NBA DFS Picks: Jayson Tatum Has to Lead Celtics to Victory (April 27)

Thursday’s action brings single-game NBA DFS to the forefront as the Hawks try to hold off the Celtics in Atlanta and extend their season to a Game 7. Tipoff is at 8:30 p.m. ET on DraftKings and FanDuel. There are several options in the player pool worth analyzing to find the top NBA DFS building blocks and NBA DFS picks for DraftKings and FanDuel lineups, including Jayson Tatum, Trae Young and more.

NBA DFS Picks Today: Thursday, April 27

Core Play of the Day — Jayson Tatum: Boston Celtics-Atlanta Hawks

Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 53.05 | FanDuel: 50.51
Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings 70.3% | FanDuel: 64.1%
DFS Salary: DraftKings: $11,200 | FanDuel: $17,000

Wednesday was the last four-game slate of the season, and tonight is the first “real” taste of single-game action. Keep in mind that the superstars are going to be wildly popular, which in turn means just one or two pivots can be made to create major leverage against the field.

Jayson Tatum had a rough Game 5, going 8 of 21 from the field and making only one of his 10 3-point attempts. He still had eight rebounds and eight assists, but his supporters are going to expect more tonight to justify this lofty salary. For the series, Tatum has played at least 38 minutes and had at least 20 field goal attempts in every game. This has resulted in 26.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 1.6 combined blocks and steals. The Celtics are coming into this tilt as 7-point road favorites, and it is going to be up to their superstar to make this outcome realized tonight.

Trae Young: Atlanta Hawks-Boston Celtics

Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 47.06 | FanDuel: 44.46
Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings 58.9% | FanDuel: 52.2%
DFS Salary: DraftKings: $10,800 | FanDuel: $16,500

It will be interesting to see if Trae Young is able to maintain his scoring binge for a fourth consecutive tilt. In Game 5 he got there with 33 field goal attempts, though that was also with Dejounte Murray serving a one-game suspension. Expecting 40-plus minutes and two dozen field goal attempts is a realistic baseline. The wild card will be how many shots find the bottom of the net.

Clint Capela: Atlanta Hawks-Boston Celtics

Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 27.61 | FanDuel: 27.88
Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings 48.9% | FanDuel: 30.0%
DFS Salary: DraftKings: $5,200 | FanDuel: $8,500

In the single-game format, we do not have to worry about position eligibility — instead the decisions come down to which players land in the “multiplier” slots. Clint Capela is splitting the center minutes with Onyeka Okongwu, which means this duo caps the upside of the other.

Capela is rating as the best fantasy point-per-dollar option for both DraftKings and FanDuel. Though he has just one 25-fantasy-point game in this series, he has surpassed 20 in four of the five games. In the event Capela’s popularity increases throughout the day by another 15% to 20%, Okongwu would be the perfect antidote in large-field tournaments. This duo can also be rostered on the same lineup; even with this strategy capping the ultimate upside, the floor is solid.

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Additional NBA DFS Building Blocks Pick — Sports Betting Opportunities

Okongwu is an interesting option in the sports wagering market, with a 12.5 points + rebounds + assists (PRA) prop. This is a wager that will likely go down to the wire, but most of the pickings are slim today with just one game on the docket.

NBA Bet Pro has Okongwu projected for 23.9 minutes, 6.94 points, 6.31 rebounds and 0.86 assists for 14.11 PRA. This equates to a 57% chance of surpassing tonight’s milestone, and at -125 at BetMGM, the numbers work out to a reasonable 4% expected ROI. For the series, Okongwu is averaging 12.4 PRA, and he has gone over tonight’s target twice (18, 16) while falling short three times (10, 10, 8)

Did you know that you can get two free months of Stokastic+ Platinum for signing up and making your first bet at BetMGM? Claim here today!

Derrick White: Boston Celtics-Atlanta Hawks

Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 27.85 | FanDuel: 27.82
Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings 36.3% | FanDuel: 37.7%
DFS Salary: DraftKings: $7,400 | FanDuel: $11,500

This has been an excellent series for Derrick White, who has played at least 30 minutes in each game and seen double-digit field goal attempts in four of the five contests. He also has been contributing on defense with seven blocks and a pair of steals, which helps boost his upside potential. White is also averaging three made 3-point attempts per game, and he has the green light from beyond the arc.

Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today

Tonight will be a fun one for sports fans, as we can flip between the NFL Draft and the Boston Celtics-Atlanta Hawks Game 6.

Be sure to let us do the heavy lifting for you by tuning into the Stokastic NBA Live Before Lock show at 7:30 p.m. ET on YouTube, brought to you by PrizePicks — new users, click this link and sign up at PrizePicks to get 30 days of Stokastic+ Premium and a 100% deposit matchup up to $100.

Author

Eric MacPherson

Eric "EMac" MacPherson won the 2007 Fantasy Baseball grand prize (trip for two to the MLB All-Star game) in the Roto format on ESPN. He won again in 2008, this time in the H2H format. As one of the early adopters of daily fantasy sports, EMac has been providing content for baseball and basketball as well as both professional and college football since 2012 for a variety of websites including DraftKings Playbook, FanVice, RotoWorld, Daily Fantasy Bootcamp, and RotoGrinders. He is well into his third decade of fantasy sports and has a wealth of knowledge and experience. Follow him on Twitter @EMacDFS or contact EMac by emailing [email protected].