4 to play under $4K, April 5-NBA Fantasy Basketball Picks
DFS Fantasy Basketball value picks for Wednesday's six-game slate
The NBA regular season has less than a week remaining, and we’ve reached the craziest part of the year for DFS fantasy basketball. With six more games on tap for Wednesday night, there are a dozen teams that will take the floor including seven teams playing for the second day in a row. With the Thunder as one of those teams, there’s sure to be some roster and lineup shenanigans in play, and hopefully figuring them out can help us find some great fantasy basketball value options.
Each day of the NBA season, I’ve given out my 4 to play under $4K at @ZT_Sports using DraftKings’ salaries and scoring to track results and pinpoint emerging options that can help you balance out the star power you’re targeting for your DFS fantasy basketball lineups. There are four days left before a massive all-play schedule on Sunday, and there should be plenty of value options on tonight’s slate. Thanks for subscribing and sharing Fantasy 4 all season, and let’s finish strong with a good push to the finish line, with some great fantasy baseball content on deck as well.
I’ll keep a close eye on the player availability news throughout the day and adjust these picks as needed. I try to give an updated list of 4 to play under $4K at @ZT_Sports on Twitter about an hour before lock and only adjust after that if needed. As we start the day, here’s where I expect the best value options to come from.
PG Carsen Edwards, Detroit Pistons vs. Dallas Mavericks, $3,500
The Pistons aren’t quite pulling a Thunder (we’ll get to that momentarily), but they are taking the final part of the season to get their core players a rest while taking an expanded look at some depth options. Cory Joseph (back), Hamidou Diallo (finger) and Rodney McGruder (hip) are all out and Cade Cunningham ($8,800) sat out Sunday after playing just eight minutes last Friday against the Thunder. We’ll also want to keep an eye out for which fringe players will play in this contest with the Motor City Drive still alive in the G League playoffs and the team opting to have Saben Lee ($3,600) and Jamorko Pickett ($3,400) focus there.
Edwards joined the team on a two-year contract last Sunday and jumped right into a big role off the bench. He played 31 minutes and produced 34.75 DKFP on 13 points, nine assists, three rebounds and two steals. The high-energy smaller point guard may have durability concerns long-term in the big picture, but if he gets 20-to-30 minutes per game the rest of the season he should be a solid value play.
SF/PF Patrick Williams, Chicago Bulls vs. Boston Celtics, $3,500
Williams is a repeated pick from yesterday after he played 32 minutes in his return to the starting lineup against the Bucks. Even though the Bulls were trampled, he posted a solid 26 DKFP on 18 points, six rebounds and a couple of three-pointers.
The 20-year-old seems fully past his wrist injury that sidelined him for most of the season and has logged over 29 minutes in three straight contests as he tries to re-establish his rhythm and role for the postseason. Williams has scored double-digit points in each of those contests and typically chips in good non-scoring production as well. As long as he’s active and especially if he’s starting, he’ll remain a good value option in this contest.
C Nicolas Claxton, Brooklyn Nets at New York Knicks, $3,800
Claxton has been another commonly recurring pick in this post since he gets solid run in the Nets’ second unit as the primary backup behind Andre Drummond ($6,100). While that role doesn’t give him as high a ceiling as some of the cheap options available, he is very consistent and relatively low-risk.
Over his past 13 games, Claxton has put up at least 19 DKFP 10 times. He had 23.75 DKFP in 21 minutes the last time these two teams met and should easily get to that level of production in this contest, especially since his minutes have been creeping up lately as the Nets get ready for the postseason.
SF Zavier Simpson, Oklahoma City Thunder at Utah Jazz, $3,000
SF Georgios Kalaitzakis, Oklahoma City Thunder at Utah Jazz, $3,000
What are the Thunder doing? Honestly, I don’t know, and it doesn’t feel like anyone else does for sure either. They signed Simpson and Kalaitzakis to hardship contracts and threw them right into the starting lineup against the Trail Blazers on Tuesday. The craziest part is that they produced 26.25 and 26.75 DKFP, and Oklahoma City still won. There’s a chance that OKC goes back to Theo Maledon ($7,100), Vit Krejci ($4,400), Lindy Waters ($4,900) and the rest of that unit for this contest and the Simpson/Kalaitzakis game becomes a thing of lore. If either remains in the starting five, though, they could produce good value again in an expanded role.
Of the two, I’m a little higher on Simpson, an undrafted rookie out of Michigan since his numbers in the G League were a little better and he contributes all across the box score. In his 43 minutes (yes, that’s real—43 minutes), he produced 10 points, five assists, three rebounds, two blocks and a steal. If he or Kalaitzakis start, they’ll be in my 4 to play under $4K, and if they both start again, there will probably be room for both as they visit the Jazz. At the minimum salary, they don’t have to do much to return value and come with huge upside if so many minutes come their way.
Stay tuned throughout the day for breaking news and be sure to check @ZT_Sports for any pre-lock adjustments. Have a great Wednesday and good luck!