Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Thursday, April 25th
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.
Happy Thursday!
Miami Heat fans….you are welcome. Here’s a line from yesterday’s article:
“I hate to call a series over after the first game, but I’m going to do it anyway.”
I reverse-jinxed Miami back into the series. It was an incredible performance from the Heat, as they shot 54% from the 3-point line and held the Celtics to 40 points in the entire 2nd half. The Thunder got off to a sizable lead against the Pelicans in the 1st half and never looked back. They are truly a joy to watch. I’m hoping they can make a deep run in the playoffs.
We now turn our attention to Thursday night. There are 3 games on the schedule, and each series currently sits at 2-0. The Magic, Sixers, and Lakers are all on the ropes and need to win the next 2 games to even their respective series. Let’s jump right into the games.
NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Thursday, April 25th
Slate Overview
- 3-game slate
- 7:00 PM ET – Cleveland Cavaliers at Orlando Magic
- 7:30 PM ET – New York Knicks at Philadelphia 76ers
- 10:00 PM ET – Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Lakers
- 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
Cleveland Cavaliers (at ORL): The Cavaliers have had issues scoring against the Magic (96 and 97 points), but their defense has been impenetrable. They have held Orlando under 90 points in each of the first 2 games. We’ll see if the momentum changes now that the series shifts to Orlando. In the regular season, the Magic were 29-12 at home. They have routinely been one of the toughest matchups for fantasy production, ranking 27th in pace and 3rd in defensive rating. The Cavaliers are listed as 2-point underdogs and come into the game with a team total that is 14.4 points below their season average (the worst mark on the slate).
Donovan Mitchell will look like the best player in the NBA for a quarter at a time, but then he won’t rack up any fantasy points for the next 30 minutes. There were moments in each of the first 2 games where it looked like he was going to break the slate, yet he finished each of those games with 42.5 fantasy points. I still view him as a strong tournament play, as there’s a good chance the Cavaliers will lean on him even more with this game being in Orlando. Darius Garland projects better than Mitchell per dollar, but he has only averaged 32 minutes and 28 fantasy points per game in this series. If he can stay out of foul trouble, he does have a path for more minutes tonight.
Max Strus has only had a usage rate of 13% in the first 2 games, but he’s affordable and a good bet to play minutes in the mid-30s. I generally prefer to target role players at home, so I feel fine fading the likes of Caris LeVert, Isaac Okoro, and Georges Niang. The Cavaliers’ starting frontcourt is certainly appealing, as they have both played well to start the series. Evan Mobley has averaged 36 fantasy points, and Jarrett Allen has averaged 52 fantasy points. Mobley has done it more with his offense (3% usage boost so far in the playoffs), while Allen has already grabbed 38 rebounds in the first 2 games.
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