NBA DFS Picks: FanDuel Lineup Plays and Strategy for Tuesday, April 9

NBA DFS Picks: FanDuel Lineup Plays and Strategy for Tuesday, April 9

This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.

After a night off Monday in deference to college basketball's National Championship Game, the NBA continues the regular season's final week with a whopping 14 games Tuesday night. However, only 10 of those are on the FanDuel main slate, making matters slightly more manageable for us DFS players as we try to navigate a very large player pool that also has a lot of typical late-season uncertainty attached with respect to availability.

Slate Overview

For the latest spreads and over-unders, visit RotoWire's NBA Odds page. There, you can also find player props, futures, picks articles and sportsbook bonus codes

Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Tuesday, April 9 @1:00 a.m. ET:    

Detroit Pistons at Philadelphia 76ers (-15.5) (O/U: 221.0)

Indiana Pacers (-11.5) at Toronto Raptors (O/U: 240.0)

Dallas Mavericks (-12) at Charlotte Hornets (O/U: 221.0)

Boston Celtics (-2) at Milwaukee Bucks (O/U: 228.0)

Miami Heat (-3.5) at Atlanta Hawks (O/U: 223.0)

Washington Wizards at Minnesota Timberwolves (-16.5) (O/U: 223.5)

Orlando Magic (-2.5) at Houston Rockets (O/U: 214.5)

San Antonio Spurs (-3.5) at Memphis Grizzlies (O/U: 215.0)

New York Knicks (-4) at Chicago Bulls (O/U: 213.0)

Sacramento Kings at Oklahoma City Thunder (-5.5) (O/U: 227.5)

*denotes team on second night of back-to-back set

As can often be the case during the last handful of games of a season, we have some very large favorites interspersed with some games predicted to be very close. Projected totals don't paint an overly optimistic picture on the surface due to several being well below 225, but at this point in the season, even projected low-scoring games can significantly outperform their expectations at times.

Injury Situations to Monitor   

For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.

Joel Embiid, PHI (knee injury recovery): QUESTIONABLE

If Embiid were to sit out, Paul Reed or Mo Bamba would be set for a spot start at center.

Tyrese Maxey, PHI (hip): QUESTIONABLE

If Maxey is out, Cameron Payne will be due for a spot start at point guard.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL (hamstring): QUESTIONABLE

If Antetokounmpo were to sit out, Jae Crowder and Bobby Portis would be direct beneficiaries, while the rest of the starting five would have plenty of additional opportunity.

Kristaps Porzingis, BOS (hamstring injury management): QUESTIONABLE

If Porzingis sits out, Xavier Tillman and Al Horford would be set for additional frontcourt opportunities.

Jaren Jackson, MEM (quadriceps): OUT

If Jackson sits out, Brandon Clarke, Trey Jemison and GG Jackson should be primary beneficiaries.

Cade Cunningham, DET (knee injury management): QUESTIONABLE

If Cunningham is out, Malachi Flynn and Marcus Sasser will likely draw most of the point guard minutes.

Other notable injuries:

Trae Young, ATL (finger): OUT

Desmond Bane, MEM (back): OUT

Immanuel Quickley, TOR (rest): OUT

Karl-Anthony Towns, MIN (knee): OUT

Tyus Jones, WAS (back): OUT

Marvin Bagley, WAS (knee): OUT

Keldon Johnson, SAN (foot): OUT

Vince Williams, MEM (knee): OUT

Santi Aldama, MEM (foot): OUT

Vince Williams, MEM (knee): OUT

Ayo Dosunmu, CHI (quadriceps): QUESTIONABLE

Jalen Williams, OKC (ankle): QUESTIONABLE

Franz Wagner, ORL (ankle): QUESTIONABLE

Tobias Harris, PHI (knee): QUESTIONABLE 

Kyle Kuzma, WAS (ankle): QUESTIONABLE

Keegan Murray, SAC (calf): QUESTIONABLE 

Bam Adebayo, MIA (hand): PROBABLE

Khris Middleton, MIL (quadriceps): PROBABLE

Coby White, CHI (ankle): PROBABLE

Elite Players

We have seven players with five-figure salaries on Tuesday's slate – Luka Doncic ($12,500), Giannis Antetokounmpo ($12,000), Victor Wembanyama ($11,900), Joel Embiid ($11,000), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($10,600), Domantas Sabonis ($10,600) and Jayson Tatum ($10,200).

Doncic exploded for 64.8 FD points in the memorable win against the Rockets on Sunday, and he hasn't scored under 52.2 FD points in the last 10 games.

