Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Thursday, May 2nd
A daily fantasy sports OG, Notorious has been roaming the DFS streets ever since they were invented. He has racked up multiple live final seats and several six-figure tournament wins in his DFS career, and Noto will mix it up in all different types of contests. So, who better to walk you through the madness of an NBA DFS slate? Core Plays LIVE will zoom out on the slate as a whole, zoom in on the best NBA DFS picks, and constantly update as news breaks. Whether you are diving into the slate 5 hours before it starts or 5 minutes before it starts, you’ve come to the right place.
Happy Thursday!
I went from my best slate of the playoffs on Tuesday to my worst on Wednesday. I would have preferred if the Clippers would have shown up to play in their biggest game of the season, but they had other plans. The Mavericks now have a chance to close out the series at home tomorrow night. The Celtics predictably made quick work of the shorthanded Heat and advanced to the second round. They now await the winner of the CLE/ORL series.
We have 2 games on the schedule this evening. We start with the Bucks and Pacers, with Indiana having a chance to close out the series at home. I was hoping we would see a potential return of Damian Lillard and/or Giannis Antetokounmpo, but that’s not likely at this point. The second game is the one that everyone should stay awake for. It is appointment viewing. The Sixers have a chance to force a Game 7 against the Knicks with a win tonight at home.
Before having a kid, I had never heard of people having extra teeth. It turns out, my son is half shark. He had an extra baby tooth when he was little. It wasn’t much of an issue and eventually fell out on its own. However, he has three extra adult teeth. THREE! The dentist was able to pull the first two out, but the third is still above his front two adult teeth. He already has braces, so today he has to go in and have surgery. They have to scrape away the gum and pull the tooth out sideways. He’s being a champ about it, but I am not excited about the process or the recovery. Kids!
NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Thursday, May 2nd
Slate Overview
- 2-game slate
- 6:30 PM ET – Milwaukee Bucks at Indiana Pacers
- 9:00 PM ET – New York Knicks at Philadelphia 76ers
- NBA DFS Injury Report: The Situation Room
- Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays
News Updates
This section will be updated as injury news is released throughout the day.
Team Previews
Milwaukee Bucks (at IND): We kick off the slate with the Bucks, who need to win the next 2 games in order to advance to the second round of the playoffs. They are coming off their best performance of the series, as they beat the Pacers by 23 points at home on Tuesday. They have the perfect recipe for DFS value, as they have the best matchup on the board (the Pacers are 2nd in pace and 24th in defensive rating) and are missing their two best players. I suppose we can’t fully count out Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, but they are both listed as doubtful. The Bucks come into the game with a team total of 102.3 points.
I could simplify this and say everyone sees a boost with Giannis and Lillard off the floor, but let’s take a look at the actual numbers provided by CourtIQ:
If I am reading that table correctly, Khris Middleton sees a 14% usage boost with those two off the floor. That’s one of the biggest boosts I have ever seen in CourtIQ. In the last 3 games of this series, he has scored 64, 46.5, and 54 DK points, respectively. The path to him having a bad outing is likely a blowout for the Pacers, which is certainly possible. Bobby Portis has gone from being the 6th man off the bench to the 2nd option in the starting unit. He was ejected from Game 4 but put up 44 DK points in Game 3 and 47 DK points in Game 5. The way I see it, Middleton and Portis are too cheap for their current roles in the offense.
I wish I would have listened to my own advice on Tuesday. I suggested Patrick Beverley would go back to a role of 35+ minutes at low ownership, and that’s exactly what happened. He put up 43 DK points in 36 minutes of action. He’s a strong value play once again. Malik Beasley put up 29 DK points in the 2nd half of Game 5 and should see minutes in the mid-30s at a cheap price point. The only bench player that I trust here is Pat Connaughton. He can fill up the stat sheet, he’s a good bet for 25+ minutes, and he’s affordable. Brook Lopez has been held under 35 DK points in 4 of the first 5 games of the series. He’s not a bad option here, but I view him as a better lineup filler than lineup starter.
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