NBA DFS, playoffs: Top DraftKings, FanDuel daily Fantasy basketball picks for April 21 include LeBron James

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The 2026 NBA playoffs roll on Tuesday with a trio of Game 2 matchups. The Celtics vs. 76ers is at 7 p.m. ET, followed by Trail Blazers vs. Spurs at 8 p.m. ET and Lakers vs. Rockets at 10:30 p.m. ET. While NBA DFS lineups will gravitate towards stars like LeBron James, Victor Wembanyama, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, role players are a necessity to conform with your NBA DFS salary cap. Luke Kennard had a game-high of 27 points in Los Angeles' Game 1 victory and could provide value as a daily Fantasy basketball pick with Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique) both still out.

Which undervalued options should be a part of your Tuesday NBA DFS strategy? Additionally, which star players won't measure up to their prices on daily Fantasy basketball sites like FanDuel and DraftKings? Before making any NBA DFS picks, be sure to check out the NBA DFS advice, player rankings, stacks, and top daily Fantasy basketball picks from SportsLine's Mike McClure.

McClure is a DFS professional with more than $2 million in career winnings. He's also a predictive data engineer at SportsLine who uses a powerful prediction model that simulates every minute of every game 10,000 times, taking factors like matchups, statistical trends and injuries into account. This allows him to find the best NBA DFS values on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel and create optimal lineups that he shares only over at SportsLine. They're a must-see for any NBA DFS player.

McClure has turned his attention to NBA action on Tuesday and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.

Top NBA DFS picks for Tuesday, April 21

For Tuesday, one of McClure's top NBA DFS picks is Lakers forward LeBron James ($9,600 on DraftKings, $10,500 on FanDuel). The four-time MVP filled up the stat sheet in Game 1 with 19 points, 13 assists, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block. The 13 dimes were the most assists by James in a playoff game since the NBA Bubble in 2020. He should continue to be the focal point of the offense with L.A.'s various injuries, and James can also fill up the basket versus Houston's defense if need be. In his final regular season contest versus the Rockets, James scored 30 points, which was his fourth-most all season. See McClure's other NBA DFS picks right here.

He's also building his NBA DFS strategy around Rockets guard Reed Sheppard ($4,900 on DraftKings, $5,700 on FanDuel). The second-year player had 17 points and 8 assists in his first career postseason start in Game 1. He's also never had a bad performance versus the Lakers as Sheppard has faced them five times over his NBA career and scored at least 11 points in all five. Los Angeles' defense is susceptible to point guards as L.A. allowed 9.4 assists per game to opposing PGs this season, which was the second-most in the NBA. See McClure's other NBA DFS picks right here.

How to set your NBA DFS lineups for April 21

McClure is also targeting a player who could go off for massive numbers on Tuesday because of an optimal matchup. This pick could be the difference between winning your tournaments and cash games or going home with nothing. You can only see who it is here.

Who is DFS pro Mike McClure putting in his optimal NBA DFS lineups for Tuesday? Visit SportsLine now to see optimal NBA DFS picks, rankings, advice, and stacks, all from a professional DFS player who has over $2 million in career winnings, and find out.