Tuesday sees the NBA fun locking at 7:30 p.m. ET on FanDuel and DraftKings. Let’s get into the top NBA DFS picks and building blocks, including Devin Booker as a key contrarian play, with Giannis Antetokounmpo boasting the best median fantasy point projection of the slate, narrowly edging out Nikola Jokic on FanDuel.
These picks are based on the latest available data. For real-time lineup updates, check out our NBA DFS Starting Lineups Page!
NBA DFS Picks Today – Building Blocks: Tuesday, April 1
NBA DFS Picks Today: Building Blocks
Devin Booker: Suns at Bucks
NBA DFS Projections
DraftKings: 42.03 | FanDuel: 39.76
NBA DFS Ownership Projections
DraftKings: 3.2% | FanDuel: 3.1%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $9,700 | FanDuel: $9,500
After surging back into last-minute contention for the Play-In Tournament, winning five of six games, Phoenix dropped the last three and has lost Kevin Durant for at least a week with a sprained left ankle. Bradley Beal is closing in on a return after missing the last six games with a hamstring strain, but it will only be a matter of moments before he is hurt again.
The only thing keeping the Suns postseason play alive is the dreadful showing by Sacramento, which has a one-game lead for the last Play-In Tournament ticket. The Kings lost six of seven and 10 of 13, plus in a fun twist, they will be hosting the Suns for the final game of the season, which could actually be a crucial matchup. Of course, for that to transpire, Phoenix needs to stave off a complete implosion, which can only be prevented by Devin Booker going into hero mode.
This season in 1,531 minutes alongside Durant, Booker has averaged 1.01 fantasy points per minute. When Booker is flying solo, he has averaged 1.17 fantasy points per minute in a taxing 1,040 minutes of run.
It isn’t pretty, and Booker has only three forays to the 50-fantasty point plateau in his last 15 games, but if he doesn’t rattle off a few while Durant is out, the Suns are going to be punching themselves in the face instead of punching a Play-In Tournament ticket.
Per the F-R-E-E Stokastic Starting Lineups page, the rest of the Phoenix first five is expected to be Collin Gillespie, Ryan Dunn, Royce O’Neale and Nick Richards. The Suns have a crowded frontcourt rotation, with Oso Ighodaro having supplanted Bol Bol (who has been glued to the bench), and that doesn’t even consider Mason Plumlee.
Best guess is that Bol picks up some of the Durant minutes, with Ighodaro getting some power forward run in addition to his work as the backup pivot man. Even if Beal returns, he is probably going to come off the bench in an attempt to sort of stagger the limited Phoenix scorers and protect his fragile health.
Dunn and Gillespie are going to be forced into more scoring situations than coach Mike Budenholzer would like to see, but with how bad Grayson Allen has been this year, the cupboard is otherwise bare (or bear in the case of Oso). O’Neale is the real gem since he at least can provide defense on Giannis Antetokounmpo and, of course, Kyle Kuzma for the similarly offensively challenged Bucks.
Milwaukee has slipped to the sixth seed, though the Bucks still have a four-game cushion over Atlanta before sliding into the Play-In scrum. If the Bucks can overtake Detroit, which has a 1.5-game lead, they would get to face Indiana in the first round instead of New York. While Damian Lillard is a longshot for the playoffs, Bobby Portis will be back at the end of the regular season after serving his 25-game suspension.
In the meantime, it is Giannis, Kuzma and birthday boy Brook Lopez (the April fool is turning 37 years old today) who are tasked with the heavy lifting. Lillard is being replaced by a combination of Ryan Rollins and Kevin Porter Jr., with the latter having more DFS upside but continually being edged out for additional minutes, with coach Glenn Rivers reticent to play this duo at the same time. There have been only nine minutes of overlap in the last fortnight, with five coming in the most recent game.
Antetokounmpo has the best projected fantasy score on DraftKings, and he is a tick above Nikola Jokic on FanDuel, with the blue site including the NBA nightcap of Denver hosting Minnesota.
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NBA DFS Picks Today: Building Blocks
O.G. Anunoby: Knickerbockers vs. 76ers
NBA DFS Projections
DraftKings: 34.78 | FanDuel: 34.83
NBA DFS Ownership Projections
DraftKings: 14.1% | FanDuel: 9.8%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $7,300 | FanDuel: $7,900
O.G. Anunoby saw an increased scoring effort over the last four games, with the Knicks figuring out how to replace Jalen Brunson, Miles McBride and Cameron Payne. In these games, he averaged 19.5 field goal attempts with a 59% success rate, including a solid 42.3% conversion rate on 6.5 3-point shots per game.
