There are two games on hand for tonight’s NBA DFS main slate for the NBA Playoffs. The Miami Heat took back the lead in the series defeating the New York Knicks by 19 points in game 3. Jimmy Butler returned from an ankle injury and dropped 28 points and Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley injured his ankle and his status for tonight’s game isn’t looking good. Out west, The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors by 30 points to take a 2-1 series lead. LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and D’Angelo Russell all scored 20-plus points and the team shot over 52 percent from the field while the Warriors shot under 40 percent from the floor. Make sure to check out our NBA DFS Tools before setting your lineups! Here are tonight’s prioritized DFS NBA plays for both game fours of the NBA Playoffs.

 

New York Knicks @ Miami Heat-Game 4-(MIA Leads 2-1)

O/U: 208

Spread: MIA -4.5

 

New York Knicks Injuries:

-Immanuel Quickley-Doubtful

-Jericho Sims-Out

New York Knicks DFS NBA Breakdown:

It just seems the Knicks have been playing from behind for most of this series. A lot of the Knicks success on offense comes in the paint and the Heat have defended the paint very well throughout this series. If the Knicks shoot 20 percent from downtown again, they’re not going to be able to keep up with Miami. Mitchell Robinson hasn’t made much of an impact in breaking through the Heat’s interior defense and Julius Randle’s shooting hasn’t been great during the playoffs. We’ve seen RJ Barrett have a lot of success getting to the basket despite the Heat making great adjustments on defense. The Knicks couldn’t get anything going offensively and they should try to set Jalen Brunson up at the arc a bit more as he’s their best three-point shooter. Immanuel Quickley hurt his ankle last game and he’ll likely be sidelined tonight.

Josh Hart should bring up the ball more and Quentin Grimes should pick up a few more minutes and spend time with the ball as well. Hart has posted double-doubles in both of his last two games and he’s taken double-digit field goals in every game this series. Hart has stolen the ball in both of his last two contests. Brunson will continue taking a ton of shots as he should take around 20 today. He’s shot over 47 percent in 2 of 3 games in this series and he’s scored at least 20 points in every game against Miami. At the end of the day, Miami is going to give the Knicks space at the arc and will continue prioritizing the paint on defense and it’ll be up to the Knicks to execute and hit three-pointers. New York has shot 29 percent from downtown in the playoffs which is the lowest of any postseason team.

Tier 1 Play(s): Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle

Tier 2 Play(s): Josh Hart, RJ Barrett

 

Miami Heat Injuries:

-Jimmy Butler-Questionable

-Caleb Martin-Questionable

-Tyler Herro-Out

-Victor Oladipo-Out

Miami Heat DFS NBA Breakdown:

Jimmy Butler has scored no fewer than 25 points since the Heat won their way into the playoffs. Butler returned from a one-game absence and he was moving at normal speed for the most part during the game. Butler will need support on offense to help the Heat take a commanding three-to-one series lead. Kyle Lowry scored 14 points last game and his shooting has been up and down throughout the series. Lowry also grabbed three or more boards and blocked shots in all three games in this series. Lowry will continue helping run the Heat’s offense with the second unit. Bam Adebayo notched a double-double last game and even though he has had a tough time in the past contending against the Knicks big men, he’s still scored at least 15 points in every game this series and he’ll continue playing between 35-40 minutes.

The Heat have unlocked some other meaningful secondary scoring as we’ve seen Max Strus shoot 50 percent from the field and take 12 shots or more in both of his last 2 games. He’s scored 17-plus points in both games and we should see him play 25-30 minutes tonight. He’s stolen the ball in two of three contests. Strus made up for Gabe Vincent’s cold shooting game. Strus is a good value play for DFS but he’s mainly scoring dependent. Martin has also been playing through a sore back but the Heat forwards continue to limit the amount of times the Knicks get deep in the paint with the ball. They play good defense and they’ve forced the Knicks to shoot a lot from downtown.

