Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Tuesday, April 22nd

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2025-04-22 22:20:32 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 Tuesday!

Both road teams won last night, which means the Pistons and Clippers have stolen home-court advantage from the Knicks and Nuggets. Those have been two of the better series so far.

Tonight we have 3 games on the slate. The Pacers and Thunder picked up easy wins at home in Game 1 of their respective series, while the Lakers are looking to get back on track and even the series at a game apiece tonight at home.

NBA DFS Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Tuesday, April 22nd

• 3-game main slate
  - 7:00 PM ET – Milwaukee Bucks at Indiana Pacers
  - 7:30 PM ET – Memphis Grizzlies at Oklahoma City Thunder
  - 10:00 PM ET – Minnesota Timberwolves at Los Angeles Lakers
• NBA DFS Optimizer
• NBA Starting Lineups
• NBA Injury Report
• Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays

Editor’s Note: Looking for more places to play? Check out our Underdog Fantasy promo code and PrizePicks promo code, two of the best DFS apps available today.

News Updates

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

Team Previews

Milwaukee Bucks (at IND)

We kick off the slate with the Bucks, who found themselves down 24 points at halftime in Game 1. They outscored the Pacers in the second half, but the game was never really competitive. On paper, this is one of the best matchups in the playoffs, as the Pacers are 7th in pace, 28th in rebounding rate, and 17th in points allowed per game this season. The big injury to monitor here is Damian Lillard. He’s listed as questionable after not seeing any action since March 18th.

If Lillard is active, he’ll likely be on a minute restriction. We have him projected for 32 minutes in LineupHQ, and that’s still not enough for him to project well at his current price point. In his absence in Game 1, Ryan Rollins started, while Kevin Porter and Gary Trent both played big minutes off the bench. I will note that we shouldn’t look too hard at the rotations from Game 1, as Giannis Antetokounmpo was the only starter to see his usual allotment of minutes. As for Giannis, he’s topped 70 fantasy points in 3 of his last 6 games and should push for 40 minutes. He already projects well, but we can give him a small boost if Lillard is ruled out.

The rest of the Bucks are best suited as tournament plays. Kyle Kuzma has underwhelmed more often than not since joining the Bucks. He’s been held under 30 fantasy points in 7 straight games and put up a bagel in 21 minutes of action in Game 1. Bobby Portis is my preferred target over Kuzma, although his playing time is less secure. Portis at least offers 35+ fantasy point upside. Brook Lopez has put up floor performances in 4 of his last 8 games, but he also has a 50 fantasy point outing mixed in during that stretch. Trent and Taurean Prince are cheap enough to be considered lineup fillers, but they aren’t my favorite values.

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