4/6/22 (using DraftKings Values)
| Point Guard | T. Young | $10,500 | |
| Shooting Guard | |||
| Small Forward | G. Kalaitzakis | $3,000 | |
| Power Forward | |||
| Center | |||
| Guard | |||
| Forward | |||
| Utility |
We mentioned how we are looking for must-win teams to spend up for, as they are more likely to take on playoff-level minutes. Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks are currently neck and neck with the Brooklyn Nets for the eight seed, which is key for play-in seeding. Young has played high 30s in minutes in each of the past two games, and we expect that to be the case again tonight. Young scored 60.5 and 55 FPTS respectively in the last two, so he has a ton of upside tonight with a great matchup against the Washington Wizards.
The Oklahoma City Thunder chose not to play Theo Maledon, Aleksej Pokusevski, or Aaron Wiggins last time out, despite all those guys being healthy. We expect OKC to continue their egregious level of tanking for tonight’s slate, which means we are all over some of these cheaper guys. We are not going to pretend like we knew who Georgios Kalaitzakis is a week ago, but we know that 43 minutes at $3,000 is always enticing. He went for 26.75 FPTS last night, and all these Thunder guys have the upside to explode with the opportunity coming their way.
Here’s a Fade DFS Basketball 4/6/22 (using DraftKings Values)
There are a lot of stars we want to get to tonight based on their price tags and matchups, so we have pretty high standards for who we want to spend up for here. Paul George will be a fade for us here, as he is looking at a tough matchup against the Phoenix Suns. George is also too expensive tonight at $9,500, as we can get to great plays like DeMar DeRozan for around $1,000 less.
Here Is What Your Get If You Subscribe For $15 Per Month or $99 For The Year…
• Two budget guards who should see massive floor time.
• A starting forward who is way too cheap.
• A star center with a fantastic matchup.
• A few key questionable tags we are watching for.
Point Guard
Alec Burks – ($6,600 DK) We have been getting to the Knicks a lot for DFS lately, as Julius Randle has been shut down for the rest of the season. Burks has gone over 39 FPTS in three of the past four outings, as he has been taking on some massive usage. Burks has a ton of upside in this spot, and we are happy betting on him with a great matchup against Brooklyn.
Shooting Guard
Kevin Huerter – ($5,200 DK) As we mentioned with Young the Hawks are in must-win mode right now, so we have seen their starters play major minutes. Huerter has been great over the past few weeks, going well over 30 FPTS in five of the past six outings. Due to his recent productivity, it is surprising to find Huerter so cheap in this spot, but we are not going to complain about the value.
Deni Avdija – ($5,400 DK) Avdija is a guy we have been talking about a lot lately, as he has been productive in the absence of Kyle Kuzma. Avdija showed his upside last time with 40 FPTS and he has gone over 30 FPTS in every game that has stayed competitive since Kuzma got hurt.
Jaylen Hoard – ($5,000 DK) Hoard has played three games with the Oklahoma City Thunder, and he has hit the 20-rebound mark in two of them. Hoard played 46 minutes in the last game and totally smashed with 61.75 FPTS. Hoard is a tough guy to predict at this point, as we obviously cannot expect him to keep up this rebounding rate. However, it seems likely he continues to play massive run here, and he clearly has upside as a DFS producer.
Obi Toppin – ($5,600 DK) Toppin has seen much more floor time since Julius Randle got hurt, and he has gone well over 30 FPTS in back-to-back games. We may be a little concerned about Toppin’s floor time if this game stays competitive, but it seems more likely the Nets run with this one.
General strategy
This slate is revolving around the Thunder, as the potential value, they offer simply cannot be matched. We are eager to see who the Thunder decide to start here, as they could fall back on the deeper rotation involving Maledon and Pokusevski. However, if the Thunder go back to the same starting unit we saw last time we will be very high on them here. All the Thunder starters from the last game look solid if they start here, and the guys we mentioned are absolute priorities. Keep an eye on the news here, as we could find out more teams are going to start tanking.
