NBA DFS Picks for May 1 2021

We have a great 10-game behemoth to breakdown tonight. We have a ton of value here, as there is a relevant amount of injury news. It is going to be one of those slate in which we have a ton of fantastic plays under $4,000 and have a ton of lineup flexibility as a result. Our favorite team for tonight is going to be the Detroit Pistons, who have already announced multiple key players will sit tonight. On the other hand, we do have some great studs, and we managed to squeeze in three guards that can all be in for a monstrous performance. This is another easy stars and scrubs slate, and it is also going to be one of those slates where you need a very high score to win big in tournaments.

Here’s a studs and duds lineup For DFS Basketball 5/1/21 (using DraftKings Values)

The Raptors are missing a few guys tonight, most notably point guard Kyle Lowry. The Raptors look good here, and we really like getting back to a returning Fred VanVleet. VanVleet has been a top usage guy for Toronto all year, and with Lowry out we expect him to really run the offense. VanVleet shot the ball poorly in his last two games, and he is only $7,800 here. There is some concern that VanVleet would see a minute’s limit, but we do not think that is likely as the Raptors have been playing guys full minutes or not at all. A few games ago VanVleet went for over 57 FPTS and we expect have the opportunity for that kind of game. The Raptors have a decent match against the Jazz who have been really pushing the pace lately. VanVleet is too cheap here, and his price allows us to play him alongside two bonafide superstars. 

The Pistons are resting too many players to name tonight, so we are interested in most of the guys available. A few Pistons guys have been priced up dramatically and are hard to fit in our stars and scrubs build. Frank Jackson, however, is the perfect fit. Jackson has scored 24.25 FPTS in each of his last two games, which is incredible for his $3,900 price tag. Jackson played 25 and 27 minutes in his last two, and we expect a little more run here. More and more Pistons are being added to the injury report, it is looking particularly good for the guys left off it. We are getting so much upside in this lineup, another mid 20’s performance is all we are looking for here.

The one Piston who has played consistent minutes all season is Saddiq Bey. Bey is one of our favorite Detroit guys and our most expensive piston here. Bey has been great without Jerami Grant all season. Just last game, we saw Bey score 35.5 FPTS in an opportunity without Grant. Bey is only $5,200, which is way too cheap for the role he has seen without Grant this season. We want as many pistons as we can get, and Bey is our favorite without having to spend too much.

What do we even have to say about Russell Westbrook? Westbrook only went for 51.5 FPTS last game and it was a massive disappointment by his standards. 50 FPTS is really the floor here for Westbrook, as he is putting up a triple double almost every night. Westbrook has the best upside in the league right now, as he has closed in on 100 FPTS during this stretch and has hit over 70 FPTS too many times to count. At $11,000, Westbrook is not much more expensive than the other superstars, but his median production has been so much higher. Westbrook is an easy decision if you are playing cash games, and a core for my tournament lineups as well.

Sekou Doumbouya – PF ($3,100 DK) Doumbouya’s price tag is a huge part of why we can fit so many studs into our lineup. He has been consistently starting when Grant is out, which we know is the case tonight. Doumbouya played 29 minutes last time out, and we must expect something similar here. Doumbouya scored 18 FPTS last game but has upside for more with this much floor time. Regardless, we do not need too much from him because of his price tag.

Guillermo Hernangomez – C ($4,800 DK) Hernangomez is $700 more then he was last slate, but we are happy to pay the bump in the continued absence of Steven Adams. Hernangomez has had a few chances to start recently without Adams, and he has been consistently scoring over 30 FPTS in those opportunities. We saw Hernangomez play 29 minutes last game which is right around what we would expect him to play here. If Adams remains out, we expect Hernangomez to see a far greater price bump.

Luka Doncic – G ($10,900 DK) Along with Westbrook, Doncic is the superstar we are all over for tonight game. Due to the nature of the slate, we can fit in Doncic, Westbrook and VanVleet without taking subpar value plays. Doncic looks great here, as he has the best matchup possible against the Wizards. Washington plays at the fastest pace out of any team in the NBA, and pace is typically our most import team stat for DFS. Doncic only played 28 minutes in a blowout win last time, but that did not stop him from hitting a tremendous 61 FPTS. The Wizards are looking for the play-ins and we cannot expect another wild blowout. Doncic looks fantastic here and we really are not sacrificing anything by paying for him.

Moritz Wagner – F ($3,300 DK) Wagner is in a fascinating spot here as he saw a massive opportunity, but completely squandered it. As a result, he has not been priced up at all. Wagner started at the power forward last time, which we expect to happen again as Chuma Okeke remains out. In his 27.4 minutes, Wagner missed all seven attempts from the field. Regardless, Wagner still put up 19.25 FPTS which is good for this price. If Wagner is to start again today, we must expect him to be a little bit more productive in his time on the floor. If he is even a little better then last game he will be in for great value.

Here’s a stars and scrubs lineup For DFS Basketball 5/1/21 (using FanDuel Values)

Andrew Wiggins – SG (6,900 FD) Right now we have Kelly Oubre and Draymond Greenquestionable for the warriors. If they are both in we probably look elsewhere here. But if Oubre is out then Wiggins looks great. Wiggins has seen more opportunity and has great upside with less scorers available. If both Green and Oubre are out, Wiggins looks fantastic as he should have to play crazy minutes.

Kevin Porter – SF (6,100 FD) Porter is way too cheap on FanDuel. Anytime there is a $1300 dollar price discrepancy between the sites, the guy is usually too cheap on one of them. Beyond the fact that Porter just went for over 70 FPTS, he is too cheap for the role he plays without Wall. Porter will play big minutes again and they rely on his offense a lot with Wall out, we have seen how crazy his upside is.

Doug McDermott – PF (4,400 FD) McDermott is a similar situation to Wiggins. A ton of Pacers are questionable here. If everyone or most of them are in, we do not like getting to McDermott. But we need to talk about Indiana as a team to watch, as if all these questionable guys wind up out Indiana would become a priority for value.

Keep an eye on the news here as we have so much yet to be determined. Good luck tonight folks.

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