NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: Three Must Plays for Tournaments! (April 6)

Sunday wraps up the weekend with an eight-game featured slate tipping off at 6:00 p.m. ET on FanDuel and DraftKings. Let’s get into the top NBA DFS picks and building blocks, including Nikola Jokic and Trae Young as strong foundational plays, Obi Toppin as a tournament target and the New Orleans Pelicans bringing the discount dandies.

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 6

NBA DFS Picks Today: Building Blocks

The Nuggets are a half game behind the Los Angeles Lakers, a half game ahead of Golden State, and a full game over Minnesota, Memphis and the Clippers. That has Denver in the driver’s seat with a decent probability of the third- or fourth-best record, as well as hosting in the first round of the playoffs.

Indiana, on the other hand, is most likely to hold on to the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, trailing New York by three games, though looking to hold off Milwaukee (three games) and Detroit (3.5 games). The Pacers have an easy game against Washington on Tuesday, but they close out the season with a home-and-home set against Cleveland and a matchup against Orlando in between. Having won 11 of the last 14 games, the expectation is that Indiana will be playing this one straight up, though coach Rich Carlisle could pull the starters if the game is out of hand in the second half.

It appears that Nikola Jokic is going to finish second in the MVP race this season, as last year’s runner-up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander holds a lofty lead with one week left. That is wild, considering that Jokic is averaging a triple-double with personal-highs of 29.8 points and 10.2 assists per game, and his 12.8 rebounds are the second most of his career. The three-time and reigning MVP ranks among the top 3 in each of these categories.

Jamal Murray is questionable, having missed the last four games with a hamstring issue, and we know that the team is going to be careful with him since his help will be needed for a deep postseason run. Indiana has already ruled out Pascal Siakam (elbow), which should lead to additional minutes for Obi Toppin.

Bennedict Mathurin missed three games with a calf issue, returning on Thursday to score 20 points in 23 minutes against the Utah Jazz. He is not on the injury report today, and he is a candidate for a spot start in place of Siakam.

Tyrese Haliburton will likely see a few extra offensive opportunities with Siakam sidelined, which has him most appealing on FanDuel. TJ McConnell is a potential discount dandy on DraftKings ($4,000, 12.2%), though he is not particularly interesting on the blue site. Aaron Nesmith, Andrew Nembhard, Myles Turner and Jarace Walker have varying degrees of utility, depending on one’s DFS site of choice.

Stokastic’s NBA DFS Single Lineup Simulator is a groundbreaking tool that revolutionizes lineup building by providing data-driven simulations, making it a must-have for serious players. Check out how the Simulator evaluates this single lineup for today’s slate:

The Jazz are 12.5-point underdogs and will be without Walker Kessler (nose/concussion) for the fourth time in the last five games. KJ Martin (illness) is questionable, and, of course, Lauri Markkanen, John Collins, Jordan Clarkson, Cody Williams and Taylor Hendricks are all done for the season. That means increased usage for Kyle Filipowski, who played between 31 and 34 minutes in four of the last five games. The increase in his salary has him on the fringes for DFS purposes on DraftKings ($7,300, 7.8%) and FanDuel ($6,900, 13.4%), though he is in play on the pick’em sites for his 28.5 points + rebounds + assists and 10.5 rebounds.

Dyson Daniels, Caris LeVert and Onyeka Okongwu are each projecting for around 15% representation in tournaments on DraftKings. LeVert is about the same on FanDuel, though Okongwu ($7,900, 49.6%) and Daniels ($8,100, 40.8%) are significantly more popular on the blue site, the former for his power forward eligibility and the latter for the 3 fantasy points awarded for steals, with “The Great Barrier Thief” leading the league at a trio of takeaways per tilt.

Per the F-R-E-E Stokastic Starting Lineups page, it looks like Brice Sensabaugh and Johnny Juzang will be in the starting lineup, though the Jazz are still running a nine-man rotation, so they are neutral options at this time.

The wild card for tonight is going to be Giannis Antetokounmpo, with the two-time MVP logging a whopping 43 minutes during an overtime victory in Miami, posting 36 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists. Milwaukee is one of the last two games to tip off tonight, so we may not have news of his availability at first lock. The Bucks are 7.5-point road favorites, which would seem to indicate that Antetokounmpo will be a go. Of course, with New Orleans mailing it in, it is hard to infer much from the line.

Jordan Hawkins (back) and Kelly Olynyk (rest) are out, with Jose Alvarado (calf) questionable. Rookies Yves Missi and Karlo Matkovic are in play as frontcourt salary relief, and Bruce Brown Jr. is an intriguing option since he can help out as both a scorer and non-traditional facilitator. Antonio Reeves is fine on the late slate, though if Alvarado is out, Reeves will be elevated to a salary-saving option on the featured slate. Finally, Jamal Cain is the punt du jour on DraftKings at the $3,000 minimum, though at $4,000 on FanDuel, he is not overly appealing.

Today’s Top Sports Betting Picks

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Take tonight’s Fred VanVleet under 13.5 points as an example. It’s a +EV bet, meaning it offers positive expected value based on the best odds across the market. But the real power of Portfolio EV isn’t about isolating one play—it’s about placing a high volume of these +EV bets. With the Mass Entry tool, you can scale your action, maximize your edge\ and let the math work for you over time.

Just like one DFS lineup doesn’t guarantee a takedown, no single bet makes or breaks your night.

Portfolio EV is designed to help bettors build a sustainable, long-term winning strategy. By identifying market inefficiencies, shopping for the best lines, and compiling a steady stream of +EV bets, you unlock compounding profits. It’s not about riding hot streaks; it’s about trusting the data and executing a smart, repeatable process to consistently beat the books.

Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today

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