NBA DFS Picks: Yahoo plays and strategy for April 17
Look for De’Aaron Fox (left) and Malik Monk as the Kings face the Warriors in Game 2 of their first-round series on Monday.
The 2023 NBA playoffs continue with two more games Monday. The 76ers will host the Nets in Game 2 of their series, while the Kings will try to take a 2-0 lead over the Warriors in theirs. Let’s dig into the options on Yahoo and highlight some players to consider for your entries, as well as a few to possibly avoid.
Guards
De’Aaron Fox, SAC vs. GSW ($34): Talk about a terrific playoff debut. Fox scored 38 points in Game 1, shooting 13-for-27 from the field and 8-for-12 from the charity stripe. He drained four three-pointers while chipping in five assists and three steals. With stellar averages of 25 points, 4.2 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game at home this season, and the Kings leaning on him even more heavily when it matters the most, Fox has an extremely high floor.
Malik Monk, SAC vs. GSW ($18): Monk also stepped up in a big way in Game 1, scoring 32 points with three rebounds and two assists. He feasted at the free-throw line, making all 14 of his attempts. With both of these teams playing at a fast pace and the home crowd behind him, Monk has the potential to get hot enough in the scoring column to provide value.
Guard to Avoid
Jordan Poole, GSW at SAC ($21): Poole scored 17 points in Game 1, but only scored 24.7 Yahoo points. He didn’t provide much outside the scoring column and logged just 22 minutes. With the Warriors being the healthiest they’ve been in a long time, Poole should continue to see limited minutes off the bench, putting a cap on his upside.
Forwards
Andrew Wiggins, GSW at SAC ($21): With Wiggins having missed so much time while dealing with a personal issue, the Warriors brought him off the bench Saturday. He didn’t show many signs of rust, scoring 34.1 Yahoo points. What was so encouraging was that he logged 28 minutes. Even if he comes off the bench again, he is worth considering with him likely to play at least around 30 minutes again.
Harrison Barnes, SAC vs. GSW ($18): Barnes is a crucial veteran for this young Kings team that doesn’t have much playoff experience. He logged 36 minutes in Game 1, scoring 33.4 Yahoo points. His limited role within the offense doesn’t make him the most exciting option, but with a lack of top-tier forwards for this small slate, Barnes should at least play enough to be worth considering.
Forward to Avoid
Royce O’Neale, BKN at PHI ($16): O’Neale was quiet in Game 1, scoring 17.6 Yahoo points across his 28 minutes. Going back to the regular season, he has scored 21.5 Yahoo points or fewer in five of his last seven games. He had a 13.6% usage rate during the regular season, so don’t expect his role to increase soon.
Centers
Joel Embiid, PHI vs. BKN ($56): The 76ers coasted to a victory in Game 1, winning every quarter of the matchup. Embiid didn’t have to play a ton, but he still came away with a great stat line, scoring 43.5 Yahoo points over 33 minutes. Embiid provides significant matchup problems for most teams, but especially for the Nets, who don’t have much size at center behind Nic Claxton.
Draymond Green, GSW at SAC ($24): Green showed in Game 1 that he doesn’t need to score many points to be worth deploying in DFS. He chipped in nine rebounds, 11 assists, two steals and a block, leaving him with 37.3 Yahoo points. With both of these teams looking to push the pace, Green should continue to have plenty of opportunities to rack up stats outside of the scoring column.
Center to Avoid
Nic Claxton, BKN at PHI ($27): Claxton managed to avoid foul trouble while logging 30 minutes in Game 1. However, he scored a modest 27.5 Yahoo points. Putting up points might be a problem for him against Embiid, and there is the possibility that he gets into foul trouble trying to slow Embiid down on the other end of the floor. There are too many question marks to feel good about rolling with him at this salary.
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Mike started covering fantasy sports in 2007, joining RotoWire in 2010. In 2018, he was a finalist for the 2018 FSWA Basketball Writer of the Year award. In addition to RotoWire, Mike has written for Sportsline, Sports Illustrated, DK Live, RealTime Fantasy Sports, Lineup Lab and KFFL.com.
