NBA DFS Picks: Yahoo Plays and Strategy for Wednesday, April 12

NBA DFS Picks: Yahoo Plays and Strategy for Wednesday, April 12

This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Basketball series.

The Play-In Tournament continues Wednesday, with the Thunder taking on the Pelicans and the Raptors hosting the Bulls. We also have another opportunity to win some cash on Yahoo, so let's highlight some players to target for your lineups and a few to avoid.

GUARDS

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC at NO ($47): In one of the bigger surprises of the season, the Thunder reached the Play-In Tournament. Their rebuild has been accelerated by some excellent draft picks, as well as Gilgeous-Alexander taking his production to another level. He averaged 31.4 points per game, along with 4.8 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.6 steals. With the Thunder's hopes of advancing squarely on his shoulders, look for him to have plenty of opportunities to stuff the stat sheet.

Trey Murphy III, NO vs. OKC ($20): The Pelicans could score plenty of points in this game after the Thunder ranked third in the league in pace of play during the regular season. Murphy closed out the season on a high note, providing 20.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 3.8 three-pointers over his final 19 games. With how hot he can get from behind the arc, he has a favorable opportunity to provide value.

Guard to Avoid

Coby White, CHI at TOR ($16): White averaged just 24 minutes per game this season, the lowest mark of his career. Even with Lonzo Ball (knee) being out, the Bulls have depth at point guard, especially after they brought in Patrick Beverley. They have a clean injury report heading into this matchup, so expect White to remain in a limited role.

FORWARDS

Brandon Ingram, NO vs. OKC ($38): The absence of Zion Williamson (hamstring) has put more pressure on Ingram to lead the Pelicans' scoring attack. He hasn't disappointed, shooting 48.4 percent from the field on his way to averaging a career-high 24.7 points per game. He scored 34 points the last time he faced the Thunder and has tremendous upside in their rematch, given the up-tempo pace at which the Thunder play.

Luguentz Dort, OKC at NO ($16): A positive with Dort is that there aren't many players who averaged 31 minutes per game during the regular season that have a salary this cheap. His problem has been a lack of efficiency resulting in him shooting 38.8 percent from the field. Even with that holding him back, Dort has scored at least 25.6 Yahoo points in six of his last eight games.

Forward to Avoid

DeMar DeRozan, CHI at TOR ($35): The Raptors are a long, athletic defensive team. They gave DeRozan problems during the regular season, limiting him to no more than 30.0 Yahoo points in each of their three meetings. DeRozan's salary doesn't come at a discount, so he might be too risky to deploy in DFS.

CENTERS

Jakob Poeltl, TOR vs. CHI ($26): The acquisition of Poeltl at the trade deadline has been huge for the Raptors. He has stabilized the center position, averaging 13.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.3 blocks across 26 games. After scoring at least 33.8 Yahoo points in his previous three meetings with the Bulls this season, he makes for a great center target.

Jonas Valanciunas, NO vs. OKC ($25): It will be interesting to see how the Pelicans plan to attack this matchup. The Thunder don't have a ton of size up front, so Valanciunas could feast if he gets his usual allotment of playing time. However, the Pelicans could also deploy more small lineups to try and keep up with the fast pace at which the Thunder play. He's riskier than Poeltl, but with a lack of viable options, because there are just two games, Valanciunas might be worth taking a chance on in tournament play.

Center to Avoid

Nikola Vucevic, CHI at TOR ($32): Vucevic played in all 82 games for the Bulls, putting up 17.6 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists. His biggest improvement was his shooting 52.0 percent from the field, compared to 47.3 percent the season prior. However, Poeltl presents a difficult foe. The last time they faced off, Vucevic was limited to 29.0 Yahoo points.

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. Mike Barner plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: mbarner, DraftKings: mbarner51.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mike Barner
Mike started covering fantasy sports in 2007, joining RotoWire in 2010. In 2018, he was a finalist for the FSWA Basketball Writer of the Year award. Mike also won the 2022-23 FSGA NBA Experts Champions league. In addition to RotoWire, Mike has written for Sportsline, Sports Illustrated, DK Live, RealTime Fantasy Sports, Lineup Lab and KFFL.com.
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