Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Tuesday, April 28th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2026-04-28 17:10:30 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!

Last night’s games were a bit of a letdown in terms of competitiveness. The Magic held off the Pistons to take a 3-1 lead in their series. The Thunder completed their sweep over the Suns. And in the last game of the night, the Nuggets made quick work of the Timberwolves without Anthony Edwards. It feels inevitable that Nikola Jokic and company will prevail, but Minnesota carries a 3-2 lead with two chances to advance to the 2nd round.

We have 3 Game 5s on the slate. The Sixers were unable to win either game at home and are now facing elimination in Boston. The Hawks picked up a split in Atlanta, so their series against the Knicks is tied. The Blazers can’t feel good about their two blown leads at home. They now face elimination in San Antonio. Much like last night’s slate, the key to tonight might be finding the game that turns into a blowout and avoiding it for DFS.

I know I plug my golf content too often, but we have a fun tournament on tap this week on the PGA TOUR. For the first time in 10 years, the TOUR is back at Trump National Doral. This is a Signature Event, so we have a strong field teeing it up in Miami. It’s major season too, as the PGA Championship is only 2 weeks away. I finally got my first golf outright of the year at the Zurich Classic, so I’m looking to get hot with my golf bets. Anyway, check out this week’s content.

Let’s dive into tonight’s 3-gamer.

NBA DFS Top Picks on DraftKings and FanDuel: Core Plays LIVE for Tuesday, April 28th

Slate Overview

• 3-game main slate
  - 7:00 pm ET – Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics
  - 8:00 pm ET – Atlanta Hawks at New York Knicks
  - 9:30 pm ET – Portland Trail Blazers at San Antonio Spurs
• 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 tonight’s slate with the Sixers, who weren’t able to pick up a win in Games 3 and 4 at home. They now face elimination, as they head back to Boston for Game 5. This is the worst possible matchup for fantasy production, as the Celtics are 30th in pace and 1st in points allowed per game. The Sixers are 11.5-point underdogs and have a team total that is 14 points lower than their season average. Joel Embiid is expected to play.

With Embiid in the lineup last game, Tyrese Maxey’s usage rate dipped to 18%, which was his lowest mark since February. We shouldn’t expect Maxey to have that low of a usage rate again, but he certainly doesn’t have the same upside now that Embiid is back. He’s best suited as a large-field tournament target. As for Embiid, he played 34 minutes and scored 52 fantasy points in his first game back. He has now topped 50 fantasy points in 4 of the last 6 games. He’s a strong option in all formats, but I do worry about a blowout here.

VJ Edgecombe’s production has been all over the map in this series. He has scored 14, 34, 53, and 24 fantasy points in the 4 games. He’s likely going to push for 40 minutes, but he’s not someone to target in cash games or small-field tournaments. Paul George can be avoided in all formats, as he’s been held under 35 fantasy points in 9 straight games. Kelly Oubre should see minutes in the 30s, but he’s going to be the 5th option offensively. He had a 9% usage rate in Game 4. Yes, 9%.

Maxey and Embiid are both viable, but they are best suited as tournament plays as 11.5-point road underdogs.

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