Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Monday, April 22nd
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 Noto will mix it up in all different types of contests. So, who better to walk you through the madness of an NBA DFS slate? Core Plays LIVE 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, you’ve come to the right place.
I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. While I love the spring, I can’t seem to get behind the idea of yard work. I usually have a couple of weeks of motivation where I’m determined to make my yard look better. I’ll mow and fertilize the lawn, pick the weeds out of the garden, and add a few plants to the collection each year. This motivation typically wanes before too long, but I can usually count on it to make my yard look somewhat presentable. For whatever reason, that motivation forgot to show up this year. Speaking of not showing up, I went to drop off my little one at school this morning and nobody was there. Even though he just had 10 days off for Spring Break, he has another random day off. He’s pumped. I love him, but I also love working in peace.
I am as excited for tonight’s NBA slate as my son is for getting an unexpected day off from school. There’s nothing quite like playoff basketball. We didn’t have any major surprises in the first game of each series, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t expect some upsets moving forward. We have 3 games on the schedule tonight, and all 3 of the home teams boast a 1-0 lead. We don’t have the best game environments for fantasy production, and there aren’t a lot of injuries, so this should be a very tough slate when it comes to roster construction. I much prefer these over the slates where there are too many options.
Let’s dive into the team breakdowns.
NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Monday, April 22nd
Slate Overview
- 3-game slate
- 7:00 PM ET – Orlando Magic at Cleveland Cavaliers
- 7:30 PM ET – Philadelphia 76ers at New York Knicks
- 10:00 PM ET – Los Angeles Lakers at Denver Nuggets
- NBA DFS Injury Report: The Situation Room
- Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays
News Updates
This section will be updated as injury news is released throughout the day.
Team Previews
Orlando Magic (at CLE): The Magic didn’t put up much of a fight in the series opener, as they were only able to muster up 83 points against the stingy Cavaliers defense. Paolo Banchero was responsible for 9 of the team’s 12 turnovers and as a whole, Orlando only shot 33% from the field. This is a team that has struggled on the road (18-23) all season, which is why I thought it was so important for them to lock up the 4th seed in the East (which they were unable to do). They’ll look to bounce back in Game 2, but the matchup isn’t getting any easier. During the regular season, the Cavaliers were 24th in pace and 7th in defensive rating (and even better when they were at full strength). The Magic are listed as 5.5-point underdogs and have by far the lowest team total (98.8 points) of the slate.
The Magic don’t have anyone listed on their injury report, so they should be at full strength tonight. They pulled a fast one on us the other night, as they decided to start Jonathan Isaac. His role started to grow toward the end of the season, and he logged 29 minutes in Game 1. I hate to call someone a must-play, but he’s close to it tonight on DraftKings ($4,500). He has averaged 1.08 DK / 1.16 FD points per minute this season and has a path to 26-30 minutes. With his ability to rack up blocks and steals, he’s also viable in tournaments on FanDuel ($6,200). Banchero didn’t take great care of the ball on Saturday, but he played 41 minutes and put up 37 fantasy points. Efficiency is a concern in this matchup, but Banchero projects very well at his current price point.
Franz Wagner had a solid outing in Game 1, scoring 40 fantasy points in 38 minutes of action. He’s affordable and should see 38-40 minutes again tonight. Despite a price hike on both sites, Jalen Suggs seems like a strong value play on this slate. He slid over and started at point guard in Game 1 and put up 30 fantasy points despite shooting 4-for-17 from the field. I certainly don’t mind starting DraftKings lineups with Suggs and Isaac, even in this difficult matchup. Gary Harris doesn’t offer much in terms of stat production, but he’ll likely be out there for 30+ minutes if you need a lineup filler. Nobody on the bench played more than 15 minutes in Game 1, so it’s hard to make a strong case for Cole Anthony, Wendell Carter, Markelle Fultz, Moe Wagner, or Joe Ingles.
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