Mitchell Thoennes 
We have a much larger nine-game slate for NBA GPP Picks 4/19. With that comes a ton of injury news to keep track of with Steph Curry, Jaylen Brown, Tobias Harris, and Kemba Walker among the most notable players questionable. That makes joining the WinDaily staff and me in the Discord Chat rooms a must. In there you will find us keeping you updated on all player news and helping you adjust throughout the day. On a big slate-like today there are several games projected around or above the 230-point threshold and one of my favorites of those games is OKC vs Washington. Keep on scrolling and let’s get into today’s picks!
In today’s article, I will be using DraftKings pricing to select my two favorite GPP/Tournament players for today’s NBA slate.
Bombcarlo’s NBA GPP Picks 4/19
Point Guard
Russell Westbrook – ($11,000)
Westbrook has been a triple-double machine lately with eight in his last ten games and that won’t stop here. A great spot awaits against his former team who has allowed the most fantasy point by far to opposing point guards the last ten games. We know he touches the ball plenty and will attack the rim where OKC’s ranks seventh-worst in guarding the paint. Another triple-double is in the making with this beautiful matchup for Westbrook.
Killian Hayes – ($3,700)
The Pistons will be thin with them resting or having several starters listed out. I count they will only have ten available and the rookie should benefit from that. With all these guys out he is averaging a 20% usage rate while averaging .92 fantasy points per minute. In his last two games, he saw 25 or more minutes leading to 22 fantasy points or greater. The opportunity for big minutes is here and a cheap salary makes Hayes a wonderful option.
Shooting Guard
Jordan Clarkson – ($6,400)
Donovan Mitchell is sidelined for at least a week and Clarkson will benefit greatly from that. In his last game, Clarkson shot the ball 27 times, for a 28% usage rate, that allowed him to score 42 fantasy points. The usage last game is lower than Clarkson’s average of 31.5% when Mitchell is out. Clarkson by far has the highest usage with Mitchell out and isn’t Utah’s highest-priced player. I will fire up Clarkson against his former team.
PJ Dozier – ($3,700)
The Nuggets will be without Monte Morris and Jamal Murray who is lost for the season. In two games without Murray Dozier has played at least 24 minutes and shot ten or more times in both. His price is still extremely low and now we add another guard in Monte Morris out. The Grizzlies are a pace-up spot and have given up the fourth-most fantasy points to shooting guards this season.
Small Forward
Luguentz Dort – ($7,000)
Coming into last night’s game Dort was questionable so maybe he sits this back-to-back out. If he plays though I will roll him out again because he leads the Thunder in usage at 30.5% with all these players out. During that time, he is averaging 1.15 fantasy points per minute. Dort has had three straight games with 40 or more fantasy points and more than 15 shots. Today he draws a fantastic matchup against the fastest-paced team in the NBA.
Denzel Valentine – (3,300)
In the past two games without Lavine, Valentine has seen a 25% usage rate and 26%. He scored 22 fantasy points in that last game. When Lavine doesn’t play Denzel is averaging .99 fantasy points per minute so all he needs is 20 or so minutes. The Celtics have a lot of questionable tags on their side so we could see value on the side of the ball too.
Power Forward
Josh Jackson – ($5,100)
As mentioned already Detroit is going to be extremely short-handed. Jackson has already had four straight games with a usage rate of 30.5% or more. In two of those four games, Jackson scored over 40 fantasy points flashing that upside. With minimal options for Detroit, we should see Jackson’s playing time and shot attempts solidified. One of Jackson or Bey will have a big game today both are viable options.
Xavier Tillman – ($3,400)
The Grizzlies may be lacking players in the frontcourt with JOVAL ruled out and Brandon Clarke questionable. With just Valanciunas off the floor, it has been Tillman who has seen the most minutes this year. In those minutes Tillman has been able to average .9 fantasy points per minute. Tillman was already seeing regular minutes now Memphis is missing a starting center. If Tillman starts and lines up with Jokic I may fade him pending ownership.
Center
Nikola Jokic – ($11,000)
The Denver big man should go bonkers in this game against Memphis. It is a huge pass-up spot for the Nuggets and the Grizzlies will be without big man Jonas Valanciunas. They also have Brandon Clarke listed questionable. With Murray off the floor, Jokic usage gets a 7.7% increase totaling 37.1% and he is averaging 1.67 fantasy points per minute. The price is high but he did just score 65 fantasy points in just 27 minutes against Houston.
Joel Embiid – ($10,700)
If Tobias Harris misses another game due to his knee injury it will be hard not to spend up for one of these centers. With just Harris off the floor, Embiid’s usage is at a massive 39.8% and averaging 1.82 fantasy points per minute. Now today he is facing the second fastest team in the NBA who is banged up in the frontcourt. Embiid should be allowed to eat up the Warriors all day long especially if Tobias sits again.
Closing Bombcarlo’s NBA GPP Picks 4/19
Thanks for tuning into NBA GPP Picks 4/19 as we have an injury-filled nine-game slate. Remember on a day like today the Discord Chat rooms will be your best friend to keep track of who’s in and who’s out. Be sure to check out our projection models especially on a day like today where we see tons of value. We will see you next weekend. Enjoy your week and good luck on MLB and NBA.
