Friday brings another elimination game for the Celtics, who survived on Wednesday in Boston and now head back to New York to battle the Knickerbockers at 8:00 p.m. ET. Let’s break down the top NBA DFS picks and key lineup building blocks on FanDuel and DraftKings. These selections reflect the most up-to-date data — and for live updates, be sure to visit our NBA DFS Starting Lineups Page.
NBA DFS Picks Today – Building Blocks: Friday, May 16
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NBA DFS Picks Today: Building Blocks
Derrick White: Celtics vs. Knicks
NBA DFS Projections
DraftKings: 40.46 | FanDuel: 38.57
NBA DFS Ownership Projections
DraftKings: 47.3% | FanDuel: 59.1%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $9,800 | FanDuel: $10,800
The Celtics rallied without Jayson Tatum on Wednesday, pushing the series to Game 6 in Madison Square Garden. The Knicks are 2.5-point favorites and will make the Eastern Conference Finals with a victory.
Derrick White led the team in scoring with 34 points, knocking down 7 of 13 (54%) from behind the arc. Jaylen Brown put up 26 points and a dozen assists, and Payton Pritchard contributed 17 points off the bench in a whopping 39 minutes, which were the second most on the team — one behind White and two ahead of Brown. Expectations are that this trio will continue to be the main offensive options, though we have seen this team struggle from long range in multiple games this series.
Kristaps Porzingis started and played 12 minutes, not seeing the court in the second half as he was not effective, and it appeared his long-term, intermittent illness was the culprit. Luke Kornet stepped up in a big way, making all five of his field goal attempts, pulling down nine rebounds and blocking seven shots. Depending on the health of Porzingis, Kornet could be called upon for similar minutes tonight. The blocks are unlikely to be as lofty tonight, though a double-double is definitely in play.
There is no word yet on the Boston starting lineup, so be sure to tune into Stokastic’s NBA Live Before Lock at 7:30 p.m. ET tonight for all of the up-to-date analysis and breaking news.
Al Horford played 20 minutes in the first half, two minutes to start the second half and 2:17 at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Boston was up significantly at that point, and given Kornet was playing so well, it made sense to save the soon-to-be 39-year-old for Friday with Porzingis ailing.
Jrue Holiday saw some time on Karl-Anthony Towns in the absence of Tatum, which was an interesting wrinkle. He saw 33 minutes of run, contributing 14 points on 5-for-8 (63%) from the field, with seven rebounds and three assists.
While his teammates were all hot from the field, he did a good job of keeping the offense on track and not getting in the way. If anyone struggles tonight, expect Holiday to call his own number on offense.
Sam Hauser was available, and he is likely to get a handful of first half minutes, though anything after the break is likely predicated on Horford or Kornet being in foul trouble or Porzingis to be under the weather.
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NBA DFS Picks Today: Building Blocks
Jalen Brunson: Knicks vs. Celtics
NBA DFS Projections
DraftKings: 48.48 | FanDuel: 45.96
NBA DFS Ownership Projections
DraftKings: 66.1% | FanDuel: 76.4%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $10,800 | FanDuel: $13,200
Jalen Brunson fouled out with 7:19 left in the final frame. Even if he had stayed under the limit, it would not have changed the outcome of the game, which the Celtics dominated for a 127-102 win.
After the first two meetings in this series were decided by a grand total of 4 points, the last trio of tilts has been pretty decisive. Brunson is going to need to approach 30 points at a minimum to help New York end this series in front of the Madison Square Garden faithful tonight.
Boston has done a stellar job of making Brunson work for every bucket, holding him to a 42.9% conversion rate this series-Anthony Towns put up 19-plus points in the last four games and has four double-doubles in the series. He has been saddled with foul trouble, receiving four in three of the games and five in two, which is something that Boston will need to exploit to pull off the upset and bring the series back home for a decisive Game 7 on Monday.
Towns played just over 14 minutes in the first half, sitting the final 9:49 after picking up his third foul of the game. Mitchell Robinson owned the glass with six rebounds in the second quarter, plus he converted on all four of his freebies in the half, helping the Knicks maintain a neutral status heading into the break.
O.G. Anunoby was impacted by a hamstring issue he picked up in Game 4, making just one of his 12 field goal attempts, while Mikal Bridges also struggled, making hitting 4 of 14 shots. This duo combined for only 15 points. Josh Hart got hot from 3-point range, accounting for five of the teams 12 troikas, but his team-leading 24 points were nowhere near enough with the rest of the team in struggle mode.
We have heard ad nauseum about the five first-round picks sent to Brooklyn in the Bridges deal and, of course, Anunoby signing a five-year, $212.5 million deal last summer, despite neither player ever being named to an All-Star team. Bridges was a First-Team All-Defense honoree in 2021-22, finishing second in the Defensive Player of the Year vote to Boston’s Marcus Smart, while Anunoby made the Second Team the following season. Both are good defenders, but they are going to have to show up on both ends of the court tonight to end the luck of the leprechaun.
Miles McBride played a series-high 28.5 minutes, but that was due to Brunson’s foul trouble. He will likely be back in the 18 to 20 range tonight unless he gets hot from the field or something unfortunate happens with one of the other New York guards or wings. Cameron Payne is likely to continue making his one rotational appearance for Brunson late in the first quarter or early in the second, but he is a tough click, even for the single-game slate.
Today’s Top Sports Betting Picks
If you’re serious about winning in NBA DFS, you know the edge comes from having the right tools. The same principle applies to sports betting — and that’s where Portfolio EV steps in.
Take Al Horford under 19.5 points + rebounds + assists (PRA) tonight, for example. It’s a +EV bet, meaning it has positive expected value when compared to the best odds available across the market. But the real strength of Portfolio EV isn’t about finding just one good bet — it’s about consistently finding dozens. With the Mass Entry tool, you can scale up, place a high volume of +EV bets, and let the math do the heavy lifting.
Just like you wouldn’t count on one DFS lineup to ship a GPP, you don’t count on one bet to carry your night.
Portfolio EV is built for long-term profitability. It helps you spot market inefficiencies, compare lines across books and generate a steady stream of +EV bets. It doesn’t chase heaters, but rather trusts the numbers, follows a process and builds sustainable profit over time.
There is a lot depending on the availability of Porzingis and the effectiveness of Kornet that will impact Horford getting to or falling shy of 20 PRA tonight. Currently, the projections have him for 37.9 minutes and 19.72 PRA, so this wager is likely to go down to the wire. Foul trouble for the soon-to-be 39-year-old or a lopsided game are also potential downsides, and aside from efficiency, it will be hard for him to improve upon this lofty minutes projection.
Porzingis is projected for 15.1 minutes and Kornet for 26.4, just for those wondering.
