NBA DFS Picks for April 18 2021

We have a ridiculous slate tonight. There are only five games on this one and we did not have a ton of value as of this morning. However, we just got the news that the Toronto Raptors are going to be resting more players than we have seen from them all season. In consequence, Toronto has become a necessary smash spot on this team, as we have a ton of value on the Raptors. We have more then enough cheap plays on this slate, as a few of the cheaper guys on Toronto look fantastic tonight. We are going a stars and scrubs build tonight, as we have a ton of cheap value we want to play around with. We have just remade our entire lineup, as it is hard to feel good about a lineup that does not have multiple Raptors tonight. 

Here’s a stars and scrubs lineup For DFS Basketball 4/18/21 (using DraftKings Values)

As it has been the case on a lot of these slates, we have more then enough value to pay up for whoever we want tonight. In consequence, we are looking for the guy who looks best from a raw points perspective, and we land on Luka Doncic. Doncic is the top DFS producer available on the slate, as he is averaging over 55 FPTS on the season. Doncic has an incredible matchup against the Kings tonight, who we often mention as one of our favorite matchup targets. Doncic went for 63.5 FPTS last game, and we are hoping to get one of those big superstar performances in this spot. Doncic is $10,900, which we can pay for easily, and if he goes for one of his big nights he will be a must have regardless of price.

The Raptors were fined $25,000 after last game for there resting three healthy guys. Obviously, $25,000 is not enough to deter the Raptors, as they are somehow resting even more players tonight. Toronto is missing each of there top four players tonight, and everyone in the rotation is pretty much a smash. One guy who looks great in this spot is Paul Watson. We are getting Watson cheap tonight at $3,700. We know he has some great upside, as he went for 44 FPTS last game. Obviously, we do not expect Watson to go for over 40 FPTS, however we do expect him to see another massive opportunity with all the guys out. Watson should easily give us solid value tonight, as he is not priced for an adequate role in Toronto.

Aside from the Raptors tonight, the primary injury news we are dealing with is that Damian Lillardis going to be sidelined for tonight. We have a lot of good value from Portland and would be getting to more of it if not for the Toronto news that broke. However, we still want some exposure to Portland, and are happy getting it in Norman Powell. Powell is a top usage guy, and it did not take long for him to show that he is one of the top dogs in Portland. We are getting Powell at a good price of $6,300 tonight, as we know he has some serious upside. Powell has been playing huge minutes lately and he has taken massive usage without Lillard in the past. Someone on Portland will likely be in for a massive game here, as they have a good matchup with the Hornets. Powell has great upside and some of the other Portland guys have been priced up for this one.

As we mentioned it is all Toronto for us tonight, as they are resting their biggest clump of guys we have seen yet. Malachi Flynn has really had found his moment to shine through all of Toronto’s egregious tanking, and we are going right back to him tonight. Flynn has been priced up to $5,900 over the last few weeks, however he is still way too cheap for the role he will have to play tonight. Flynn should get the start at point for Toronto tonight, and he will be one of their only players that can create offense. Flynn should be in for over 30 minutes tonight regardless of if it stays close or not, as Toronto is just giving run to the young rookie. Flynn feels very solid in this spot, and we have seen some mammoth games from him before throughout this stretch.

Yuta Watanabe – PF ($3,600 DK) Watanabe has been an enticing value option for a few slates now due to his role in Toronto’s rotation and his near-minimum price. Watanabe was one of our favorite plays on the last slate, and he absolutely delivered with 33.5 FPTS. Watanabe has been solid on most slates recently, as he has needed to play solid minutes for Toronto. The Raptors are missing so many guys tonight, and we are expecting some solid run from Watanabe. Watanabe may not show the same upside he did last game, but he should play enough minutes for some solid value here.

Chris Boucher – C ($7,300 DK) Boucher has been one of the least consistent DFS producers in the NBA This season. Boucher is probably the riskiest of all the Raptors guys we will mention, as he does not hit value in a lot of his games. However, Boucher gives us some of the best upside on the entire slate. He should be in for massive usage tonight as he is one of the top scoring options available for the Raptors. Furthermore, we know Boucher’s playing style makes him a dynamic DFS producer, and he should have his hands all over this one. Boucher has had some of the biggest performances out of anyone in the league this season on his big nights, and that is what we are hoping for with this play.

Kevin Porter Jr. – G ($6,600 DK) John Wall is out for tonight, along with the Myriad of Rockets who have been dealing with injury issues for a little while now. Like Boucher, Porter is another high risk/high reward play, but we want to highlight his upside for this one. Porter shot one for nine last game and only put up 13.25 FPTS. However, the role he is in for tonight is a lot bigger without Wall, and he could be one of the top plays on the slate with a good shooting night. Porter went for over 50 FPTS a few games ago and we know he has that upside. We saw him have a string of massive games on high usage when he first went to Houston, and we are hoping to see that scenario again tonight.

Gary Trent Jr. – F ($5,600 DK) Saving the best for last here, as Trent may be our favorite play on the entire slate. Outside of Center’s Trent is the only Toronto guy playing today who sees high usage when everyone is Healthy. Toronto is missing so many guys tonight, and we expect Trent to play a fantastic minute’s load here. Trent is a high usage guy, and that should go up with all the low usage guys cracking the rotation tonight. We have seen Trent absolutely dominate in games when Toronto had a lot of injuries, scoring over 60 FPTS one game last week. No doubt Trent will have a huge opportunity here, and we could see another big game.

Here’s a stars and scrubs lineup for DFS Basketball 4/18/21 (using FanDuel Values)

Tyrese Haliburton – SG (5,400 FD) Haliburton is another guy who brings a lot of variance in his production. Haliburton has failed to hit value in this spot, but he has also showed us some big nights. The minutes have been great all season for Haliburton and we typically see him play 30 or more minutes. Haliburton is averaging 28.2 FPTS on the season, and we are getting him at a solid price here.  

Jae’Sean Tate – PF (5,900 FD) The rockets are going to be gutted tonight and we love getting to Tate at this price point. Tate is one of the only healthy forwards for Houston tonight, and he should be in for a massive minute’s night. Tate went for over 40 FPTS last game, and we have seen nice upside from him all season. With all the guys out, we are betting on another big game from Tate.

Harrison Barnes – PF (5,800 FD) Barnes is averaging over 30 FPTS per game and is a solid deal in this spot. Barnes is another guy we want for the upside, as he can easily go for over 40 FPTS. Barnes does not hit value every night, but we do see him go for huge value somewhat consistently. The Kings have a solid matchup with Dallas tonight and it could be a big game for Barnes.

Good luck tonight, a lot of options packed into a small slate with this one.

Go win your lineup and tell us how you did. Twitter (@FantasyDFSX) is a good place for that.