NBA FanDuel Fantasy Basketball Picks & Lineup Tonight for First Round Playoff Games on 4/18/2022

The 2021-22 NBA playoffs continue on Monday night with three exciting first round matchups. If you need some advice on your NBA FanDuel lineup tonight, The Duel is here to help.

NBA DFS 4/18/2022

Without further ado, here are three players to target and two to avoid in Monday, 4/18, NBA DFS action.

FanDuel Picks Tonight NBA - 4/18

Donovan Mitchell Fantasy

Target Donovan Mitchell, SG/PG, Utah Jazz ($8,500): Donovan Mitchell shot just 34.5% from the floor in Game 1 against the Dallas Mavericks, yet still found a way to drop 32 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. That goes to show that even his off days can be productive from a DFS perspective. Mitchell has dropped at least 32 points in three of his five matchups against Dallas this season and will be motivated to avoid going down 2-0 in the series tonight. It's worth noting that the Mavericks are allowing 48.9 points in the paint per home game this season (T-No. 20 in NBA). Look for Mitchell to take advantage by constantly driving to the rim.

Jordan Poole Fantasy

Target Jordan Poole, PG/SG, Golden State Warriors ($6,300): It's not often that a player coming off of a 30-point game stays relatively the same price on the DFS market. Jordan Poole picked apart the Nuggets on the perimeter in Game 1 by draining 5 of his 7 three-point attempts. He should have no trouble replicating that success given Denver gives up the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing point guards. Stephen Curry may see a minutes boost tonight, but that shouldn't take away from what Poole is able to accomplish. After all, the former Michigan standout is averaging 27.7 points and 5.7 assists in his last three games against the Nuggets.

Reggie Bullock Fantasy

Target Reggie Bullock, SG, Dallas Mavericks ($4,400): The price tags that come along with the centers and forwards in this slate makes targeting a guard-heavy lineup a smart idea. Reggie Bullock is not going to light up the stat sheet like Poole or Mitchell, but he remains a steal at his low price tag. The veteran took advantage of the absence of star Luka Doncic by dropping 15 and 6 rebounds on Saturday in a whopping 44 minutes played. It's unlikely that Doncic returns in Game 2 and that means Bullock could see a similar workload. That bodes well given Bullock is shooting 48.6% from the floor and 46.7% from three-point range against Utah this season.

Stephen Curry Fantasy

Avoid Stephen Curry, PG, Golden State Warriors ($8,900): Targeting Poole goes hand in hand with avoiding Stephen Curry. The eight-time All-Star returned from a foot injury in Game 1, but only dropped 16 points and 4 assists in 22 minutes played. That is nowhere near the level of production a player with this price tag has to be at. Yes, Curry may see more toward 30 minutes played tonight. However, the Warriors are a 7-point favorite and may be able to put this one out of reach in front of the home crowd. It doesn't make much sense for head coach Steve Kerr to push his best player to the limit this early in the postseason.

Joel Embiid Fantasy

Avoid Joel Embiid, C, Philadelphia 76ers ($11,000): Joel Embiid is undoubtedly the driving force of the Philadelphia 76ers and a rightful MVP candidate. The simple fact is that he struggles to ball out when playing the Toronto Raptors. The big man out of Cameroon shot 5-for-15 from the floor on Saturday and scored less than 20 points for the first time since February 15. Toronto has the size to match Embiid at the rim and Philadelphia excelled at beating the Raptors with jump shots in Game 1. It's not unrealistic to say the 76ers employ the same strategy tonight in order to keep Embiid fresh in the postseason.

FanDuel NBA Lineup Tonight From The Duel Staff for 4/18

Based on tonight's targets and avoids, here's the NBA FanDuel lineup The Duel staff has put together for 4/18:  

PG: Jordan Poole ($6,300)
PG: Tyrese Maxey ($6,900)
SG: Donovan Mitchell ($8,600)
SG: Reggie Bullock ($4,400)
SF: Will Barton ($5,700)
SF: OG Anunoby ($6,100)
PF: Tobias Harris ($6,500)
PF: Maxi Kleber ($3,700)
C: Nikola Jokic ($11,700)

Remaining Salary: $100

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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.