NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: Which Celtic to Avoid?! (April 23)

Tuesday brings a three-game featured slate with a 7:00 p.m. ET lock time on FanDuel and DraftKings. Let’s get into the top NBA DFS picks and building blocks: Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Derrick White and Payton Pritchard are all strong plays in the absence of Jayson Tatum and with Jaylen Brown ailing as well.

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: Wednesday, April 23

NBA DFS Picks Today: Building Blocks

In each of the preceding three seasons, Tatum has had a top-six finish in the MVP vote. It won’t be just one player who replaces the franchise player, it will be the entire team stepping up. Al Horford is likely to join the first five, which in turn has him as one of the best fantasy point per dollar options across the DFS industry. The venerable veteran will be 39-years-old in June, but he can still contribute as a rebounder and scorer. He has a wide range of outcomes for his minutes, which creates for a volatile projection range.

The Stokastic NBA DFS Projections have Horford in for 36 minutes, which may be a touch high, but it is in play if this is a contested game down the stretch. Boston is currently 10.5-point favorites, which goes to show the depth and talent on this roster.

Kristaps Porzingis was injured for a large portion of the playoffs last year, missing all of May. This year he saw nearly a 10% increase in his per minute fantasy production with Tatum on and off the court. The bump is in usage and rebounding, which bodes well for Porzingis, who is an accomplished post scorer.

Jaylen Brown has been dealing with knee soreness, which is likely something he will be managing throughout the rest of the playoffs. He becomes the primary scorer with Tatum off the court, though again, this is going to be a team effort to fill the void.

In the early run of the Stokastic Boom/Bust Tool, Derrick White is the most underrepresented Celtic in tournaments, which is not surprising for the unassuming combo-guard. Casual observers think he is more of a defender and it is understandable, considering he has made the All-Defensive Second Team each of the last two seasons. He is also a competent scorer, who can create his own looks and also knock down long-range shots.

Jrue Holiday is hard to be excited about, with his scoring falling from 19.3 points per game when he was an All-Star with Milwaukee, to 12.5 points last year and his 11.1 this season were the lowest of his career, since he was a 19-year-old rookie in the 2009-2010 season. Payton Pritchard is the more intriguing option, even coming off the bench. He too should see a trickledown increase of minutes and he also has the upside potential of playing in mop-up duty. In Game 1, with the C’s holding a large lead, he played the entire fourth quarter, while Brown (0:00) and Porzingis (2:09) watched from the sidelines.

Paolo Banchero is a strong play again and he rewarded his supporters with a 60-fantasy point effort in the opener, with a hefty 20 field goal attempts. Not having to expend energy guarding Tatum will help as well, since the former top draft pick played 42 minutes on Sunday and should push that threshold throughout this series.

Banchero is the most popular Magic player on DraftKings, though he is behind Franz Wagner, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Wendell Carter Jr. on the blue site. It is important to understand the different scoring formats, salary caps and roster requirements when playing on multiple platforms.

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 this sample slate:

Sengun projects for nearly 20 more fantasy points than the other “center-only” options on FanDuel, which is why his tournament representation is double that of DraftKings. Getting over that number and into the 60%-to-70% range is a savvy strategy. Steven Adams was a key discount dandy on DraftKings, playing 11 of his 19.5 minutes with Sengun, which is a wild look for how the NBA has evolved over the last five years. Adams isn’t going to look for his own shot, being on the court for bruising defense and rebounding, but he did have five offensive boards and ended up scoring six point on four attempts, so he is unlikely to put up a donut in that stat column.

The rest of the Rockets were downright dreadful, which heavily contributed to the 95-85 loss in Houston. Fred VanVleet (3-for-19), Jalen Green (3-for-15), Dillon Brooks (3-for-9) and Tari Eason (3-for-10) couldn’t have found water if they fell out of a boat. It is a shock to see an entire teams slumping so badly at home, so there should be a turnaround tonight. If there isn’t, this is going to be a quick series as the Warriors will flip the script and be slight favorites when the series resumes in San Francisco.

After Sengun, Amen Thompson (4-for-9) is the next most intriguing fantasy prospect, with his ability to chip in across the box score. Eason and Jabari Smith Jr. are discount dandies off the bench on FanDuel, though Adams is still more appealing on DraftKings ($3,500).

Jimmy Butler III, Stephen Curry and Brandin Podziemski have the most DFS appeal, though it is Draymond Green that is the graybeard powering the defense that will determine the on court fate of the ‘Dubs. Moses Moody defers, as he should, on offense, but since scoring is his best attribute, he is not really much of a fantasy threat. Gary Payton II has more appeal, even though he will see half as many minutes.

Podziemski (48.1%) is still only $5,500 on DraftKings, which has him trailing only Horford (76.9%) in projected popularity. He is just inside the top-10 on FanDuel ($6,500, 34.6%), with eligibility at both guard spots.

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 Tyler Herro under 4.5 assists 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.

Herro has the full focus of opposing defenses, even with Andrew Wiggins back in action. He hasn’t had more than four assists in any of his last five games and as the primary scorer after the Butler trade, his passing numbers have fallen significantly. In the last 18 games without Butler, Herro reached five-plus assists just seven (39%) times and he didn’t have to see a smothering defense like Cleveland in most of those games.

Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today

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