Monday brings forth two NBA Game 2’s and a 7:30 p.m. ET lock time on FanDuel and DraftKings. Let’s get into the top NBA DFS picks and building blocks: Jalen Brunson, Nikola Jokic, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and Cade Cunningham are the best options for their respective teams. It is finding the right combination of secondary and tertiary targets that will make or break bankrolls tonight.
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: Monday, April 21
NBA DFS Picks Today: Building Blocks
Jalen Brunson: Knicks vs. Pistons
NBA DFS Projections
DraftKings: 46.5 | FanDuel: 44.5
NBA DFS Ownership Projections
DraftKings: 40.6% | FanDuel: 45.5%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $8,300 | FanDuel: $8,800
On Saturday, Jalen Brunson simply did not let the Knicks lose in front of the Madison Square Garden crowd. The diminutive combo guard was 8-for-12 from the field in the second half, with New York going on a 21-0 run in the middle of the fourth quarter to turn an 8-point deficit into a 13-point lead in just four minutes of game action. Surprisingly, Cameron Payne had 11 of his 14 points in the final frame, which helped secure the victory from the jaws of defeat.
Brunson has been the heart and soul of the team since coming over from Dallas in free agency, making two All-Star teams and averaging 26.4 points in his 210 games with the Knickerbockers. It would not be a surprise if he posted yet another strong DFS game, though Payne’s effort is unlikely to be replicated.
Josh Hart got into early foul trouble, picking up two violations in the first 4 1/2 minutes and a third at the beginning of the second quarter. That limited him to less than eight minutes, compared to the second half where he was on the floor for all but 90 seconds.
Hart led the league with 37.6 minutes per game this season, fouling out only twice in 77 starts and reaching five fouls in four appearances. It is surprising that coach Tom Thibodeau did not trust him since he didn’t commit a single infraction in the second half action.
O.G. Anunoby is always in play with his ability to rack up defensive stats. Seven “stocks” (steals plus blocks) is not likely to be repeated, but Anunoby quietly became an effective scorer this season, averaging 18.0 points per game. Quite a bit of that occurred when Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns missed time with injuries, but it has enabled the former Toronto Raptor to pass Mikal Bridges for DFS purposes.
Towns has been an excellent addition to the Knicks, posting a career-high 12.8 rebounds per game while also contributing 24.4 points, 3.1 assists and 1.7 stocks. He has the fourth-highest median fantasy point projection, which has him on the DFS radar and slightly over-leveraged in the Stokastic Boom/Bust Tool.
Turning our attention to the reserves, Mitchell Robinson will get all of the minutes when Towns is on the bench, and he also played nine minutes alongside KAT in the series opener. Landry Shamet came into the game for Hart and then stayed on the court into the second quarter for Anunoby. However, that 10.2 minutes was his only rotation, and he is hard to consider outside of potential mop-up duty. Miles McBride had four rotations, though just 15.2 minutes as he couldn’t generate any offense, being held scoreless. He could easily pick up minutes from Payne and Shamet if he is putting the biscuit in the basket.
Cade Cunningham played a hefty 39.1 minutes, and he should push for 40 most games in this series as long as the score is close. Though he “only” scored 21 points, he did have help from veterans Tobias Harris (25 points), Malik Beasley (20) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (19). The latter two are very scoring dependent for their fantasy production, but Harris contributes in a myriad of ways. That, along with his reasonable salary, has him as the most popular play on FanDuel ($6,400, 58.9%) and also well represented on DraftKings ($6,200, 31.9%).
Dennis Schroder will be the backup point guard, also playing alongside Cunningham to let the budding superstar work off ball. Jalen Duren has an appealing salary, though fouls are a major risk for him in this matchup.
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NBA DFS Picks Today: Building Blocks
Kris Dunn: Clippers at Nuggets
NBA DFS Projections
DraftKings: 18.46 | FanDuel: 19.45
NBA DFS Ownership Projections
DraftKings: 31.4% | FanDuel: 43.4%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $3,800 | FanDuel: $4,700
Kris Dunn is the punt du jour across the DFS sites tonight with the shallow four-team player pool. The only other potential value would be Paul Reed if Stewart’s knee issue keeps him out of the game. B-Ball Paul would then project for around 10 minutes off the bench, or as long has his six fouls keep him on the court.
Alex Caruso is a discount dandy on DraftKings ($3,800, 21.7%) while also being in the value conversation on FanDuel ($4,900, 18.8%). Surprisingly, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has positive leverage in tournaments. The surprising part is that gamers do not seem willing to pony up for the presumptive NBA MVP on DraftKings ($10,900, 16.3%) or FanDuel ($11,200, 19.8%). That could change as we get closer to tipoff, though with this being the first game on the docket, he may continue to be overlooked.
Dunn is more of a defender, but he should see around 24 to 26 minutes as a baseline, with effective play earning him a few more ticks of the clock. James Harden and Kawhi Leonard are the engine that will be powering the Los Angeles playoff hopes, and Norman Powell slides back to a distant third wheel until his salary falls a little more. In a twist, Derrick Jones Jr. and Nicolas Batum each played the first nine minutes of the final frame while Powell and Dunn were on the bench. Fellow reserves Bogdan Bogdanovic and Ben Simmons also started the fourth quarter, though this duo played only 12.2 and 13.3 total minutes in the contest.
Ivica Zubac had the best game of his career against Nikola Jokic, which was not how things were envisioned by Your Ol’ Pal. It would be a surprise to see the late-blooming center reach the 40-fantasy point plateau again, considering most of his energy and focus is geared towards attempting to slow down three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic. Though he played all but the last 10 seconds of overtime, Zubac’s only DFS contribution was one steal and no offensive attempts.
Jokic is the priority play tonight, much like every day he has a game. However, salary caps are a constraint in DFS, and he appears to be underrepresented on FanDuel ($12,500, 17.1%), though projecting appropriately on DraftKings ($11,500, 33.1%).
Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon look like they will be the non-Jokic options, with Michael Porter Jr. falling back with the likes of Christian Braun and Russell Westbrook. That should not be surprising, given the stakes of the postseason, but expect it to take at least one more game for the casuals to catch on. Braun and Westbrook each played over Porter in the fourth quarter and overtime period. This was partly due to Porter not able to find any offensive production and also being outclassed on the boards. He already is a defensive liability, which makes for a very wobbly three-legged stool.
Peyton Watson should get the minutes vacated by Jokic while also covering for some of the minutes Porter is off the court. He is a low-usage player, but if he sees another 14 to 15 minutes, he is an acceptable discount dandy, albeit with limited upside.
Jalen Williams stands out on FanDuel, projecting to be on nearly one-third of all lineups. The rest of the Thunder are mostly mired at single-digit popularity levels, aside from Luguentz Dort, who is around 15% on both sites.
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 Isaiah Stewart under 5.5 rebounds tonight 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.
Stewart left the game in the fourth quarter after tweaking his knee, though he was only in during the final frame as Jalen Duren was getting a quick break. This has the former University of Washington stalwart listed as questionable. This season, Stewart averaged 5.5 rebounds in 19.9 minutes per game. That is in line with the wager, though below the six needed for the under to fail. The minutes projection for “Beef Stew” sits at 20, but his rebounds are at 4.8 since there are fewer offensive opportunities in the playoffs.
While it is not a direct comparison, it is a data point — so it is interesting to note that when including the four regular season meetings, Stewart averaged 21.4 minutes and 3.4 rebounds against New York.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today
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