Tier 1 Play(s): Jimmy Butler,

Tier 2 Play(s): Bam Adebayo, Gabe Vincent, Kyle Lowry

 

Golden State Warriors @ Los Angeles Lakers-Game 4-(LAL Leads 2-1)

O/U:  227.5

Spread: LAL -3

Golden State Warriors Injuries: 

-Andre Iguodala-Out

Golden State Warriors DFS NBA Breakdown:

The Warriors haven’t been shooting well for the most part this series as the Lakers continue to prove that they are a better defensive team than the Sacramento Kings were. Stephen Curry will continue to have a limitless shot ceiling, but they’ll need more shots to fall from downtown if they’re going to even this series. We saw Andrew Wiggins have a stronger game on the glass than in previous contests, but Draymond Green barely made an impact on either side of the ball. Also, what’s the deal with Kevon Looney? He had been a beast on the boards and he was sick heading into game two and the Warriors decided to limit his minutes, but then in game three, he once again played a limited role off the bench and we have to question whether he’s still sick. After crushing the Kings on the glass last series, Looney picked up where he left off pulling down 23 boards in game 1 versus Los Angeles. The Warriors kept JaMychal Green in the starting lineup in game three which was bizarre. Green is mainly a floor-stretcher. Until we see Looney get his workload back, he’s hard to trust heading into this game. If he starts tonight, it’s an encouraging sign unless reports tell us his minutes will be monitored.

The Warriors also need more support from Jordan Poole who hasn’t been helpful since the first game of this series. He’s been reliant on scoring throughout the postseason when it comes to his DFS production. He hasn’t scored more than six points since the beginning of the series in game one. Klay Thompson has scored 25-plus points in 2 of 3 games against Los Angeles. The Warriors will have to find more ways to produce in the paint if their three-pointers aren’t going in the hoop. They must have both Green and Looney operate out of the post a bit more so they can draw contact or get good positioning in the lane. The Lakers know that the Warriors want to get open looks from downtown and they’ll continue keeping the guards from getting open as they move around the perimeter. Curry can drive and he should look to drive a bit more to push the Lakers defense back in the paint a bit. Until the Lakers adjust, Curry should keep driving.

Tier 1 Play(s): Stephen Curry

Tier 2 Play(s): Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Kevon Looney (If He Starts)

 

Los Angeles Lakers Injuries:

-Mo Bamba-Questionable

Los Angeles Lakers DFS NBA Breakdown:

Besides getting strong performances from LeBron James and Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell continues to shoot well. Russell scored 21 points and he’s shot no lower than 41 percent from the field and dropped at least 5 dimes in all 3 games in this series. The Lakers may want to look to feature Russell even more if the Warriors double-team James and Davis time and time again. They’ll always get priority from opposing defenses. Russell has also recorded swipes in each of his last five battles.  Russell got hot early shooting the ball and the Warriors weren’t shooting well and once the second quarter came, the Lakers ran away with the game. He’ll continue to spend a lot of time with the ball. Russell has taken no fewer than 12 shots in any game versus the Warriors. He should play around 30 minutes once again.

Davis has had two monster games against Golden State. He’s not only notched a double-double in both contests, but he’s also scored no fewer than 25 points in them, contributed a few assists and he’s swatted away 11 shots total in this series. He’s also stolen the ball four times in his last two outings and we could continue trusting him for DFS. The Warriors aren’t a good defensive team, especially in the post. Even when Looney was fully healthy in game one, Davis still pulled down 23 rebounds. James has shot over 54 percent from the floor in both of his last 2 games and grabbed no fewer than 7 rebounds against the Warriors in this series. He’ll spend a decent amount of the game running the offense and has scored no fewer than 21 points in any battle. We should see James take 18-22 shots tonight.

Tier 1 Play(s): LeBron James, Anthony Davis

Tier 2 Play(s):  D’Angelo Russell