If Antetokounmpo plays through his questionable tag, he'll look to build on the 63 FD points he scored against the Knicks on Sunday and will aim to extend a streak of games with at least 55.8 FD points to eight contests.

Wembanyama just put up 75.6 FD points against the 76ers on Sunday, his third game with over 75 FD points in the last five games.

Embiid has scored over 43 FD points in all three games he's played since returning from a knee injury, and he should be well rested if he does suit up Tuesday after sitting out Sunday's game against the Spurs.

SGA is set to return from a four-game absence due to a quadriceps injury and is not even on the injury report, which should brighten his outlook for another key game for the Thunder.

Sabonis continues to be a lock for a double-double and scored 61.5 FD points in his most recent game Sunday against the Nets.

Tatum carries risk due to the fact the Celtics are going to manage the minutes of their front-line players the rest of the way.

Expected Chalk

Other likely chalk plays include:

Dejounte Murray, ATL ($9,900)

Murray will continue to take the floor without Trae Young, and although his production has been slightly down recently, he should still have a certain degree of popularity.

De'Aaron Fox, SAC ($9,800)

Fox was down to 32.5 FD points on Sunday against the Nets, but he'd scored 40.1 to 59.2 FD points in the five previous games.

Jalen Brunson, NYK ($9,700)

Brunson has scored 59.7 to 61.2 FD points in the last three games, which should keep him very popular Tuesday. 

Kyrie Irving, DAL ($9,300)

Irving went off for 60.4 FD points against the Rockets on Sunday and put up 50.1 the game prior, which should help keep his roster rate high Tuesday.

Deni Avdija, WAS ($7,900)

Avdija is taking advantage of late-season opportunities on a short-handed Wizards squad, scoring 43.1 to 62.5 FD points in three of the last four games and at least 32.3 in nine of the last 10 games. 

Key Values  

Daniel Gafford, DAL at CHA ($6,400)

Gafford has quickly fit in well in Dallas and has mostly delivered strong returns relative to salary, even when factoring in a dud against the Rockets on Sunday where he only played 16 minutes due to foul trouble. Prior to that outlier, the big man had averaged 33.9 FD points across the previous 14 games, averaging a well-rounded 12.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.4 blocks across a modest 25 minutes per contest. That sample included four games of over 40 FD points, offering a glimpse at his considerable upside. The Hornets make for good targets as well, allowing the fourth-highest offensive efficiency rating to centers (35.6), along with 56.7 FD points per game to the position in the last 15 contests.

GG Jackson, MEM vs. SAN ($6,100) 

Jackson has been an ongoing beneficiary of the unbelievable rash of injuries the Grizzlies have been besieged with, enjoying a much bigger role as a rookie than initially expected. Jackson just put up 31.7 FD points against the 76ers on Saturday, already his 11th game with over 30 FD points out of 44 contests overall. The young wing will have two days of rest on his side Tuesday as he faces a Spurs team that he already has one tally of 25.1 FD points against this season and that's surrendered 37.4 percent three-point shooting to small forwards and is ranked No. 22 overall in offensive efficiency rating allowed to the position (23.7).

Grant Williams, CHA vs. DAL ($6,000)

Williams has benefited considerably from his move to the Hornets at the deadline, and he'll check into Tuesday's contest against the team that dealt him there having averaged 31.6 FD points on 55.3 percent shooting, including 46.9 percent from behind the arc, over the last eight games. Williams scored over 30 FD points in five contests during that span, and the Mavericks are giving up 57 FD points per contest to centers in the last 30 games. Dallas is also giving up 37.6 percent shooting from three-point range, certainly relevant when considering how proficient Williams is at spacing the floor.

ALSO CONSIDER: Jordan Goodwin, MEM vs. SAN ($5,900); Chimezie Metu, DET at PHI ($5,700) 

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Juan Carlos Blanco plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: DraftKings: jcblanco22, FanDuel: jc_blanco22, DraftPot: jc_blanco22, FantasyDraft: jc_blanco22, OwnThePlay: jcblanco22.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juan Carlos Blanco
Winner of the FSWA 2016 Newcomer of the Year Award, Juan Carlos Blanco has been playing fantasy sports for over 20 years and covers NBA, MLB, NFL, CFL and Arena Football for Rotowire.com, including serving as the beat writer for teams in multiple sports. He has previously written for KFFL.com and remains an avid season-long and daily fantasy player in multiple sports as well.
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