NBA DFS Picks & Playbook for Today’s Games: April 21st
Published: Apr 21, 2024
As the NBA playoffs continue to heat up, today's main slate showcases four electrifying matchups set to captivate both fans and fantasy basketball enthusiasts alike. With stakes higher than ever and every possession holding the potential to swing the tide of a series, the intensity on the hardwood is palpable.
As DFS managers, navigating this landscape requires keen insight into player form, team dynamics, and strategic matchups. From perennial powerhouses to rising underdogs, tonight's slate promises a thrilling spectacle of athleticism, skill, and drama. So, buckle up as we delve into the matchups and unearth the hidden gems that could propel your DFS lineup to victory on this pivotal night in the NBA postseason.
NBA DFS Tools To Dominate Tonight's NBA DFS Slate!
Make sure to check out today's NBA DFS projections and NBA DFS ownership projections before finalizing your lineups today. We also have the NBA Consistency Report to help identify players that have exceeded value based on their current price tag this season and of course our NBA DFS Lineup Generator!
WHO DOESN'T LIKE FREE STUFF?
Well, guess what? If you manage to secure a spot in the top-5 of our Daily Pick'Em contest on BettorEdge for the Sunday slate in the NBA Playoffs, you'll be walking away with some awesome FREE FA SWAG! Yes, that's right, it's your chance to win big!
Notable NBA Injury Updates
QUESTIONABLE
- Kawhi Leonard – Not expected to play
- Tim Hardaway Jr.
- Duncan Robinson – Available to play
OUT
DOUBTFUL
- Giannis Antetokounmpo – OUT
Pace (Post All-Star Break)
Pace definition: Pace is the total number of possessions a team uses in a game.
*key* Green is elite pace of play, Blue is decent pace of play, & Red is slow pace of play.
Green = Fast Paced team
Blue = Neutral Paced team
Red = Slow Paced team
- Oklahoma City Thunder - 3rd (101.2)
- Indiana Pacers - 4th (101.1)
- Dallas Mavericks - 8th (100)
- New Orleans Pelicans - 16th (97.5)
- Milwaukee Bucks - 18th (97.3)
- Los Angeles Clippers - 22nd (96.8)
- Boston Celtics - 25th (95.9)
- Miami Heat - 29th (95.7)
Defensive Ratings (Post All-Star Break)
- Los Angeles Clippers - 22nd
- Indiana Pacers - 18th
- Milwaukee Bucks - 17th
- Dallas Mavericks - 13th
- Boston Celtics - 8th
- New Orleans Pelicans - 6th
- Oklahoma City Thunder - 4th
- Miami Heat - 2nd
NBA Game Totals
- Milwaukee Bucks @ Indiana Pacers - 231.5 (IND -1.5)
- Dallas Mavericks @ Los Angeles Clippers - 223 (DAL -2.5)
- New Orleans Pelicans @ Oklahoma City Thunder - 214.5 (OKC -8.5)
- Miami Heat @ Boston Celtics - 208.5 (BOS -13.5)
Top Tier Core Plays
Luka Doncic is good. That’s the write-up. Doncic had a 36.5% USG and averaged 1.76 FP/min this season.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
Herbert Jones's defense awaits, but that’s not keeping from a sub-10K SGA. He has a 33% USG and averaged 1.5 FP/min. SGA is a great spend-up if you can’t get to Doncic for 2K more.
Damian Lillard, Milwaukee Bucks
I know Giannis isn’t officially listed out, but he’s doubtful and this could be the Damian Lillard show here. Lillard has the team lead in both USG at 35% and FP/min at nearly 1.4. He gets the second-largest USG bump at 6.9%, too. Indiana was the 18th-ranked defensive-rated team post-ASB and 24th on the year overall. This is a great pace-up spot for Milwaukee, too.
Mid-Tier Core Plays
Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers
Haliburton has lived rent-free in the Bucks head all year long and has had more success against them than maybe any other team this season. It’s a good spot for Indiana’s leader as Giannis won’t be there to protect the rim and anchor their defense when Brook Lopez isn’t on the floor. 50 FP is in the cards here.
