FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks and Helper: Friday 4/19/24

Since NBA DFS is easier to predict than baseball or football, it would likely get plenty of votes as the best sport to play on FanDuel. Basketball players usually stick to the same minutes and produce at roughly the same rate. Sounds easy, right? Trust me -- it's not!

As a result, NBA daily fantasy is highly reliant on a player's opportunity, so you'll need to ensure that you're up to date with key injuries. Our projections -- which are powered by numberFire -- update throughout the day to reflect current news. You can also turn to numberFire for player news updates as well as a matchup heat map and lineup optimizer to help give you an edge.

On top of all that, here at FanDuel Research, we'll come at you each day with this NBA DFS primer, which breaks down some of the day's top plays at each position.

Let's dive into today's main slate on FanDuel.

NBA DFS Picks

Friday's main slate on FanDuel features two games. For a full breakdown, see numberFire's matchup heat map.

• Sacramento Kings (-1.5) at New Orleans Pelicans | 210.0 total
• Chicago Bulls at Miami Heat | 205.5 total

Lines and totals via the NBA odds at FanDuel Sportsbook. Projections and odds may change after this article is published.

Guards

Top Plays

De'Aaron Fox ($9,700) -- There's a surprising amount of value at guard for a two-game slate, but De'Aaron Fox remains the clear-cut top option here. Fox cruised to 42.8 FanDuel points (FPs) in the first Play-In game, notching 24 points, 6 assists, and a pair of steals. He went for 33 actual and 51 FanDuel points against New Orleans just eight days ago, so we shouldn't have any reservations rostering him again tonight. We project Fox for 25.7 points, 6.9 assists, and 45.6 FPs -- most among guards. However, his assists prop is down at 5.5 on FanDuel Sportsbook.

Tyler Herro ($7,900) -- We only have a four-game sample of Miami playing with Tyler Herro but without both Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier. In those four games, Herro averaged 36.6 FPs on a team-high 29.3% usage rate, according to RotoGrinders CourtIQ. He went for 25 points and 9 assists in the Heat's loss to Philly, so we should expect him to shoulder the playmaking load tonight against a Bulls defense that just let up 30 points, 7 assists, and 53.9 FPs to Dejounte Murray.

Keon Ellis ($5,600) -- What a postseason debut for Keon Ellis. En route to 42.3 FPs, Ellis joined Kobe Bryant and LeBron James as the youngest players to record 3+ steals, 3+ blocks, and 3+ made threes in a postseason game. I'd say that's good company. His ability to fill up a box score gives him a solid floor when he's playing this many minutes, and he figures to be heavily rostered again tonight.

Others to Consider

Coby White ($7,800) -- We have to at least consider Coby White after dropping 42 actual and 67.8 FanDuel points in the first Play-In game, right? It's not like he hadn't flashed this potential before; White notably averaged 39.1 FPPG during a month-long stretch from January to February, but his field goal percentage dipped to 41.3% after the All-Star break. Miami is a much tougher defense than the Atlanta Hawks -- though White did score 20-plus in three of four regular season meetings with them.

Delon Wright ($4,700) -- I'll reserve Delon Wright for larger tournaments due to his fluctuating role, but he managed to put up 25.2 FanDuel points across 22 minutes in the first Play-In game. A defensive specialist, Wright's totaled eight steals across his last three games and has multiple thefts in five of his last six appearances. With no Jimmy Butler, there's a world the Heat deploy Wright early and often against the red-hot Coby White.

Wings

Top Plays

DeMar DeRozan ($9,300) -- DeMar DeRozan is the lone SF salaried above $8K tonight -- and one of just two north of $7K. That should result in him being fairly popular, but I'm still interested. After going for 47.7 FPs on Wednesday, DeRozan's now notched 45 FPs in four straight games, exceeding 40 minutes three times over that span. Expect him to see all the run he can handle against a Miami defense that's quietly allowed the fourth-most real-world points to SFs over the last 15 games, per FantasyPros.

Trey Murphy ($6,400) -- Trey Murphy III is about as reliable of a mid-range option as you can ask for at this point. He's averaged 16.9 points and 32.5 FPs since the All-Star break, exceeding 25 FPs in 24 of 28 games. The one time Zion Williamson sat over that span, he went for 36.6 FPs and played 34.6 minutes. Our model projects him for 31.5 FPs, though there's upside for more considering he went for 27 actual and 38.0 FanDuel points against Sacramento just eight days ago.

Jaime Jaquez ($5,200) -- Jaime Jaquez Jr.'s production has ebbed and flowed with Miami's injuries this season, but he's averaged 27.6 FPPG with Butler sidelined. He's coming off a 24-FP performance in the first Play-In game and now gets a Chicago defense that's down to 27th in defensive rating since the All-Star break. Early roster rate numbers from across the industry project him to be heavily rostered tonight, and I'm buying what the public is selling.

Others to Consider

Brandon Ingram ($7,700) -- Brandon Ingram's no-show on Tuesday (18.8 FPs in 24 minutes) has sent his salary plummeting, but I'm bullish he bounces back tonight. BI averaged 39.8 FPPG in four matchups against the Kings this season, and he's put up 41.2 FPPG off a 32.5% usage rate sans Zion the last two seasons.

Harrison Barnes ($5,300) -- Harrison Barnes is such a rock-solid value; he'll be a staple in my lineups tonight. Barnes' regular-season production varied, but he's come on strong with 15.6 points, 33.0 minutes, and 28.9 FPPG the last five games. He exceeded 20 real-world points twice against New Orleans during the regular season, so there's a decent ceiling here, too.

Bigs

Top Plays

Bam Adebayo ($8,500) -- I don't want to go full First Take and declare this is a legacy game for Bam Adebayo...but this kind of feels like a legacy game for Bam Adebayo. DFS-wise, Butler and Rozier absences have only meant good things for Bam this season. In four prior games with those two out and Herro active, Bam's averaged 20.3 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists (38.6 combined PRA) to go along with 47.0 FPPG. His points + rebounds + assists prop is set at 37.5 on FanDuel Sportsbook.

Keegan Murray ($6,800) -- PF is laughably shallow tonight, but Keegan Murray at $6.8K is hard to ignore after Tuesday's onslaught. The notoriously streaky Murray was at his best in the first Play-In game, draining eight threes en route to 32 actual and 45.8 FanDuel points. That was his third 40-FP performance in the last six games. With a 34.1-FP projection (5.02 FPs per $1,000), Murray is one of just four players with 5.00x projected value tonight.

Others to Consider

Domantas Sabonis ($10,400) -- Domantas Sabonis has the slate's highest salary and projection (51.8), but I've found it difficult to fit him into lineups. He went for 48.9 FPs in the first Play-In, but only exceeded 43 FPs once in five regular season dates with New Orleans. There's a path to upside here, and it does help that he's eligible at PF and C. I'd save him for game stacks involving Brandon Ingram and bank on this game living up to its 210.5 over/under.

Larry Nance Jr. ($5,800) -- We'll see if New Orleans turns to Jonas Valanciunas more with Zion out, but Larry Nance Jr. has clearly been the Pelicans big man to roster the last two games. In 30 and 27 minutes, Nance netted 28.2 and 29.9 FPs. Sacramento is a tough matchup for bigs, but Nance's friendly salary is welcomed on a slate lacking value bigs.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author’s advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.