Four more games are on tap for Sunday in the Association, beginning with the Raptors hosting the Cavaliers, followed by the Spurs visiting the Trail Blazers.
In the evening, the Celtics and 76ers will continue their rivalry in Philadelphia, before the Lakers try to complete a sweep of the Rockets in Houston.
Our approach for this preview won't necessarily be to break down these individual matchups. Instead, we'll seek to highlight players that offer the best value in the DraftKings Game Leaders market.
NBA Game Leader Picks, Predictions: Sunday, April 26
- Cavaliers vs Raptors 3-Point Leader: Donovan Mitchell (+187)
- Spurs vs Trail Blazers Points Leader: Stephon Castle (+710)
- Celtics vs 76ers Assists Leader: Tyrese Maxey (+187)
- Lakers vs Rockets 3-Point Leader: Jabari Smith Jr. (+510)
Cavaliers vs Raptors 3-Point Leader Bet
Toronto secured its first victory of the series with a dominant 126-104 win over Cleveland. The final score is somewhat misleading because the game was fairly close entering the fourth quarter, with the Raptors clinging to an 83-81 lead.
Raptors forward Jamison Battle served as the catalyst, coming off the bench to sink five shots, including four from beyond the arc. The only player who made more 3-pointers than Battle was his teammate RJ Barrett, who finished with six.
If we turn to the Cavaliers, their star player, Donovan Mitchell, was far from his best on the perimeter, making just one of his seven shot attempts.
However, I wouldn't expect Mitchell to be too gun-shy about letting it fly in Game 4. On Saturday, we saw Orlando's Desmond Bane bounce back with a 7-of-9 performance after going just 2-of-7 in Game 2.
With Mitchell averaging about eight 3-point attempts per game, he should have enough volume to challenge for most 3-point field goals made.
Action PRO projects him for 3.2 threes today.
Therefore, this is a great buy-low spot for Mitchell, considering he has the second-shortest odds for most 3-pointers at +276.
Pick: Most 3-Pointers Made: Donovan Mitchell (+357)
Spurs vs Trail Blazers Points Leader Bet
The Spurs didn't need Victor Wembanyama's services for Game 3, as they defeated the Trail Blazers 120-108 with their best player remaining in the league's concussion protocol. Although the Spurs upgraded Wembanyama's status to questionable, I wouldn't be so quick to jump in and blindly back him for any of the game-leader categories.
If you've ever had a concussion, you'll know it can take up to a few weeks before feeling like yourself again.
However, however many minutes Wembanyama can play will be a deterrent to Portland's offensive ambitions. As a result, this isn't necessarily a spot where you'd like to back a Trail Blazer to finish with the most points.
It's worth noting that three of the four players with the shortest odds for most points are all on the Spurs.
San Antonio's Stephon Castle led all players in Game 3 with 33 points, but his odds appear slightly undervalued at +710. Castle leads the Spurs with 17 attempts per game in the playoffs, and he's shooting 40% from the perimeter.
His teammate, De'Aaron Fox, has the second-highest field-goal attempts per game (15.7), but his perimeter shooting is a bit of a concern at 28.6%.
Surprisingly, Fox's odds of +690 are shorter than Castle's, but those numbers still appear heavily skewed to his performance in the regular season.
We've seen Fox sacrifice some of his offensive output since joining the Spurs, with his scoring average dropping from 23.5 to 18.6.
As a result, Castle is a decent option for the points leader, especially if our objective is to fade Wembanyama.
Pick: Top Scorer: Stephon Castle (+710)
Celtics vs 76ers Assist Leader Bet
Only three players with 115 or more minutes this postseason have a higher usage rate than Tyrese Maxey (31.7%), and two of those players rank in the top five for assists, while Maxey ranks seventh (7.7).
When you look at this series, the Celtics are a bit unconventional with Jayson Tatum operating as their primary facilitator from the forward position. Tatum's also averaging 7.7 assists while Derrick White, Boston's regular-season assists leader, is averaging 3.7.
The key takeaway here is that you want your best players to have the ball in their hands as much as possible during the playoffs.
With Maxey clearly the more traditional point guard in this series, his odds to lead in assists, even as a favorite, feel like a steal at +187.
And with Joel Embiid likely to miss another game as he recovers from an appendectomy, the Celtics can continue to send their double teams in Maxey's direction and force other Sixers players to try to beat them.
Such a strategy should only strengthen Maxey's chances for the most assists in Game 4.
Pick: Most Assists: Tyrese Maxey (+187)
Lakers vs Rockets 3-Point Leader Bet
Early in his career, Jabari Smith Jr. had to deal with the fallout from going from the projected No. 1 overall pick to No. 3 in the 2022 NBA Draft. But with four seasons under his belt, Smith is rounding out into a decent pro after averaging 15.8 points on the year.
The Rockets are desperately in need of some offense, given they rank 13th in efficiency among the 16 playoff teams. Smith has shown a willingness to take shots, with his 15.3 field-goal attempts per playoff game currently the second-highest on the team, behind Alperen Sengun.
Perhaps what he does offer more than anything is a perimeter threat with his 8.7 3-point attempts while shooting 46.2% from beyond the arc.
Action PRO projects Smith for 2.5 threes tonight.
Houston's best 3-point shooter during the regular season was Reed Sheppard (39.4%), but the Kentucky product might be dealing with some confidence issues, considering he's shooting just 26.7% from the floor.
Given how other players are struggling, Smith has become essential to the Rockets' game plan, which means continuing to use his skill set to stretch opposing defenses.
Pick: Most 3-Pointer Made: Jabari Smith Jr. (+510)
