NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: It’s Now or Never! (May 3)

Saturday brings the first Game 7 of the NBA postseason, with the fun tipping off at 7:30 p.m. ET on FanDuel and DraftKings. Let’s get into the top NBA DFS picks and building blocks: Look for the established veteran trio of Nikola Jokic, Kawhi Leonard and James Harden as the foundational plays, with a myriad of other strategies in play for the large-field tournaments.

These picks are based on the latest available data. For real-time lineup updates, check out our NBA DFS Starting Lineups Page.

NBA DFS Picks Today – Building Blocks: Saturday, May 3

NBA DFS Picks Today: Building Blocks

Friday brough a lineup swap for Golden State, though it is unlikely either team makes such a move tonight. Coach Tyronn Lue has already been tinkering with his rotation, with Kris Dunn giving way to Bogdan Bogdanovic in the latter stages of the game, as he is the better offensive option and helps to spread the floor for Harden, Leonard and Norman Powell.

Another change has been made on the defensive side, with Nicolas Batum giving more help to Ivica Zubac, who had been battling three-time MVP Nikola Jokic mostly straight up. Batum will take a handful of 3-pointers, but it is his defensive stats that give him a fantasy baseline. The 36-year-old has at least two “stocks” (combined steals and blocks) in each of the last five games, with 15 total. He has a minutes floor in the low-20s, but he received 34:22 in the last game, playing the entire third quarter and the final 8:55 of the game.

Bogdanovic is another discount dandy, who has relevance. Over the last three games, he has entered towards the end of the first period, playing the majority of the second quarter. The make or break minutes will be in the final frame and while nothing is certain, he has logged eight or more minutes in each of the last three matchups.

Derrick Jones Jr. or Ben Simmons could get the nod if more defense is needed and Bogdanovic is not contributing on offense, though that would just foist more attention and responsibilities on Harden, Leonard and Powell.

Harden is a slightly more appealing option than Leonard, though this is more of a personal preference situation. Both are worthy of consideration for the “multiplier” slots and each should be on over half of all rosters in some form or fashion.

Zubac is at an awkward price point and while he has been crucial for the Clippers this series, defense is his main focus. To his credit, he is still contributing on the offensive end and the most he has in his history against Jokic, but not quite enough to be considered trustworthy.

Finally we come to Powell, who has put up 20-plus points in three of the last four games, but that is pretty much it for his fantasy contributions as well. He does not offer much in the way of rebounding or assists, typically lucking into one steal per game. He is clearly behind Harden and Leonard in the pecking order, which makes it tough for him to end up with more than a dozen or so shots. Beginning with Game 1, he has taken 12, 14, 12, 13, 12 and 15 field goal attempts. Yes, he could get their with added efficiency, but he is already converting on 48.7% of his field goals and 37.8% on his 3-pointers, so there really is not much realistic room for improvement.

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Considering the wide range of outcomes in reality, it would appear that eschewing the Joker is not a wildly out of bounds strategy. Jokic has been below 55 fantasy points in each of the last two games, despite playing 42 and 37 minutes, so it is possible that the path to glory is without the Serbian Sensation.

Denver has really tightened the rotation under interim coach David Adelman. DeAndre Jordan will likely get a couple minutes in the second quarter, giving Jokic a break, with Payton Watson needing to show something in his 7-to-8 first half minutes, or he is going to be glued to the bench for the final 24 minutes.

Russell Westbrook has a wide outcome, with a floor of 24ish minutes and another 10 in potential upside, coming most likely at the expense of Christian Braun or Michael Porter Jr. Keep in mind that Westbrook played only nine minutes in Game 3, leaving with a foot issue that also kept him out of Game 4, which is contributing to fluctuating rotation trends.

Porter has been dealing with a left shoulder issue and his defensive shortcomings leave him the most exposed to lose minutes. Braun plays solid positional defense and defers, playing within his capabilities, so he is relatively consistent in his role, but that doesn’t do much for fantasy gamers.

Murray has scored 20-plus points in five of the six iterations to date, plus he adds in rebounds, assists and steals, giving him a premium and upside over the likes of Powell. He is the most likely Denver player to produce, if Jokic has a subpar game. Gordon is also a wild card, willing to morph into whatever the team needs on a situational basis. This gives him plenty of routes towards relevance, though he has been dealing with lower leg issues and looking a little gimpy at times. Still, this is the Denver duo to target after Jokic.

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 Nicolas Batum under 12.5 points+rebounds+assists 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.

While we want Batum for DFS purposes, particularly for the salary relief, we can still wager against him in the sports wagering world. Most of Batum’s fantasy production is via defensive stats. In the six games, the Frenchman is averaging 23.8 minutes, with 6.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists for a 12.2 PRA. His two best outings are 17 PRA in 34.3 minutes on Thursday and 19 PRA in 26.7 minutes during Game 3. This wager is likely to come down to the wire, but the math is on our side.