Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Tuesday, April 21st

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2026-04-21 13:16:12 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. So, who better to walk you through the madness of NBA DFS slates on DraftKings and FanDuel? Core Plays LIVE will zoom out on the slate as a whole, zoom in on the best plays, 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 Tuesday!

I hope everyone had a solid night of DFS last night. I was able to cash in most of my contests, despite some disappointing performances from Aaron Gordon and Rudy Gobert. We are back at it tonight with 3 games on the schedule. This is a unique slate in that value is extremely tough to come by. The top 4 projections on a per-dollar basis belong to players from the Lakers (Deandre Ayton, Luke Kennard, Marcus Smart, and Rui Hachimura).

I have a big afternoon ahead of me. Our oldest son just turned 12, and on their birthdays each year, I race them. When they eventually get fast enough to beat me, they will win something cool (still not sure what it’s going to be). I figure I still have at least a couple of years before one of the boys is able to beat me. Wish me luck.

NBA DFS Top Picks on DraftKings and FanDuel: Core Plays LIVE for Tuesday, April 21st

Slate Overview

• 3-game main slate
  - 7:00 pm ET – Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics
  - 8:00 pm ET – Portland Trail Blazers at San Antonio Spurs
  - 10:30 pm ET – Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers
• NBA DFS Optimizer
• NBA Starting Lineups
• NBA Injury Report
• 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

Philadelphia 76ers (at BOS)

We kick off today’s slate with the Sixers, who were thoroughly outplayed by the Celtics in Game 1. They didn’t have much of a chance in the series to begin with, and that small chance took a big hit when Joel Embiid had to get an appendectomy. At this point, I doubt we’ll see Embiid in this series. The Sixers enter Game 2 as 13.5-point underdogs in the worst matchup possible. On the season, Boston is 30th in pace and 1st in points allowed per game. Philly’s team total is 14 points lower than their season average.

The Sixers are usually a great team to target when Embiid is out, but they usually aren’t double-digit underdogs on the road against the Celtics. Tyrese Maxey is the only player on the roster with a positive RGValue, but he’ll draw a ton of attention from Boston’s defense. In Game 1, he was held to 38 fantasy points. The positives are that he took 20 shots and had a usage rate of 30%. If the Sixers are going to keep this game competitive, they’ll need a nice outing from Maxey.

Paul George has been held under 35 fantasy points in 6 straight games. VJ Edgecombe has a path to 40 minutes, but I worry about his efficiency in a tough matchup on the road. Kelly Oubre had one big fantasy outing and is now priced at a premium. It’s hard to make a strong case for any of Philly’s wings. Andre Drummond deserves consideration in tournaments. While he struggled in Game 1, he has topped 35 fantasy points in 3 of the last 4 games.

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