NBA DFS Main Slate Best Plays| April 8, 2025

Tuesday’s DFS Main Slate is a big boy, with eight games on Draft Kings and 10 on FanDuel. The major players not suiting up include Donovan Mitchell, Coby White, and Damien Lillard. The list of questionable players is a mile long. Paying attention to starting lineups is imperative, as value will open up throughout the afternoon. Here are today’s NBA DFS Main Slate Best Plays.

NBA DFS Best Plays: Guards

Darius Garland (DK: $7,800, FD: $7,500)

Garland goes nuclear when Mitchell sits. Garland scored 55, 44 & 45.75 fantasy points in the last three games without Mitchell. His salary is more than reasonable with this sort of upside. Do not overthink this one because the field certainly isn’t. He is the second chalkiest player on today’s slate.

Fantasy Point Goal: 39 Total Apex Projection: 45

Caris LeVert (DK: $4,600, FD: $5,300)

This selection is more of a lean, but it morphs into a lock if Trae Young sits. LeVert is elevating his play, especially over the last three games, scoring 38.8, 36, and 26 points. Strangely, his price went down from $4,800 to $4,600 for this slate. We can use the $200 elsewhere. His ownership is sub-10 %, creating differentiation that could make our lineups stand out.

Fantasy Point Goal: 23, Total Apex Projection: 27

Bench Options: Ty Jerome, Dariq Whitehead, and Max Strus

NBA DFS Best Plays: Forwards

Paolo Banchero (DK: $9,800, FD: $9,800)

The Magic lacks players who can score outside of their two top-priced players, Banchero and Franz Wagner. The Hawks struggle mightily against forwards, giving up 45.58 points to SF and 51.91 points to PF per game. This stat is by far the worst in the league, creating a smash spot for DFS. The field is on this play, though, as his ownership should be somewhere between 30 – 35% in the large field GPPs. 

Fantasy Point Goal: 49, Total Apex Projection: 55

Franz Wagner (DK: $8,800, FD: $8,500)

Wagner shares the same smash spot opportunity as his teammate Paolo. The Magic need people to put the ball in the hoop. Wagner can do that. The Hawks are third in pace, allowing the Magic to get more scoring opportunities. He is coming off a 27-real-point night, so expect him and Banchero to go peanut butter and jelly for a delicious mixture of DFS points.

Fantasy Point Goal: 44, Total Apex Projection: 48 

Bench Options: Jaren Jackson Jr., Jaden McDaniels, and Pascal Siakam

NBA DFS Best Plays: Centers

Zach Collins (DK: $3,200, FD: $5,000)

Nikola Vucevic carries a questionable tag and may sit for the first game of the Bulls’ back-to-back games. This opportunity allows Zach Collins to get production. Collins shows huge upside when healthy, putting up 44.75, 47, and 24.75 fantasy points in the last three games Vucevic sat. At this juncture, his ownership is not as high as one would think, hovering around 4%. This is a smash start if his ownership stays under 10 – 15% come lock. 

Fantasy Point Goal: 16, Total Apex Projections: 28

Bench Options: Jalen Smith, Alexander Sarr, Mark Williams, and Julius Randle

Conclusion

This time of year can be incredibly volatile, with many teams injured or tanking, making lineup decisions tough to forecast. Use these players to create a unique core and avoid the downfall of duplicated lineups by the field. The top DFS builds will consist of the right balance between studs and value options that pay at least 5x-6x their salaries.

Please double-check our player recommendations once all inactives get announced.