NBA DFS Picks for April 19 2021

 Tonight’s slate looks a lot like what we have seen all season, multiple strong value plays and some great superstars to pay up for. We already have a lot of injury news for today, starting with the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons will be our favorite target for tonight as we know they are resting three core guys in Jerami Grant, Cory Joseph and Mason Plumlee. We will be playing stars and scrubs tonight, as we have some solid cheap plays from the Pistons. Furthermore, we are going to highlight a few superstars who consistently produce at the top of the slate. This is a textbook stars and scrubs night, which we have seen a lot this season.

Here’s a stars and scrubs lineup For DFS Basketball 4/19/21 (using DraftKings Values)

We did not lie when we said were getting a lot of pistons tonight, as they stand out as top value plays across the slate. We mentioned that Joseph is sidelined for tonight, which makes Killian Hayes a smash play. Hayes rested last game, but we saw him put up 36 FPTS without Joseph in the game before. Hayes is only $3,700 tonight, which is way to cheap for the run we expect him to see with all the injuries. Hayes got the start last time Joseph was out and we expect to see that again here tonight. Regardless, Hayes should be in for solid minutes tonight, and it does not take much to produce some good value at this price.

Another Detroit guard we are all over tonight is Frank Jackson. Jackson really should not only be $3,200, as he has been crushing this price a lot lately. Jackson scored well over 20 FPTS in four of his past five games, and we expect he has a bigger opportunity tonight then most of those contests. Jackson should be in for a solid amount of run, as he and Hayes are the only options for point guard tonight. Jackson has scored over 24 FPTS in each of his past two games, which is phenomenal value at this price. The price on Jackson allows us to spend up a lot elsewhere, and there is not too much risk here tonight.

Lu Dort has been priced up significantly and costs us $7,000 to roster tonight. The risk on Dort is there as he is expensive tonight. However, Dort has some great upside and has been dominating lately. With all the cheap Pistons plays we are prioritizing today, we have a lot of extra salary to take some risks like this. Dort has been dominant since he came back from injury for the gutted Thunder team. Dort is the clear first option for this team, which we have seen in him dropping 65.75, 44.5 and 41 FPTS in the past three games. Dort has played over 30 minutes in each contest, and he has been a top usage guy for the Thunder. The Thunder also have the best matchup in DFS against the Wizards tonight, which makes us feel a lot better about taking this risk on Dort. 

We are targeting a lot of cheap guys tonight and have a ton of salary to play around with. As a result, we want to go after multiple superstars who we know consistently put out massive games. Nikola Jokic perfectly fits that description, as he is averaging a lead leaguing 58,5 FPTS per game this season. Jokic scored 65.5 FPTS last game, and we have seen him put out performances of that caliber all year. The Nuggets have a solid matchup with Memphis tonight, and Jokic should be able to feast on their gutted frontcourt. We have enough salary to get to Jokic and another superstar tonight, and there is no reason to get away from him in this one. 

Xavier Tillman – PF ($3,400 DK) We already know that Jonas Valanciunas is out tonight, and a few other Grizzlies are questionable. Tillman looks like a fantastic play at this price, as he has scored over 20 FPTS in both of his last two games, and he should be in for a huge boost without Valanciunas. Tillman may start tonight, but he should play big minutes at the center regardless. The Grizzlies do not have a ton of big man options here and Tillman should be forced to take a solid role. If Tillman gets any boost from his usual production, he will be a great value play at this price.

Isaiah Stewart – C ($5,200 DK) Stewart is a smash play tonight with Plumlee out for Detroit. Stewart has been slightly priced up, but he is still cheap for the massive upside he has shown lately. Stewart scored 50.75 and 41 FPTS in his last two games, which has made him a top play on both slates. We have seen Stewart consistently play more minutes with Plumlee out, and he has multiple big games in those opportunities. It helps that multiple top scoring options are out for Detroit tonight, as Stewart should be in for solid usage here. Stewart has played over 30 minutes the last few games without Plumlee, and we know he has a DFS-friendly playing style. 

Russell Westbrook – G ($11,000 DK) Westbrook has been a lock for a few slates now, as he is producing at a level that is unrivaled across the entire league. Westbrook is a consistent steal at $11,000, given the production he has shown over the last month or so. Westbrook is averaging 63.5 FPTS over the past ten days and has scored over 60 FPTS consistently. Westbrook has not scored under 55 FPTS in 10 games, while showing the best upside in the NBA. Westbrook’s price remaining within a few hundred of other superstars has made him an absolute must for a lot of his big games recently. At this point it feels like the risk is in not playing Westbrook, and we are happy looking to get different somewhere else. 

Saddiq Bey – F ($5,300 DK) Bey should be a top option for Detroit tonight and we have seen him dominate in games without Grant in the past. Grant was out two games ago, and we saw Bey play 39 minutes and take 20 shot attempts. Bey has played solid minutes all season, but the minutes have been great in games when Detroit was injured. There are not a lot of high usage players available for the Pistons tonight, which makes the upside fantastic on players like Bey. Josh Jackson is in a similar strong position at $5,200.

Here’s a stars and scrubs lineup for DFS Basketball 4/19/21 (using FanDuel Values)

Bradley Beal – SG (8,500 FD) Beal remains cheap on FanDuel for tonight and we like the upside he gives us. Beal is cheap enough we can easily play him alongside both Jokic and Westbrook tonight, while giving us some superstar upside of his own. Beal gave us 49.1 FPTS last game, and we know he has upside for even bigger performances. Beal is the league’s top scorer and has a lot of massive nights via his scoring prowess.

Grayson Allen – PF (5,900 FD) The Grizzlies have a lot of questionable tags for tonight. We wanted to Highlight Allen as an opportunity to bring up Memphis. If everyone is ruled in, we are gong to mostly be looking at value big men without Valanciunas. However, if a lot of the Memphis players are ruled in, we want to go heavier there with plays like Allen.

We just got the news that Dort is out for this one, we can look to Aleksej Pokusevski and Darius Bazley, who should fill that hole for the Thunder.

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