Jaylen Brown & Kristaps Porzingis, Boston Celtics
I’m OK getting to Jayson Tatum here, but I like both of these C’s in the 7K tier. Porzingis averaged 1.28 FP/min, which was second to Tatum and Brown was at 1.16. This is the worst game on the board, but the Celtics are nearly 14-point favorites, are virtually untouchable at home and their team is underpriced.
Khris Middleton & Bobby Portis, Milwaukee Bucks
Although Lillard leads the team in USG & FP/min without Giannis, it’s Khris Middleton who receives the LARGEST bump in usage at 8.1% as he has a 32% USG and 1.17 FP/min. Portis is no slouch and should start here as he’s averaging 1.26 FP/min and has a 25.7% USG without Giannis.
Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City Thunder
This is just simply a bad matchup for New Orleans. Their center room has had trouble with Holmgren as he’s averaged 18.3 points, 11 rebounds, and 41.6 DKP/game. He’s done that on 4-17 from three, by the way. He’s a 37% three-point shooter this year. He was at 1.25 FP/min this year and hasn’t been below 7K since 11/1.
Value Tier Core Plays
Jaime Jaquez Jr., Miami Heat
With Jimmy Butler down for the count, it was Jaquez’s time to shine in the final play-in game and he did just that. Across 35 minutes, JJJ had 21 points, 6 assists, and 6 rebounds for 37.5 DKP. Jazquez has had a late-season resurgence, posting 25+ DKP in four straight. He has nearly a 21% USG without Butler this year.
Jose Alvarado & Larry Nance Jr., New Orleans Pelicans
In the most recent matchup we’ve seen between these two teams, we saw Larry Nance extended for 33 minutes and Nance has largely been the guy between he and Valanciunas the Pelicans have gone to. I expect that to be the case again with Chet Holmgren on the other side. On the Alvarado side of things, he’s played 24+ in back-to-back games in the play-in tournament and has put up 23.75+ DKP without his price rising at all.
Patrick Beverley, Milwaukee Bucks
We likely continue to see Beverley start alongside Lillard in the backcourt as the team's primary defender guarding the opposing team's best perimeter player. He's been solid averaging 12.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 2.2 steals/blocks combined. Solid value option that should play 30 minutes.
Wright's played 20+ minutes in each play-in game and should be in line for much of the same here with Terry Rozier and Jimmy Butler out. Duncan Robinson being questionable could lead to even more. He doesn't have a crazy high ceiling, but he's very active defensively and has been spacing the floor well. He's under 4K.
Andrew Nembhard & Obi Toppin, Indiana Pacers (GPPs)
I'm interested in playing one or the other in GPPs. We've seen both have very productive outings and this is a a great game environment as it sits with the highest total on the board at 231.5. Toppin's minutes fluctuate more than Nembhard's, but he has a higher ceiling and has faired very well in this matchup this year. Nembhard will continue to start in all likelihood and can do a little of everything, but a starter in this game environment with 30 minute upside at just 4.2K is appealing.
Derrick Jones Jr., Dallas Mavericks (GPPs)
This one carries risk, but Jones has settled in as one of the more reliable players Dallas has had considering his ability to defend. In must-win games down the stretch he played 25+ minutes in five straight and saw upwards of 35. He doesn't have a crazy high ceiling, but it's high enough to warrant attention at a sub-4K price. I'd like it even more if Tim Hardaway Jr. – listed QUEST – were to sit.
DFS NBA Lineup Lock Updates & Late-News Core Play Section
*Section for players we are considering “core plays” based on late-breaking news & research
- If Kawhi Leonard, who's listed QUEST, doesn't play, Paul George and James Harden are priorities.
- Ivica Zubac, Russell Westbrook, and Norman Powell are also firmly in play if Leonard sits.
- Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder – has incredibly valuable position eligibility on DK being a PG/SF. Holds a lot of value.
