NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: Win and In Matchups! (April 15)

Tuesday brings the first day of the Play-In Tournament, with the action tipping off at 7:30 p.m. ET on FanDuel and DraftKings. Let’s get into the top NBA DFS picks and building blocks, with Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Trae Young, Ja Morant, Demond Bane and Stephon Curry leading the way.

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: Tuesday, April 15

NBA DFS Picks Today: Building Blocks

The top selection of the 2022 NBA Draft had personal highs of 25.9 points and 7.5 rebounds, while his 4.8 assists and 1.4 “stocks” (combined blocks and steals) were above his career averages. In the three games he faced Atlanta since the start of February, he averaged 33.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 0.7 blocks in 35.5 minutes per game. That run is in line with his long season burn, with the expectation tonight that he probably will play a few more minutes tonight in a close game, offsetting the extra defensive effort of the Hawks and the deliberate play of Orlando.

Franz Wagner missed 20 games with his own oblique injury from early December to mid-January. Similarly to Banchero, the only other two games he was out were the last pair of performances of the regular season.

The former Michigan Wolverine lost some offensive efficiency, though he averaged a career-high 33.7 minutes and 5.2 more field goal attempts per game over his last campaign. This, along with increased offensive facilitation duties with the injuries to Jalen Suggs, led to highs of 24.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.7 stocks in 33.7 minutes per appearance.

He also dropped the hammer in the most recent trio of tilts against Atlanta, with 28.0 points. 6.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.6 stocks, in 36.5 minutes. There is room for upside, considering his dreadful 27.8% field goal conversion rate in these games, with the Hawks not known for their tenacity on that side of the ball.

The Hawks are only going to be able to go as far as the offensive-minded Trae Young can carry them. Losing fourth-year wing Jalen Johnson in late January was a crushing blow, as he broke out with 18.9 points, 10.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.6 stocks through his 36 games. He was a key defender while also converting on 50% of his field goal attempts. Not having him is likely to lead to a lot of “What ifs?” for the Atlanta faithful.

Fortunately, Onyeka Okongwu and Dyson Daniels have really stepped up, helping the Hawks stay out of the lottery. Over his last 22 games, Okongwu was a major core piece for Atlanta on both sides of the court. He averaged 15.8 points, 11.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 stocks during this stretch, managing his fouls well in 32.6 minutes per game. He replaced Clint Capela in the starting lineup, and the team never looked back.

Daniels led the league with 3.0 steals per game, well ahead of Nikola Jokic and Cason Wallace, who tied for second with 1.8 per tilt. In addition to living up to his nickname as “The Great Barrier Thief,” the Australian was a strong complementary scorer with 15.1 points per game over his last 33 of the season. It looks like the Hawks were the big winner in the Dejounte Murray deal, landing a pair of first-round picks in addition to Daniels, project E.J. Liddell, and oft-injured veterans Larry Nance Jr. and Cody Zeller.

Be careful with rookie Zaccharie Risacher, who just celebrated his 20th birthday last week. The top selection in the most recent draft has been wildly inconsistent and not particularly effective in his chances against Orlando. He had four games with at least 30 points this season, and he also had 9 or fewer in five of the last 10 games, with most being meaningful for the Hawks.

Per the F-R-E-E Stokastic Starting Lineups page, it looks like second-year forward Mouhamed Gueye will continue starting for Atlanta, though he has tenuous minutes (15.7 projected), with veteran Caris LeVert projected for nearly 30 minutes of run since he was brought over from Cleveland in the De’Andre Hunter deal to provide more backcourt defense. Georges Niang came over in that trade as well, and the veteran of nine NBA campaigns also has played in 56 postseason games, bringing more polished offense than Gueye. Expect the experience of Terance Mann and Vit Krejci to win out over Risacher if he is unable to create offense. This low-usage duo will at least play within their skill sets, letting Young, Daniels and Okongwu get the glory.

For Orlando, journeyman Cory Joseph is expected to be the nominal point guard, tasked with bringing the ball up and care-taking the offense until the possessions ultimately end with Banchero or Wagner. Veteran Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will be needed for his backcourt defense, and Wendell Carter Jr. is the third offensive option with his post play.

Anthony Black or Cole Anthony could potentially start over Joseph, though that doesn’t seem likely. They could easily match his minutes, however, and both are far more appealing fantasy options in the discount-dandy bucket. It is tricky knowing how coach Jamahl Mosley will approach this similarly named duo, with each having held the upper hand over the other at varying points this season.

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That situation is also being foreshadowed in the Stokastic Projections with Aldama in line for 29.2 minutes, Edey at 26.3 and Jay Huff out of the picture. Vince Williams Jr. is likely to start, but he projects for just 22 minutes, likely losing out to Scotty Pippen Jr. when the Grizzlies get down to business and need a second ball handler alongside Morant. Veteran Luke Kennard also could get more run than Williams, with a similar path as Pippen and potentially overtaking the second-generation legacy.

Back to Golden State for a moment, Green has 158 postseason appearances and 140 playoff starts. We all know what to expect from the volatile Michigan State Spartan. Stephen Curry will be launching from all over the court, but the fate of the Warriors will really come down to Jimmy Butler and his health. He was banged up in the overtime game on Sunday, though it was hard to tell if that was more than a short-term issue or something that could flare up again tonight. Coach Steve Kerr needs at least one other feared scorer on the court with Curry, and that is unlikely to be Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody or Jonathan Kuminga with any consistency against the veteran Memphis defense.

Butler also has the innate ability to get to the free-throw line, which is crucial for postseason success when offenses slow down to half court sets. If Butler can’t get anything going, the team will be forced to let Podziemski join Curry from long range, though that is a high-variance approach that the team would like to avoid.

Buddy Hield likely will get a few minutes alongside Curry as the Podziemski backup, plus the few minutes that Curry is off the court, but he has little to offer on the two-game slate, leaving him for the single-game contests. Kuminga is another wild card, with minutes ranging from six to 16 as the baseline across the industry. Something in the 10 to 12 range is most likely, but he would be the next man up if something happens to Green, though Kevon Looney has the postseason experience, while Quinten Post the offensive potential. Good luck figuring out how Kerr is going to tinker with this lineup.

The last player of DFS note is Gary Payton II. His defensive prowess will be needed with ample players to guard such as Morant and Desmond Bane. He was a key cog in other Golden State playoff efforts, and that is not lost on his coach. Plus he won’t force his offense, even to a painful degree.

Morant, Bane and Curry did not get a lot of ink here, but you already know that they are the three best fantasy options in this matchup. Each of the teams tonight has one more chance to make the playoffs if they lose, so even with the baseline expectations pushing major minutes to the key players on the four squads, there is still the potential the regulars could get pulled for the final frame if the game is out of reach.

Today’s Top Sports Betting Picks

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Take Zaccharie Risacher under 11.5 points 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.

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Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today

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