NBA DFS Picks & Playbook For Today: 2024 Playoffs, April 22nd
Published: Apr 22, 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, and so are our NBA DFS picks.
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 lineups 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!
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NBA Injury Report Today, 4/22
QUESTIONABLE
- Joel Embiid
- Tyrese Maxey – didn’t go through shootaround w/ an illness
OUT
PROBABLE
NBA Game Totals Today
- Orlando Magic vs. Cleveland Cavaliers - 202.5 (CLE -5.5)
- Philadelphia 76ers vs. New York Knicks - 207.5 (NYK -4.5)
- Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets - 223.5 (DEN -7.5)
Going to do something a little different today. I am going to go through each team on today’s slate and break down how each team handled their Game 1 rotations.
Orlando Magic
Pace: Slow
Matchup: CLE 25th in DRtg since All-Star break
- Four of five starters played 33+ minutes: Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs, Gary Harris.
- Jonathan Isaac started over Wendell Carter & played 29 minutes.
- Five players off the bench played between 11-15 minutes, Moritz Wagner was the most effective off the bench. Not sure any of them are playable.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Pace: Slow
Matchup: Bad
- All five starters played 32+ minutes. Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley & Jarrett Allen all played 35+.
- Cleveland played three guys off the bench; Georges Niang played 25 minutes, Caris LeVert played 20 minutes & Isaac Okoro played 19 minutes.
- Tough to get to LeVert at his price at 20 minutes. Niang would be the one guy off the bench you can use if he’s playing mid-20s minutes.
Philadelphia 76ers
Pace: Slow
Matchup: NYK 10th in DRtg since All-Star break
- All five starters played 31+ minutes; Tyrese Maxey played 44 minutes, Kyle Lowry & Kelly Oubre Jr. played 39 minutes, and Joel Embiid played 37.
- Nicolas Batum was the only player off the bench playing 26 minutes.
New York Knicks
Pace: Slow
Matchup: PHI 11th in DRtg since All-Star break
- The Knicks had two starters play 40+ minutes; Josh Hart (surprise!) & Jalen Brunson.
- OG Anunoby was the only other starter to top 30 minutes.
- Donte DiVincenzo was benched for Miles McBride (24 minutes for DDV, 28 for McBride)
- Bojan Bogdanovic played 25 minutes off the bench.
- 48 center minutes were split by starter Isaiah Hartenstein (18 minutes) & Mitchell Robinson (30 minutes).
- I'm skeptical that the role players play as much as they did, especially Bogdanovic, if Brunson has it going offensively.
Los Angeles Lakers
Pace: Big pace down spot
Matchup: DEN 5th in DRtg since All-Star break
- Three Lakers’ starters played north of 40 minutes: Anthony Davis, LeBron James & D’Angelo Russell.
- The other two starters played 31+ minutes.
- Taurean Prince played 20 minutes off the bench.
- Spencer Dinwiddie played ahead of Gabe Vincent, but I’m not convinced that’s how it goes.
Denver Nuggets
Pace: Massive pace-up spot
Matchup: Great; LAL 23rd in DRtg since All-Star break
- All five Nuggets played 32+ minutes, four of five played 37+ minutes. Aaron Gordon was at 32 because of early foul trouble.
- Christian Braun & Peyton Watson were the only Nuggets bench players who played double-digit minutes. I lean Braun if using one of them.
Top-Tier NBA DFS Core Plays
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
Jokic is simply put; your top spend-up today. He had 63.5 DKP in Game 1 and continues to own the Lakers every time out. He played 39 minutes and went 15-for-23 from the floor while being a few assists shy of a triple-double.
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
In back-to-back games in which Embiid has struggled from the floor, shooting worse than 40% in each game, he’s put up 52 DKP in each. He’s so skilled and so good everywhere peripherally that when the shots start falling, he’s going to break the slate at just 10.5K. Getting a low-owned Embiid could be a difference maker.
Anthony Davis & LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
Both guys playing 40+ minutes and being great is what they’ll need every game to have a chance. Davis had a monster 32-point double-double with four blocks as well. Davis is straight up too cheap at 9.5K for his ceiling. Heck, he’s too cheap for his floor. I lean toward Davis over James, but if there’s a large ownership discrepancy, I’d look James’ way in GPPs.
Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
I have a hard time believing Jalen Brunson will go 8-for-26 again in this game, or many other times this postseason. Either way, 41 minutes and 26 shots is hard to ignore. With Randle, Barrett, Quickley, Grimes, and Fournier off the floor, Brunson has a 37.5% USG and averages 1.4 FP/min.
Mid-Tier NBA DFS Core Plays
Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers
Mitchell had a 35% usage rate in Game 1 of the playoffs and has had a long history of success in the postseason. He finished the season with two games north of 30% USG, so he’s getting back to the alpha we saw for most of the year before his latest injury. 8.5K is too cheap for this version of Mitchell.
Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets
In the 923 minutes shared with their starting five, Jamal Murray LEADS the Nuggets in usage rate at 28.8% while averaging 1.3 FP/min, which is second. Murray’s as close to a must-play if he’s approaching 40 minutes under 8K. He’s as good as it gets at this price.
Jarrett Allen & Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers
It’s really hard to ignore what the Cavs frontcourt did to Orlando Magic in Game 1 and if Jonathan Isaac continues to start, Cleveland has a massive advantage on the glass. Allen had 18 rebounds in Game 1 and has topped double-digit rebounds in four of five games and the one in which he didn’t, he played just 15 minutes. Mobley’s averaged 1.22 FP/min this year, which is second on the team.
Josh Hart, New York Knicks
Josh Hart played the first 17 minutes and the final 24 minutes of the game and it’s probably not a stretch to say he’s going to play more in Game 2. The four made threes is probably a stretch, but repeating a double-double with an uptick in assists is also possible. For under 7K, I’m interested in a guy that could play 45 minutes.
Franz Wagner, Orlando Magic
Wagner had struggled for a large chunk in the second half of the year but found his form right before the postseason and carried it into Game 1. He’s now topped 40 DKP in three straight games and has been good everywhere. Scoring, assists, and rebounding, much like the guy we saw for the first half of the year. He’s too cheap in this current form despite the tough match-up.
Aaron Gordon & Michael Porter Jr., Denver Nuggets
Both Gordon and Porter Jr. were awesome in Game 1 and what could’ve been for Gordon if not for early foul trouble. We should see mid-to-high 30s minutes for Gordon moving forward and he’s averaged 35 DKP/game against LAL this year across four games. Porter was just two rebounds shy of a double-double and put up 36.5 DKP/game against LAL. With this starting five, Michael Porter’s at .91 FP/min and Gordon’s at .86 FP/min.
Value-Tier NBA DFS Core Plays
Jalen Suggs & Jonathan Isaac, Orlando Magic
These two Magic players are two of the better values of the day as they’re pretty simply underpriced. It’s hard to ignore Jalen Suggs taking 16 shots and seven threes. You just need Suggs to stay out of foul trouble guarding Donny Mitch. Isaac is going to be very popular and for good reason. Starting center at 4.5K with massive upside.
Kyle Lowry & Nicolas Batum, Philadelphia 76ers
After last game, it’s easy to say Kyle Lowry is going to garner a lot of ownership here. He’s only 4.4K and played 39 minutes. I feel good about his minutes after watching how good he was on the defensive end against Jalen Brunson. A pivot away is Nicolas Batum, but an understanding comes with playing Batum. He has a high floor when shots are falling, but he has an awfully low floor when he’s not.
Mitchell Robinson, New York Knicks
Mitchell Robinson is such an impactful player and if he’s able to play 30 minutes a night in this series, it’s hard to ignore him at this price. He obviously needs to stay out of foul trouble guarding against Joel Embiid, but the five blocks/steals and 12 rebounds is where Robinson makes his money.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Denver Nuggets
In Game 1, KCP played 37 minutes and did what he did best; spaced the floor shooting 4-for-10 from three and had three steals. He put up 24 DKP and it’s a great spot against the Lakers. The Lakers allowed the third most made three-pointers per game this year along with the sixth-worst three-point percentage allowed (37.5%).
