It's Wednesday April 15th, and we have a 2-game NBA DFS main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel. Happy NBA Play-in tournament day!

We have the seven-eight matchup in the Eastern Conference and the nine-ten in the Western Conference and they're bangers. The biggest news of the day is that Joel Embiid is out, so the 76ers are a little short-handed. Still, even without Embiid, we have Tyrese Maxey, Paolo Banchero, Stephen Curry, and Kawhi Leonard 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 15th

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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

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NBA Injuries, News & Updates Today, 4/15

 

 

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 Game-by-Game Breakdown

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.

Orlando Magic vs. Philadelphia 76ers

Total: 224

Spread: PHI -1.5

Magic NBA DFS Breakdown

The Magic are one of the more fascinating teams in the NBA because the talent they have is undeniable but they can't ever put it together full an extended period of time.

They should run Jalen Suggs out for a LOT of minutes, possibly 40 here. Suggs has 1.15 FP/min – which is second on the team – and nearly 23% USG. Anthony Black is probably only to play around 20 minutes and is a GPP play only.

We're going to see Desmond Bane and Franz Wagner start and play as much as they can. Bane should approach 40 minutes here and Wagner could get up to 30. Bane is preferred target of the two because Wagner's still seemingly on somewhat of a minutes restriction. We could see one of Jamal Cain or Tristan da Silva extended here and that makes them both decent GPP options. Large-field tournament stuff only.

Paolo Banchero is going to lead the Magic in usage and has the highest ceiling of anyone on the team. He has as high of a ceiling as any player on this slate. He's locked and loaded for 40 minutes too. Wendell Carter is a solid option at his price and Goga Bitadze will back him up. 

Tier 1: Paolo Banchero, Jalen Suggs

Tier 2: Desmond Bane, Wendell Carter, Franz Wagner

76ers NBA DFS Breakdown

The 76ers are going to be without Joel Embiid in this play-in tournament game and that opens up a lot of opportunity for other players. Tyrese Maxey leads the team in USG (32.3%) and FP/min (1.34) without Embiid this year.

The 76ers will rely on VJ Edgecombe for monster minutes here and Quentin Grimes will be their primary backup guard when Maxey and Edgecombe need a rest. Edgecombe's a decent FP/min player at .9 and an average usage guy at 20% without Embiid.

Paul George is someone who stands out for the 76ers in this spot as he's posted very strong numbers without Embiid himself. He's second in both USG (27.8%) and FP/min (1.2). Kelly Oubre moved back into the starting lineup and should remain there, but is live to lose some time if he's not playing well and Grimes is.

The center rotation is a tricky one because Philadelphia has used Adem Bona as the starter but Andre Drummond has the higher ceiling. He's a better fantasy player but it's a 50/50 on who will play more nightly.

Tier 1: Tyrese Maxey, Paul George

Tier 2: Andre Drummond, VJ Edgecombe, Kelly Oubre

Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Clippers

Total: 222

Spread: LAC -6

Warriors NBA DFS Breakdown

The Warriors had a little bit of a tune up game in number 82 of the regular season as they faced the Clippers and it was the second time Stephen Curry had started since returning from injury. He played nearly 29 minutes last game but didn't play the final four minutes, so the upside for mid-30s is there. We know what Curry's upside is and he's looked good since returning.

We'll probably see De'Anthony Melton and Brandin Podziemski start on the wing and Melton's price is insanely affordable. He's a very solid fantasy producer and can play upper-20s minutes. Gary Peyton is also a guy that Warriors have relied upon, especially for his defense, and has mid-20s minute upside. He's very viable sub-4K.

I think we'll see Draymond Green and Kristaps Porzingis starting in the front court while Al Horford and Gui Santos come off the bench. Porzingis' upside is the attractive part of the Warriors front court. Horford, coming off a calf injury, isn't likely to play too many minutes. We saw Santos' minutes dip once Horford returned to the lineup too.

Tier 1: Stephen Curry, De'Anthony Melton, Kristaps Porzingis (GPP), Gary Payton (GPP)

Tier 2: Draymond Green

Clippers NBA DFS Breakdown

We had a glimpse of exactly how the Clippers playoff rotation is going to play out against the Trail Blazers. Well, how it could look. They gave Darius Garland 40 (!!) minutes and he didn't play the final two minutes of the game, so the ceiling is really elite. I'd expect Kris Dunn to play and mirror Stephen Curry's minutes in this game.

Kawhi Leonard? Yeah. Kawhi Leonard. I'd go as far as to say he's as good as any spend on the slate, Tyrese Maxey included. Bennedict Mathurin can only be trusted in tournaments because when he's playing out of control he'll be taken off the floor. Jordan Miller is nothing more than a punt at 4K, too.

The Clippers have been starting Derrick Jones over John Collins but Collins is the better fantasy player and has a higher ceiling. I think both are risky and are nothing more than GPP options.

Brook Lopez is the highest rostered player of the slate and he should play a lot here. His price has dropped to an insanely low number for a guy with high-30 minute upside. That doesn't mean 100% he's going to play that much, but it's a play with a solid floor. 

Tier 1: Kawhi Leonard, Kris Dunn, Darius Garland, Brook Lopez

Tier 2: John Collins (GPP), Derrick Jones (GPP)