NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: The Heat is on Miami! (April 28)

Monday has two games, with the fun getting underway at 7:30 p.m. ET on FanDuel and DraftKings. Let’s get into the top NBA DFS picks and building blocks: Miami is at home on the brink of elimination, with Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo and company 8.5-point underdogs. In Golden State, the Warriors are 3.5-point favorites against Houston, and the status of Jimmy Butler is looming large. Warriors fans can take solace in Stephen Curry being locked in, but it would be nice if he had some help 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 28

NBA DFS Picks Today: Building Blocks

Bam Adebayo is projecting to be the most popular player on the main DFS sites, so he is clearly not going to be the dude bringing differentiation, though he is a foundational play, particularly on FanDuel with his power forward eligibility. Miami lost each game this series, with two of the three being by 21 and 37 points and the latter coming at home on Saturday.

Adebayo was the only player who could get anything going, putting up 22 points, with only Davion Mitchell (16), Tyler Herro (13) and Andrew Wiggins (10) able to join him at double-digit contributions. The bench had a grand total of 18 points, so there is not much help coming from the reserves, plus veterans Alec Burks, Kyle Anderson and Terry Rozier were all DNP-CDs.

Nikola Jovic is the wild card outside of the first five and is likely to see 22 to 25 minutes, providing defense, rebounding and hopefully some long-range scoring off the bench. He converted only 2 of 14 (14%) from 3-point range in the last two games, but as a 37% career shooter from downtown in his career, that could turn around quickly and at a reasonable salary.

Herro has not lived up to his name, failing to crack 30 fantasy points in two of the three tilts thus far. This should not be a surprise since he is the focus of a crushing Cleveland defense, but he does not have enough peripheral contributions to be a DFS difference-maker if he isn’t putting the biscuit in the basket.

Davion Mitchell has been a pleasant surprise, showing the ability to produce points within the parameters of the offense while maintaining an excellent defensive presence. He alone cannot stop the Cavaliers backcourt, though he keeps trying and endearing himself to coach Erick Spoelstra to the point that he has moved into the starting lineup over Burks.

Rookie Kel’el Ware is not going to be on the court in the fourth quarter of close games, which pretty much has him capped at around 19 minutes. In Game 3, he did see 5.5 minutes, but that was after Miami had surrendered and emptied the bench for the final stretch of the matchup. He had just over one minute in the opener, and in Game 2 he didn’t leave the bench in the final frame. His lack of offense is a problem when the Heat are so hard pressed to find anyone who can score. That makes him a tough click, unless you are building out a roster with the expectation that the Heat wave the white flag at home in the what could be the swan song for the season.

Wiggins should get minutes, but he has struggled mightily this series and is only worthy of our consideration because of the shallow four-team player pool. Taking a chance on Haywood Highsmith is viable since he at least contributes in a variety of aspects and has avoided the doghouse, unlike second-year forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Rookie Pelle Larsson and 3-point specialist Duncan Robinson are wild cards who will have a tough row to hoe in order to reach double-digit fantasy production, though they have a better shot than Jaquez and the trio of veterans tied to the bench.

Darius Garland missed the last game, and with a likely sweep taking place tonight, it would be a little surprising for Cleveland to push him since it needs his toe to get right for the next series. If he is out again, then Sam Merrill, Max Strus, Ty Jerome and De’Andre Hunter will each get a bump from trickledown minutes, available offensive opportunities and potential mop-up duty in the final frame.

Donovan Mitchell had a tremendous season, and he is poised to make noise going forward. Evan Mobley is a steady Eddie, while Jarrett Allen popped up with two good fantasy performances, courtesy of scoring. He is usually a double-double threat but definitely rewarded his backers on Saturday with a whopping 22 points on 8 of 9 (88%) shooting from close range. FanDuel has granted him power forward eligibility, which keeps him in the mix on the blue site, where he gets 3 fantasy points for his blocks and steals.

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That strategy has worked out for the Warriors, who had victories in Games 1 and 3 when Green had only 16 combined points, with the loss in Game 2 occurring when the talented scorer dropped the hammer for 38 points. Of course, that was when Jimmy Butler went down in the first quarter and Gary Payton II was playing through a shoulder issue.

Green is the most popular Rocket on DraftKings ($6,900, 30.3%), falling to fourth on FanDuel ($7,100, 33.0%), with reserve Tari Eason and do-everything wing Amen Thompson being better fantasy point-per-dollar plays. Fred VanVleet is ahead of that duo on DraftKings, and though the veteran guard has not had many helpful fantasy moments in this series, he is averaging 40 minutes per game and just needs a little positive variance in his favor to pop off for something usable.

Steven Adams remains in play since there is a dearth of value options on the short slate, particularly if Butler and Garland play. He is best utilized on DraftKings, though in a pinch, if he can put the ball in the basket a couple of times and add a block or two, he could be the key to unlocking everything else on the blue site.

Dillon Brooks and Jabari Smith Jr. are tertiary targets who are focused more on defense and rebounding than offense. That makes it tougher for them to get to a usable fantasy score, though not impossible.

Tonight will be the 151st playoff game of Stephen Curry’s storied career, and the future Hall of Famer is coming off an epic 36-point effort that helped push the Dubs to victory without Butler. If Butler plays, that is only a benefit for Curry since it would take some defensive attention away from him. Early word is that Butler is going to play tonight, though his effectiveness will not be known until the in-game action is underway.

Brandin Podziemski recovered from his ailment to at least contribute to the Game 3 victory, but his playing time will be pinched with the return of Butler and as Payton moves beyond his shoulder issue. Payton had a playoff career-high 16 points on 7 of 9 (78%) shooting from the field. That is an outlier, though he tallied double digits in seven of his 27 (26%) playoff appearances. Payton gets his buckets in the flow of the game, so half a dozen points is a more reasonable baseline expectation for tonight.

Draymond Green has been directing an effective defense while chipping in across the box score with 6.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 4.4 “stocks” (combined steals and blocks). It isn’t pretty, but it is still a usable fantasy line, plus there is upside in this key matchup for the Dubs, with the series headed back to Houston on Wednesday.

Moses Moody will be on the court, deferring to everyone else, with Buddy Hield and Quinten Post making appearances off the bench. Post is actually intriguing as he has flashed some upside potential, that could get him on the court for a couple extra minutes if he is effective early. He is not as safe as Adams but does have access to a higher upside since he does actually score, in addition to rebounding and setting screens. Hield had what was likely a 95th-percentile outcome on Saturday, scoring 17 points on 5 of 11 (46%) shooting from downtown. In the two preceding games of the series, he had just five long-range opportunities, making one. He is another wild card who is in play because of the limited alternatives.

Today’s Top Sports Betting Picks

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Herro has averaged four potential assists per game in this series, posting three, five and two official helpers. He is the primary scorer against a stifling defense, with few others capable of converting on his middling 36 passes made per game.

Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today

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