Player Pool
| $ Tier | PG | SG | SF | PF | C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Luka Dončić  $12,700 |  Jayson Tatum $9,700 | |||
 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander $10,900 | |||||
 Tyrese Haliburton $9,800 | |||||
 Damian Lillard $9,600 | |||||
| Medium |  James Harden $8,100 |  Paul George $8,400 |  Khris Middleton $7,700 | Kristaps Porziņģis $8,900 |  Bam Adebayo $8,400 |
| Jaylen Brown $8,300 |  Trey Murphy $6,300 |  Larry Nance $5,900 | Chet Holmgren $8,000 | ||
| Jaime Jaquez $5,900 | Bobby Portis $7,200 | ||||
| Low |  Russell Westbrook $5,700 | Andrew Nembhard $4,900 | Aaron Nesmith $5,100 | Kevin Love $4,300 | Al Horford $5,400 |
| Patrick Beverley $5,200 | Norman Powell $5,500 |  Caleb Martin $4,700 | |||
| Jose Alvarado $4,600 | Derrick Jones $4,000 | ||||
 Delon Wright $4,500 |
Player News
Buddy Hield had 15 points (5-of-14 FGs), three rebounds, one assist, one steal and four three-pointers against the Timberwolves in Game 2 on Thursday.
Hield moved into the Warriors’ starting lineup in the first round and the team became somewhat reliant on his scoring. With Stephen Curry (hamstring) out in Game 2, Hield started and played 29 minutes. The 32-year-old shooting guard led the Warriors in field goal attempts, though no one in a Golden State uniform was able to reach 20 points. The Warriors weren’t able to overcome a double-digit first half deficit. Despite the four made three-pointers, they’re going to need more from Hield as the series shifts to Golden State, especially if Curry remains out.
Jimmy Butler had 17 points (6-of-13 FGs), seven rebounds, four assists, one steal and two three-pointers against the Timberwolves in Game 2 on Thursday.
Butler couldn’t get it done without Stephen Curry (hamstring) on the road in Game 2. The Warriors fell behind by double-digits early and never recovered. Butler had 17 points on 13 shots, which wasn’t far off from the 20 points he had in Game 1. Still, the Warriors have to regroup as they head home for Games 3 and 4 as they try to figure out a way to keep this series close until Curry can return to the court.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 20 points (7-of-13 FGs), two rebounds, three assists, one block and four three-pointers in Game 2 against the Warriors on Thursday.
Alexander-Walker was a key scorer off the bench in Game 2. He, Naz Reid and Donte DiVencenzo combined for 10 made three-pointers off the bench. In a game where the Warriors were desperate for scoring without Stephen Curry (hamstring), those bench points were too much to overcome as the Timberwolves won by 24 points.
Julius Randle had 24 points (10-of-17 FGs), seven rebounds, 11 assists and one three-pointer in Game 2 against the Warriors on Thursday.
Randle led the Timberwolves in scoring in the Game 2 victory. The 30-year-old power forward was just three rebounds away from a triple-double. He was a steadying presence in his 33 minutes as Anthony Edwards dealt with an ankle injury towards the end of the first half. Edwards recovered from his injury to play 34 minutes, but Randle is still the next most important player in this series for the Timberwolves.
Anthony Edwards had 20 points (6-of-13 FGs), nine rebounds, five assists, three steals, one block and two three-pointers in the Timberwolves’ 117-93 victory over the Warriors in Game 2 on Thursday.
Edwards appeared to suffer a sprained left ankle towards the end of the second quarter as the Warriors’ Trayce Jackson-Davis landed on his foot. Edwards turned the same ankle in the first round against the Lakers and appeared to re-aggravate the injury. The 23-year-old shooting guard would go on to start the second half and play a team-high 34 minutes in the Game 2 victory. Edwards will only have one full day off before the series resumes in Golden State for Game 3 on Saturday.
Warriors will start Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green and Quinten Post in Game 2 against the Timberwolves on Thursday.
No surprise here as Curry was always a long shot to make it back for Game 2 after leaving Game 1 with hamstring injury. While there has been a report that the 37-year-old point guard is expected to miss a week, there is no firm timetable for his return. The Warriors will go big with their starting lineup for Game 2 with center Quinten Post entering the lineup in Curry’s absence.