Main Slate Breakdown for NBA DFS 4/23:
Apr 21, 2023; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) reacts during the fourth quarter of game three of the 2023 NBA playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Welcome to another year of the DFS Army NBA Full Court Press! Members had a ton of success using the Full Court Press along with various articles and tools that DFS Army provides last season, so we are glad to be back with another year of the all-inclusive article. You have to start your research somewhere, and oftentimes going game by game and breaking down every matchup and its key players is the first step in our process. My name is Mike aka @MadnessDFS on Twitter, make sure to give me a follow as I’ll occasionally make updates to the advice in the article. But, you’ll mostly find me in our VIP coaching forums where I provide detailed lineup maneuvers and answer all lineup questions. With that said, let’s get it started!
Save $50 on a DFS Army NBA Season Pass with coupon code NBA2022
Before I get started, I need to shoutout a few huge VIP Member wins – “Phamacist” took 1st place in the $300k Fadeway contest which netted him $100k while “da_banditz” grabbed 1st place on FanDuel as well winning $10k- congrats guys!
Cleveland Cavaliers @ New York Knicks
Vegas Total: 205.0
Vegas Spread: Nyk -2.5
We’ll start with the Eastern Conference the Cavs will look to tie the series up and head back home. They moved Caris LeVert into the starting lineup over Isaac Okoro as we thought they might in game three and he played 35 minutes and was a solid producer. Donovan Mitchell had a tough go of it as this offense scored just 79 points, the price tag is a little high for me relative to the slate, but if you land on him I would have no issue going right back to the well. Evan Mobley is in the same boat, but I like the price tag much more on him, and has multi-position eligibility. Jarrett Allen had a down game as well, but again, the minutes will be there and I don’t expect they’ll be held to just 79 points again. Then the trio of Okoro, Danny Green, and Cedi Osman didn’t do a whole lot, if I had to go to one of them it would be Osman, but the minutes will be around 15-20 for all of them assuming they run out the same starting five. From the Knicks, when was the last time we saw Julius Randle this cheap? The price tag is warranted at this point, however, he’s not playing those upper-30s minutes like we’re used to seeing and the production is trending in the wrong direction. That said, he shot terribly last time out going 3-15 from the field which I would expect to positively regress in this one. I do like going back to Jalen Brunson as well, his shooting was better last time out and he’s about as consistent as they come. RJ Barrett and Josh Hart are both fine secondary GPP options on the wing, but not guys we need to go crazy on. I do still think Mitchell Robinson is an interesting tournament option to round out the team, we know he has a massive ceiling, but Isaiah Hartenstein has cut into his minutes and is a guy we can go right back to here as a value option.
5-star play: Julius Randle, Jalen Brunson
4-star play: Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, Caris LeVert, Josh Hart, RJ Barrett, Mitchell Robinson
Deeper Value: Cedi Osman, Isaiah Hartenstein
GPP Sleeper: Danny Green, Cedi Osman, RJ Barrett, Josh Hart, Isaiah Hartenstein, Mitchell Robinson
Sacramento Kings @ Golden State Warriors
Vegas Total: 237.5
Vegas Spread: Gsw -7.5
Starting with the Kings, they’ll look to take a 3-1 lead and take this thing back home to close the series out. De’Aaron Fox kept it rolling last time out and now has at least 53 DraftKings points in each game of this series. Domantas Sabonis has been fine, he wasn’t able to take advantage of Green being out for the Warriors as much as I thought he might last time out. That said, we know the ceiling is there along with the minutes, so I have no issue going right back to him in this one. Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk should both play around 30 minutes and are guys I like going back to as well. Monk had a down-shooting game last time out which I expect to change in this one. Harrison Barnes makes sense as a filler option as well, while Keegan Murray is more of a tournament guy that I don’t think they trust a whole lot to give big minutes to. From the Warriors, they’ll get Draymond Green back in this one along with Gary Payton who comes in as probable. Donte DiVincenzo had a big game filling in for some of those Green/Payton minutes last time out but is a guy I’ll be underweight on here as those minutes become more volatile. Steph Curry had a big game last time out and I would expect more of the same as they look to tie this thing back up before heading back into Sacramento. Klay Thompson had a rough shooting game in game three but he’s been as steady as they come, I have no problem going back to him in this price range. Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green both have nice price tags and make for good options with their multi-position eligibility. Then Kevon Looney should continue to see big minutes and was racking up the ancillary stats last time out.
5-star play: De’Aaron Fox, Steph Curry
4-star play: Domantas Sabonis, Kevin Huerter, Malik Monk, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Kevon Looney, Draymond Green
Deeper Value: Gary Payton
GPP Sleeper: Harrison Barnes, Keegan Murray, Gary Payton, Donte DiVincenzo
Be sure to check out our BRAND NEW Proptimizer tool as well which provides our projection in relation to the PrizePicks line giving us max leverage to hammer home those best prop spots. Our props team has been killing it! CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT.