DFS NBA Lineup Lock Updates & Late-News Core Play Section
*Section for players we are considering “core plays” based on late-breaking news & research
Player Pool
| $ Tier | PG | SG | SF | PF | C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Jalen Brunson  $9,800 |  Donovan Mitchell $9,300 |  LeBron James $10,300 |  Anthony Davis $11,200 |  Nikola Jokić $12,000 |
 Joel Embiid $11,500 | |||||
| Medium | Austin Reaves $6,700 |  Franz Wagner $7,100 | Paolo Banchero $8,500 | Jarrett Allen $8,200 | |
| Josh Hart $7,600 | Aaron Gordon $6,600 | Mitchell Robinson $6,000 | |||
| Michael Porter $7,000 | Evan Mobley $7,900 | ||||
| Jonathan Isaac $6,200 | |||||
| Low | Kyle Lowry $4,700 | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope $5,300 | Max Strus $5,200 | Rui Hachimura $5,400 | |
 Nicolas Batum $4,600 |
Player News
Kristaps Porzingis (illness) said after Wednesday’s Game 2 loss to the Knicks that his current stamina issues may be related to the problem that sidelined him for eight games late in the regular season.
After an illness limited him to 13 first-half minutes in Boston’s series-opening defeat on Monday, Porzingis came off the bench in Game 2. Unfortunately, he could only give the Celtics 14 minutes. Following the game, Porzingis said his current problem may be related to the upper respiratory ailment that sidelined him for eight games late in the regular season. “Probably, probably,” Porzingis said. “I’ve had like ups and downs throughout until this point. Just now, had a big crash. Now, my energy, my everything, hasn’t been good, but who cares? Have to move forward and it will get better from this point.” While Boston’s shot selection was the focus following its two home defeats, Porzingis’ limited availability has also been a factor. He’ll hope to return to full health in time for Game 3 on Saturday afternoon.
Nikola Jokic finished with 17 points (6-of-16 FGs), eight rebounds, six assists, one steal, one block, two three-pointers and six turnovers in Game 2 against the Thunder on Wednesday.
This was Jokic’s worst performance of the postseason, and it came to an end in the third quarter. He fouled out with 1:17 left in the third, which brought his night to a close after he played 32 minutes. OKC was up 41 points when Jokic fouled out, so his night may have been close to over anyway. Jokic dominated Game 1, and the Thunder adjusted. Denver will need other players to step up if they want to have a chance of winning this series, but Jokic will also need to be better than he was in this game.
Michael Porter Jr. struggled on Wednesday and finished with just eight points (2-of-10 FGs), five rebounds, one steal and two three-pointers in Game 2 against the Thunder.
MPJ was slightly better in the second half, as all eight of his points came in the third quarter. However, the game was already out of hand at that point after a terrible first half for both Porter Jr. and the Nuggets. MPJ shot 1-of-8 in Game 1, and they’ll need him to be much better moving forward. The series will now shift back to Denver, and MPJ will look to get back on track during the two home games before the series heads back to Oklahoma City.
Russell Westbrook provided a boost off the bench with 19 points (5-of-11 FGs, 8-of-10 FTs), one rebound, five assists and one three-pointer in a 149-106 loss to the Thunder in Game 2 on Wednesday.
Despite an ugly first half for Denver, Westbrook was productive and entered the break with 15 points. He didn’t add much in the second half, though he sat the entire fourth quarter, still it was enough to lead the Nuggets in scoring. Russ has been awesome over Denver’s last five games, and his continued success will be key to the Nuggets winning this series. Though this game was ugly, they still have homecourt advantage in this series. They’ll look to keep it in Game 3 on Friday.
Chet Holmgren recorded a double-double on Wednesday with 15 points (3-of-8 FGs, 7-of-7 FTs), 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals, two blocks and two three-pointers in Game 2 against the Nuggets.
After struggling in Game 1, Holmgren bounced back and recorded the fourth postseason triple-double of his career, with three of those coming this season. Aside from Game 3 against Memphis, Holmgren has swatted at least two shots in every game during these playoffs, which was a trend that continued in this game despite him only playing 26 minutes. Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein (14/8/5/1/1) will look to continue to limit Nikola Jokic (17 points) in Game 3 on Friday.
Jalen Williams bounced back on Wednesday with 17 points (6-of-11 FGs), four rebounds, seven assists and two blocks in Game 2 against the Nuggets.
Williams was criticized for his poor performance in the Thunder’s Game 1 loss, but he responded well in OKC’s blowout victory. He was on pace for a bigger night, but he only played 26 minutes and sat the entire fourth quarter due to the lopsided score. He shot the ball much better after shooting 5-of-20 in Game 1, and he’ll need that success to carry over into Game 3 in Denver on Friday.