NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: Fear the Deer! (April 27)

Sunday wraps up the weekend with four-game featured slate, tipping off at 1:00 p.m. ET on FanDuel and DraftKings. Let’s get into the top NBA DFS picks and building blocks: Each series is 2-1 heading into the Game 4’s, which means a venue change for the next installment across the board. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Gary Trent Jr., Anthony Edwards, Andrew Nembhard and Jaden McDaniels are all core plays on Sunday.

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: Sunday, April 27

NBA DFS Picks Today: Building Blocks

Giannis Antetokounmpo has been a force this series, averaging 35.7 points, 14.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.7 “stocks” (combined blocks and steals) in 36.7 minutes per game. Damian Lillard has been back for the latter two efforts after missing a month with blood clot issues in his right calf.

The month of missing action, as well as limiting his conditioning, has left the diminutive guard looking a little winded and lead-legged in his two games. He played a surprising 37 minutes in his return but was able to go 31.6 minutes in a lighter workload in the Game 3 victory. He is 6-for-25 (24%) from the field and just 3 of 16 (19%) from 3-point range.

For those needing a contrarian swing-for-the-fences play in the last game of the night, Lillard is your guy on DraftKings ($8,200, 1.0%) and FanDuel (8.1%), projecting for fantasy points in the mid-30s, though with upside if he can find his range.

Bobby Portis Jr. had a pair of duds, sandwiching a 28-point, 12-rebound effort in Game 2. Expect a bounce back tonight, putting him in play across the DFS sites.

Gary Trent Jr. got the spot start, and the expectations are that he will remain with the first five tonight, over Taurean Prince. The second-generation baller showed out with 37 points, tying Giannis for the team lead. While that total is not expected tonight, he should reach 20 points if his role remains the same and he gets 16 field goal attempts again. The four steals were gravy, but he does have a career average of 1.5 per 36 minutes across seven seasons in the league for three different teams.

Brook Lopez is a contrarian play who has seen his minutes slide from 21 to 16 to 15 this series, with 9, 8 and 0 points. He is best left for the two-game late slate or the single-game contests, but the 37-year-old pivot man is a tough click for those only making a handful of lineups. Kyle Kuzma is pretty much an afterthought with the Bucks at full strength, as his role is to do all the dirty work and little things, averaging only eight field goal attempts per game this series with 21 total points.

Kevin Porter Jr. disappointed in Game 3, but his salary has him as a neutral option on DraftKings ($4,000, 20.3%) and FanDuel ($4,300, 26.9%). It would not take much for him to push for mid-20s minutes and fantasy points, particularly with Ryan Rollins out of the rotation with Lillard back.

Tyrese Haliburton had just 11, 19 and 13 field goal attempts in this series, most coming from behind the arc. He had double-digit assists in each game, but the 15 points per appearance are dampening his fantasy prospects. This has opened up the door for Andrew Nembhard to be a secondary scorer after Pascal Siakam, with Aaron Nesmith a wild card as well. Do not sleep on Nembhard, who is going underrepresented in tournaments on both DraftKings ($5,200, 11.8%) and FanDuel ($5,400, 19.7%).

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The 30 points in the last game were a career high in the playoffs, but he had 25 in Game 1 of this series and five games of 20-plus points in the second season last year. He also does a nice job with the defensive stats, though blocks and steals are harder to come by in the playoffs. Enjoy his low salary, which is going to be in the $6,000s before the end of this series if he keeps it up.

DiVincenzo is a great salary saver on DraftKings ($4,500, 33.4%), though not quite as appealing on FanDuel ($5,300), where Randle ($7,000, 32.8%) is the better fantasy point-per-dollar option on the blue site.

Anthony Edwards increased his scoring in each of the three games, and he is going to need to get to 30 this afternoon to really drop the hammer on the Lakers. Keep in mind this is an afternoon game, which shortens the recovery time since LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves each played 40-plus minutes. Reaves should be fine, Doncic ideally will have recovered from whatever was ailing him Friday and be more effective, but how James will fare is the biggest wild card. The series resumes in Los Angeles on Wednesday, but if things get out of hand, it would not be a surprise for King James to get late-game rest to save up for a last-ditch effort at home to save the series and likely one of his last chances at a ring.

Today’s Top Sports Betting Picks

If you’re serious about winning in NBA DFS, you know the edge comes from having the right tools. The same principle applies to sports betting — and that’s where Portfolio EV steps in.

Take Jalen Duren under 11.5 rebounds today, for example. It’s a +EV bet, meaning it has positive expected value when compared to the best odds available across the market. But the real strength of Portfolio EV isn’t about finding just one good bet — it’s about consistently finding dozens. With the Mass Entry tool, you can scale up, place a high volume of +EV bets, and let the math do the heavy lifting.

Just like you wouldn’t count on one DFS lineup to ship a GPP, you don’t count on one bet to carry your night.

Portfolio EV is built for long-term profitability. It helps you spot market inefficiencies, compare lines across books and generate a steady stream of +EV bets. It doesn’t chase heaters, but rather trusts the numbers, follows a process and builds sustainable profit over time.

Getting to a dozen rebounds is a tough ask against the Knickerbockers, with Duren cleaning the glass for eight, 13 and six boards this series. He averaged 10.9 per game over the last two regular seasons, but with fewer possessions in the playoffs, Isaiah Stewart likely to return and foul trouble an issue with five, five and four in the first three games, things are lining up against the talented youngster.

Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today

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