Boston Celtics @ Atlanta Hawks
Vegas Total: 231.5
Vegas Spread: Bos -6.0
On to the Celtics who will look to bounce back before heading back home to Boston. Jayson Tatum kept it rolling last time out and has played exactly 40 minutes in each game of this series, regardless of the score it seems like those minutes are going to be there. He’ll look like a top raw option on this slate. I’m never a huge Jaylen Brown guy due to the scoring dependency he brings, but he’s too cheap as well and the matchup is elite. Derrick White came down to Earth last time out but did lose some minutes to foul trouble, the price has come up on him as well. I like going right back to Malcolm Brogdon, he’s been a guy I’ve played over the last couple of games, and he’s going to benefit in games that are competitive due to seeing that fourth-quarter rotation, and going on the road certainly helps that. Marcus Smart had a massive game last time out but comes into this one as questionable with a back contusion. If he misses, Brogdon would see a nice boost along with White in the backcourt. Then Al Horford and Robert Williams are both solid secondary pieces at their respective price tags. From the Hawks, Trae Young was a core play in our cheat sheets for me last time out and his price went down on DraftKings which makes me think we may just go right back to the well with him in this one. If they’re going to crawl back into this series it will be due to these backcourt guards, so he’s going to look great again here. Dejounte Murray has been extremely consistent as well with at least 50 FanDuel points in two of the three games in this series. He’s going to play massive minutes and handle the load whenever Trae is on the bench. Clint Capela’s biggest battle is going to be the minutes he sees, but he’s an elite per-minute producer which makes him a great GPP option… Onyeka Okongwu is in the same boat. Bogdan Bogdanovic kept it rolling last time out while De’Andre Hunter had a down game but still saw plenty of minutes, I would have no issue going back to both of them here. Then Saddiq Bey and John Collins are both GPP options as they come with a bit more volatility.
5-star play: Jayson Tatum, Trae Young
4-star play: Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Marcus Smart, Malcolm Brogdon, Al Horford, Dejounte Murray, De’Andre Hunter
Deeper Value: Saddiq Bey, Onyeka Okongwu
GPP Sleeper: Robert Williams, Clint Capela, Saddiq Bey, Onyeka Okongwu, Bogdan Bogdanovic, John Collins
Denver Nuggets @ Minnesota Timberwolves
Vegas Total: 225.0
Vegas Spread: Den -4.0
Starting with the Nuggets, Nikola Jokic is going to look like a top raw option in all formats if we can find the salary to get up to him, he’s averaging 55.8 DraftKings points per game in six games against the Wolves this season. Jamal Murray has been great in this series as well, the Wolves are a bottom-five defense against opposing point guards on the season. Michael Porter Jr and Aaron Gordon feel like similar options in their price ranges, both have nice upsides but can be volatile. Then guys like Bruce Brown, Jeff Green, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope all make sense as MME flyers to round out the team. From the Wolves, Anthony Edwards has at least 60 DraftKings points in back-to-back games and is playing absolutely massive minutes, if they want to avoid elimination here he’s going to have to do it all again. I’ve been playing a ton of Karl-Anthony Towns and he finally had a decent game last time out, I have no issue going right back to the well with him here at a nice price tag. Kyle Anderson is never a sexy option, but the price tag has come down on him and I don’t expect him to shoot as poorly as he did last time out. Rudy Gobert is too cheap as well and they’ll need his size against Gobert down low, he battled some foul trouble over the last couple of games but is still seeing good minutes. Mike Conley will be the catalyst of setting the offense up and is in the same non-sexy boat as Anderson. Then Nickeil Alexander-Walker jumped Taurean Prince in the starting lineup again, so I would expect he’s right back in there here and looks like a nice value option.
5-star play: Ja Morant, LeBron James, Anthony Davis
4-star play: Jaren Jackson, Desmond Bane, Xavier Tillman, D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Austin Reavees
Deeper Value: None
GPP Sleeper: Dillon Brooks, Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley
The only thing you are missing at this point is the key to unlock the next level of your game. Come inside and check us out!! We have experts sharing their secrets and experience on a daily basis. Combining that with the actual ability to ask them questions and get quick answers in return gives you a recipe for success that puts our army hats on leaderboards all over the face of DFS.
When you sign up, don’t forget to use promo code MADNESS to save 10% on your membership each and every month!
Editor’s Note – However, if you are more interested in simply betting the games, NBA is full of crazy action. And, our dynamic modeling over at SharpBets adjusts in real time to help identify Vegas inaccuracies you can exploit. Follow Ryan, Anthony, and Statsational for models and coaching advice that help you build any bankroll for any sport…
