NBA DFS Picks, Projections, Lineups, Injuries & More Today: Thursday Playbook
Published: Apr 23, 2026
It's Thursday April 23rd, and we have a 3-game NBA DFS main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel as the NBA Playoffs are in full swing and all these games today are Game 3s.
We have two games that are split 1-1 and one 2-0 with the Raptors heading home to try and stave off an insurmountable deficit. We have stars o'plenty as Nikola Jokic, Donovan Mitchell, Jalen Johnson, and Anthony Edwards are taking the floor.
Before actually diving into the meat and potatoes, welcome to the NBA DFS season. If this is your first time reading our column on NBA DFS picks, I just want to welcome you and give you a few tips and tricks on what you should be looking for each night.
- News outlets: reliable sources that give us injury news & starting lineups
- Pace of play: who's playing fast vs. who's playing slow. Which teams get a pace-up spot (more possessions) vs. pace-down (fewer possessions)
- Usage rates: is a percentage of how many plays that player is being used in
- NBA DFS Projections
- Lineup Generator
- NBA Ownership
NBA DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, April 23rd
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Pre/Post-Lock Update Section
This section will be used for anything that changes from the morning until right up to roster lock.
Injury updates, players we’re higher on than we were in the morning and so much more.
All status updates after contest roster lock will be made in the Fantasy Alarm Discord: https://discord.gg/2yATJxXe8G
NBA Injuries, News & Updates Today, 4/23
- Anthony Edwards - QUEST
- Aaron Gordon - QUEST (downgrade)
- Immanuel Quickley - QUEST
- Peyton Watson - OUT
- Ja'Kobe Walter - IN
- Jock Landale - OUT
- Thomas Bryant - QUEST
NBA DFS Slate & Game Overviews
In the section below, I’m listing the most notable things we need to look at in Las Vegas, including notable O/U and spreads. Not every game is listed, but every game listed has the pace and defensive numbers listed.
NBA DFS Core Player Pool & Lineup Picks
Here are the core players I’m looking at for my NBA DFS picks tonight. You can see the full analysis of tonight’s NBA DFS projections and player pool below or skip ahead to building the best lineups possible by locking these into the aforementioned lineup generator now.
High
Mid
- Julius Randle, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, CJ McCollum, RJ Barrett, Josh Hart, Dyson Daniels, Onyeka Okongwu, OG Anunoby (GPP)
Value
Stacks
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