Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Tuesday, May 7th
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 Tuesday!
I still can’t believe the Wolves won Game 2. Not only did they win, but they made the defending champions look silly…without Rudy Gobert! It was an incredible performance, and they now have a chance to sweep the Nuggets if they can beat them twice in Minnesota. The Knicks seem to love drama at the end of games, as they found themselves in another nail-biter that came down to the last few possessions. It felt like the nerves got to both teams late in the game. Ultimately, the Knicks escaped with a win and are now three wins away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.
We now turn our attention to Tuesday’s slate, as we have two series that are just getting underway. The Cavaliers head to Boston to take on the Celtics in Game 1, and the Mavericks head to Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder in Game 1. It should be another fun night of basketball, so let’s dive into the team previews.
NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Tuesday, May 7th
Slate Overview
- 2-game slate
- 7:00 PM ET – Cleveland Cavaliers at Boston Celtics
- 9:30 PM ET – Dallas Mavericks at Oklahoma City Thunder
- 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 BOS): We kick off the slate with the Cavaliers, who were fortunate to make it out of the first round against the Magic. They were down by nearly 20 points in the 1st half of Game 7 but rallied back and were able to advance. Their reward is facing the best team in the NBA. This is going to be a difficult series for the Cavaliers, but at least they get a little help with Kristaps Porzingis being out. In terms of the matchup, the Celtics ended the regular season ranked 19th in pace and 2nd in defensive rating. The Cavaliers come into Game 1 as 11.5-point underdogs and have the lowest team total on the slate by a significant margin.
Jarrett Allen is the injury that we need to keep an eye on here, as he has missed the last 2 games with a rib injury. In his absence, Isaac Okoro has drawn the spot starts. In those 2 games, Okoro has averaged 28 minutes and 13 fantasy points. Surprisingly, Allen’s absence didn’t do much for the fantasy production of Evan Mobley, Max Strus, or Caris LeVert. In theory, all three should see small upticks in minutes and/or rebounding chances. To me, the only real advantage the Cavaliers have in this series is on the glass. With Al Horford starting at the five, the Celtics have an undersized frontcourt. They aren’t my favorite plays by any means, but I do think there are paths for Allen and Mobley to play well in this series.
Donovan Mitchell was quiet in the first 5 games against the Magic but broke out with 62 fantasy points in back-to-back games to close it out. In those final 2 games, he put up 36 and 27 shot attempts, respectively. And that doesn’t even include the 23 free throws that he took in those 2 games. With this being a difficult matchup on the road, we could see another extremely high usage rate for Mitchell. He’s a strong tournament play tonight.
Darius Garland didn’t have a great series against the Magic, but he couldn’t stay out of foul trouble. If he can accomplish that one simple goal tonight, he should push for around 40 minutes. Ultimately, I’m not prioritizing anyone on the Cavaliers tonight.
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