NBA DFS Picks: Trae Young Looks to Keep Hawks Dreams Alive (April 25)

Tuesday’s NBA action brings a trio of Game 5’s, which also are elimination games. The fun gets underway at 7:30 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 Trae Young, Anthony Edwards, Russell Westbrook and more.

NBA DFS Picks Today: Tuesday, April 25

Core Play of the Day — Trae Young: Atlanta Hawks-Boston Celtics

Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 47.75 | FanDuel: 44.94
Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings 37.5% | FanDuel: 22.4%
DFS Salary: DraftKings: $8,600 | FanDuel: $9,900

Tonight the Atlanta Hawks will be in Boston, taking on the Celtics without Dejounte Murray, who is serving a one-game suspension for coming into contact with an official at the end of Game 4. This is an elimination game, so the Hawks will be counting on Trae Young to work some magic against one of the toughest defenses in the league.

Young has posted two impressive games, with 50-plus fantasy points in Game 3 and then 60-plus in Game 4. In these two games, he averaged 38.5 minutes and 24.0 field goal attempts with a 47.9% conversion rate while also getting to the line 17 total times in these tilts. This has resulted in 33.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 12.5 assists, and 2.5 combined blocks and steals. It is difficult to envision an outing where Young sees fewer than 40 minutes and two-dozen field goal attempts, making him hard to pass up in the DFS world.

Bogdan Bogdanovic, Saddiq Bey and De’Andre Hunter should each see additional offensive opportunities as coach Quin Snyder looks to fill the void left by Murray. Salaries are higher for this trio on FanDuel, making them neutral options at best. On DraftKings, they are above-average point-per-dollar options, so be sure to understand the nuances and requirements for your DFS site of choice.

NBA DFS Picks — Anthony Edwards: Minnesota Timberwolves-Denver Nuggets

Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 46.76 | FanDuel: 45.94
Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings 19.0% | FanDuel: 10.5%
DFS Salary: DraftKings: $9,100 | FanDuel: $10,700

Game 4 was a wild one, as the Timberwolves managed to hold off the Nuggets in overtime and thus avoid being swept. Tonight the series resumes in Denver, and it is going to be a tough row to hoe for Minnesota to catch lightning in a bottle for a second consecutive game.

Anthony Edwards has produced three straight 60-fantasy-point performances, and while his median outcome is only in the mid-40s, we know he is likely to be on the court for all but two or three minutes tonight if the game remains contested. Another foray over the 50-fantasy-point plateau is likely, and, of course, another 60-piece is in play.

Kyle Anderson (eye) will not play tonight, which takes out one of the key reserves for Minnesota. It makes sense that Taurean Prince and Austin Rivers will be the bench players most likely to see 20 minutes, but Jaylen Nowell could surpass Rivers depending on how his knee feels. The starters are likely to approach 40 minutes tonight, which is something we have seen many times in the postseason as teams are trying to stave off elimination.

Karl Anthony-Towns, Rudy Gobert, Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker are strong fantasy point-per-dollar options on both DraftKings and FanDuel, with what is likely to be an extremely tight rotation tonight.

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Additional NBA DFS Building Blocks Pick — Sports Betting Opportunities

Saddiq Bey is an interesting option in the sports wagering market, with a points + rebounds + assists (PRA) prop total of 18.5. Tonight he will have the potential for additional opportunities, with Dejounte Murray out due to a suspension. However, that is no guarantee of extra production. This wager is going to come down to the scoring aspect, and even with Murray not available, Bey still sits well down the offensive pecking order.

In the four games so far this series, Bey has averaged 21.7 minutes, 6.0 field goal attempts, 6.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists for 11.8 PRA. John Collins, De’Andre Hunter and Bogdan Bogdanovic are all likely to get the first chance at filling the production and minutes vacated by Murray before Bey gets his turn at the table.

NBA Bet Pro has Bey projected for 27.2 minutes, 11.59 points, 4.59 rebounds and 1.73 assists for 17.91 PRA. This equates to a 55% chance of staying under 18.5 PRA, and at -120 at BetMGM, the numbers work out to a respectable 5% expected ROI. This wager is likely to go down to the wire, but there are plenty of ways for Bey to have a good “basketball” game but still fail to contribute in these three statistical categories.

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NBA DFS Picks — Russell Westbrook: Los Angeles Clippers-Phoenix Suns

Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 44.49 | FanDuel: 43.02
Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings 8.4% | FanDuel: 15.5%
DFS Salary: DraftKings: $9,300 | FanDuel: $9,700

In an ironic twist, injuries to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have thrust Russell Westbrook back into postseason fantasy relevance. We all know the drill at this point, and the expectation is that Westbrook will play around 40 minutes and dominate the ball. In the last two games, under these same circumstances — aside from the elimination aspect — Westbrook averaged 40.1 minutes and 26.0 field goal attempts with a 53.8% success rate. Of course, he is unlikely to continue to convert his 6.5 3-point attempts at a 46.2% clip, but the volume will be there. He produced 33.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 8.0 assists, and 3.0 combined blocks and steals in the prior pair of performances, and that is the attainable production on the menu tonight.

Norman Powell came back to Earth after scoring 42 points in Game 3, but he should also be on the court for around 40 minutes tonight, and that gives him another chance at 20 field goal attempts. It is tough to pinpoint which of the remaining Clippers will be fantasy relevant, as coach Tyronn Lue can mix-and-match his players looking for a spark; that uncertainty, along with Westbrook constantly calling his own number; makes for a wide range of outcomes. Of course, we are all facing the same variables, and it would not be a surprise at all if Eric Gordon, Bones Hyland, Terance Mann or Marcus Morris Sr. popped off for a 30-fantasy-point game and landed in the tournament-winning lineups.

Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today

Tonight we have three Game 5’s with the visiting teams all facing elimination. If the games are close, expect heavy minutes from the starters; if things go sideways, we could see the benches emptied midway through the fourth quarter. Each of the matchups has key players injured or suspended, which in turn makes for some interesting decision points.

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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].