This culminated in 30.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 3.1 “stocks” (combined blocks and steals) while logging a tremendous 37 minutes per game.
Mikal Bridges has stepped up as a non-traditional facilitator, with 21 assists in the last three games while averaging 39.3 minutes, 20.7 field goal attempts, 23.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 stocks. Even with New York pretty much locked into the three-seed, 8.5 games below Boston and 3.5 ahead of Indiana, coach Tom Thibodeau is still running “his guys” for heavy minutes, with Bridges averaging 39.3 in the last trio of tilts.
If Williams starts, he should see 28 to 29 minutes, which would be enough to make him a tournament target on FanDuel. He had double-doubles in three of his last four starts, even with a soft minutes cap, which is worthy of our attention. It would be better for the DFS world if he sat again since that would mean more Jusuf Nurkic, who ordered a 40-burger on Sunday in just 21 minutes of run.
Foul trouble and nagging bumps and bruises have kept Karl-Anthony Towns to only 32 minutes in his last two outings, but he is, of course, live to lead the slate in DFS production, particularly since this is a “get right” spot against a depleted Philadelphia frontcourt. Josh Hart rounds out the core four, and in the last eight games sans Brunson, the “do everything” wing averaged 36 minutes, 10.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 2.5 stocks. He is live for a triple-double, particularly if the Sixers put forth any sort of resistance.
Delon Wright is a fine discount dandy, though he is a defense-first presence who doesn’t look for his own offense. The increased minutes have him live for a multi-steal outing, which is currently available at +121 on ProphetX. That makes him interesting on the blue site, where blocks and steals are worth 3 fantasy points, and he can be sprinkled across DraftKings portfolios as well.
Even without its top 3 guards, the New York defense is still strong, which makes for a tough call on the Philadelphia side of things. The expectation is that all of the regulars remain out and the understudies are available, including Guerschon Yabusele. None of the 76ers are projected to receive more than 5% representation on DraftKings or FanDuel.
Savvy gamers can look to the unders in the sports wagering world or the fantasy pick’em sites, where Yabusele is interesting for under 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 made 3-pointers, with Quentin Grimes under 31.5 PRA (points + rebounds + assists) and 20.5 points also in play. Jared Butler looks strong on Hard Rock for under 5.5 assists, which has a positive 6.5 expected ROI at the current -130 odds.
Today’s Top Sports Betting Picks
It looks like Novig is being aggressive with a lofty +126 odds for the under on Jamison Battle’s 14.5 points + rebounds + assists (PRA) prop on the road in Chicago
With the combination of today’s matchup variables and the +126 odds, there is an absurd 11.7% expected value when factoring in the +102 “True Odds,” which indicate this wager is closer to a coinflip.
Portfolio EV does all the heavy lifting when sorting through the endless opportunities across the various sports wagering operators, highlighting the best spots quickly and effortlessly.
Stokastic’s Advanced NBA Statistical Projections have Battle projected for 27.29 minutes, 10.83 points, 4.39 rebounds and 1.44 assists for 16.66 PRA. That is clearly above the 15 needed for this wager to lose, though it does not account for the actual range of outcomes. The math, however, is clear, so getting +120 or higher odds is crucial.
Gradey Dick remains out, Ochai Agbaji and RJ Barrett are taking their turns at “rest,” and Jakob Poeltl and Immanuel Quickley both being active. Even in limited minutes, this duo has a far higher impact with their usage than Agbaji and Barrett, which should thin things out for Battle more often than not.
Minutes continue to be the wild card, with Toronto looking to limit pretty much everyone of value, including Poeltl, Quickley and star Scottie Barnes. Mid-20s minutes is a baseline, and each player has four or five more of attainable run, though that is more likely to occur at home than on the road. Rookie Ja’Kobe Walter is back, and he is the one player pushing for 30 minutes, with the team trying to get him more experience after he missed time with injuries.
This wager is likely to go down to the wire, especially if Battle is starting. Of course, he still needs at least 10 field goal attempts to really turn on the heat, which he fell shy of in four of his last five games (11, seven, five, nine and eight).
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today
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