The Miami Heat and New Orleans Pelicans will be without their most impactful players for the most important games of their seasons. Jimmy Butler suffered a knee injury in Miami’s first play-in tournament game and Zion Williamson suffered a hamstring injury in New Orleans’ play-in contest. Their absences will have a huge impact on the NBA DFS player pool for Friday with the final two games of the 2024 NBA Play-In Tournament. The Heat host the Bulls, and the Pelicans host the Kings for the No. 8 spots in their respective conferences for the 2024 NBA Playoffs, so how should daily Fantasy basketball players form an NBA DFS strategy without those two superstars?
Williamson had 40 points and 11 rebounds before exiting with 3:13 left in the fourth quarter following the hamstring injury. Which Pelicans will pick up his production for NBA DFS picks? Brandon Ingram had just 11 points over 25 minutes in his second game back after missing 12 games with a knee injury on Tuesday, so can you expect a better performance from him for NBA DFS lineups? Before making your NBA DFS picks, be sure to check out the NBA DFS advice, player rankings, stacks, and top daily Fantasy basketball picks from SportsLine’s Jimmie Kaylor.
Kaylor is a DFS and betting expert for SportsLine, who won a DraftKings Millionaire Maker contest in 2022. He uses a combination of his background as a former college and professional athlete and his keen eye for statistical trends when making his picks and locking in his DFS lineups. Kaylor enters the 2024 calendar year with multiple five-figure tournament cashes on his DFS resume.
Kaylor’s approach allows him to find the best NBA DFS values and create optimal lineups that he only shares on SportsLine. They’re a must-see for any NBA DFS player.
Last Friday (when Kaylor last made picks), Kaylor highlighted Timberwolves center Naz Reid as one of his top picks in his NBA DFS player pool on both sites. The result: Reid had 19 points and three rebounds, two assists and a block, returning 27.75 points on DraftKings and 26.6 points on FanDuel as one of the better values in the NBA DFS player pool. Anybody who included him in their lineups was well on the way to a profitable day.
Kaylor has turned his attention to NBA action on Friday and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.
Top NBA DFS picks for Friday, April 19
For Friday, one of Kaylor’s top NBA DFS picks is Heat center Bam Adebayo ($8,700 on DraftKings and $8.500 on FanDuel). Adebayo had 10 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks in Miami’s 105-104 loss to the 76ers on Wednesday. Now with Butler out, the Heat will need Adebayo to take on a larger scoring role, which he’s proven capable of doing. Adebayo had a tough matchup against Joel Embiid on Wednesday, and although the Bulls also have size in the middle with Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond, it won’t be as challenging as going up against Embiid while straining energy guarding him defensively.
Adebayo averaged 19.3 points and 10.4 rebounds this season as one of just 13 players in the NBA to average a double-double. Clint Capela had 22 points and 17 rebounds against the Bulls on Tuesday, and Adebayo can take advantage of similar matchups on Friday. Adebayo averaged 22.1 points, 11.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists over 21 games without Butler in the lineup this season.
Another part of Kaylor’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan ($8,400 on DraftKings and $9,300 on FanDuel). DeRozan had 22 points, six rebounds and nine assists in the Bulls’ 131-116 win over the Hawks on Wednesday. DeRozan has been one of the best scorers in the NBA in April, averaging 30.7 points over six games, and Kaylor expects him to carry over that scoring output on Friday.
DeRozan is 7 of 12 on 3-pointers (58.3%) over his last three games, and Miami allowed 12 3-pointers to the 76ers on Wednesday. He’s put up at least 18 field goal attempts in 12 straight games as the focal point of the Chicago offense, and in a win-or-home contest, you can be sure he’ll play nearly every minute and be aggressive with his shot. The six-time All-Star is also averaging 6.9 assists over his last eight games. See Kaylor’s other NBA DFS picks right here.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Friday, April 19
Kaylor is also targeting a player who could go off for massive numbers on Friday because of a dream matchup. This pick could be the difference between winning your tournaments and cash games or going home with nothing. You can only see who it is here.
Who is DFS pro Jimmie Kaylor putting in his optimal NBA DFS lineups for Friday? Visit SportsLine now to see optimal NBA DFS picks, rankings, advice, and stacks, all from a professional DFS player who a DraftKings Millionaire Maker contest, and find out.