Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Sunday, May 4th

by Taylor Smith (tcsmith031) Last Updated 2025-05-04 21:34:47 Premium Content Part of the product NBA DFS

A daily fantasy sports OG, Notorious has been roaming the DFS streets ever since they were invented. He has racked up multiple live final seats and several six-figure tournament wins in his DFS career and has long been one of the top NBA DFS minds in the industry. On weekends, Taylor Smith takes the reins. Their Core Plays LIVE article will zoom out on the slate as a whole, zoom in on the best NBA DFS picks, and constantly update as news breaks. Whether you are diving into the slate 5 hours before it starts or 5 minutes before it starts, Core Plays LIVE has everything you need for your DraftKings and FanDuel lineups.

Happy Sunday! After a few days off for single-game slates, we’re back with Core Plays Live for Sunday’s 2-game docket. We’ll tip things off at 6 PM ET with the Pacers visiting the Cavaliers in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal showdown. Most aren’t really giving Indiana much hope in the series, but this is a 50-win team that just toppled the Bucks in 5 games in the first round. I wouldn’t be sleeping on ‘em.

The nightcap, of course, is Game 7 of the first-round series between the Warriors and Rockets in Houston. Golden State jumped out to a 3-1 series lead, but back-to-back wins from a young Rockets team with its back against the wall pushed the series to the brink.

Should be a fun day of hoops, so let’s dive in.

NBA DFS Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Sunday, May 4th

• 2-game main slate
  - 6:00 PM ET – Indiana Pacers at Cleveland Cavaliers
  - 8:30 PM ET – Golden State Warriors at Houston Rockets
• NBA DFS Optimizer
• NBA Starting Lineups
• NBA Injury Report
• Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays

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News Updates

This section will be updated as injury news is released throughout the day.

Team Previews

Indiana Pacers (at CLE)

The Pacers are 8-point underdogs this evening in Cleveland, though their 110.75 implied team total is still the 2nd-highest of the slate. This game is expected to be much higher-scoring than the other one, which isn’t a huge surprise given how the GSW-HOU series has played out. Tyrese Haliburton (1.34 FP/minute) has kept up the terrific play we saw in the latter half of the regular season. Cleveland is a much more imposing matchup than Milwaukee was, but it’s hard not to like Hali considering $9,000 on FD and $8,800 on DK may still be discounts. Andrew Nembhard (0.94 FP/minute) and Aaron Nesmith (0.96) were both outstanding against the Bucks, while Bennedict Mathurin (26%) led Indiana in usage in that series. None of these wings are projected as elite values considering their salaries have risen. I’d rank ‘em Nesmith, Nembhard, and Mathurin in terms of personal priority, though I’d expect ownership to agree.

Pascal Siakam (1.03 FP/minute) and Myles Turner (0.96) both posted lower per-minute rates in the first round than they did during the season, but their minutes are secure. Turner looks like a particularly solid value at $6,200 on both sites, though center is a decent position, even on this 2-gamer. TJ McConnell (1.23 FP/minute) was instrumental in the Pacers’ dominance of the Bucks. This matchup is considerably more daunting, but McConnell’s stellar per-minute rate makes him viable in the $4,000 range. Obi Toppin and Jarace Walker are deep, large-field punt fliers at best.

Cleveland Cavaliers (vs. IND)

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