Jim McCormick breaks down Saturday's NBA playoff games and offers his favorite bets and DFS plays.
Jim McCormickApr 18, 2026, 10:00 AM ET
- Jim McCormick is a contributing writer for fantasy football and men's basketball at ESPN.
ESPN's fantasy basketball daily cheat sheet is your pregame destination before you set your lineups for that night's games. Here you'll read our best advice for the night, including a selection of players you can stream as well as game-by-game injury reports.
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Best bets | DFS picks | Odds & Injury report
What you need to know for Saturday's games
Silly season is unquestionably over. It's playoff time. The stakes are high and the slate is full of compelling matchups, with four games spread throughout this spring Saturday.
The slate opens with the Cleveland Cavaliers hosting the Toronto Raptors in a series that gives off NBA TV vibes. Jokes aside, this matchup is particularly inviting for Donovan Mitchell against Immanuel Quickley and a Toronto backcourt with some defensive gaps. Toronto's ability to keep up in the clutch could tell the story.
The most compelling first-round matchup sends the Minnesota Timberwolves to Colorado to face the Denver Nuggets. These teams have a rich recent playoff history, with Minnesota's transition offense posing real problems for the Nuggets. Nikola Jokic is a near-certainty to dominate, but whether Jamal Murray and the wings can contain Minnesota's athletes in the open floor is the real question. The day's highest total signals offensive upside on both ends.
The Atlanta Hawks versus the New York Knicks renews a rivalry without Trae Young on center stage. The pace mismatch becomes the defining storyline -- Atlanta plays fast, New York slow -- and Karl-Anthony Towns has been uniquely devastating against this smaller Atlanta frontcourt, averaging 28.5 points on 63% shooting against them this season.
The nightcap features the Houston Rockets visiting the Los Angeles Lakers on ABC at 8:30 PM ET. The real question is whether LeBron James can carry an offense against a team that no longer has to respect anyone else on the floor, while Kevin Durant gets whatever he wants on the other end against a Lakers defense with no real answer for him.
McCormick's favorite bets for Saturday
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Toronto Raptors Over 220.5 (-110)
Part of this over angle is powered by Toronto's success against Cleveland this season -- the Raptors won all three meetings by at least 11 points. But that was a different Cavaliers roster. James Harden has this offense operating at the 100th percentile, setting up a game competitive enough to clear this scoring bar.
Nikola Jokic to record triple-double (+104)
In some ways, this is like simply asking if Jokic is going to play today. Already an offensive planet unto himself, Jokic sees his touches and minutes only rise when the stakes do. The Nuggets traditionally struggle to sustain offense against Minnesota without Joker on the floor, so that window will be narrowed. Plus odds for his season averages is a welcome proposition.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker Over 3.5 Made 3-Pointers (+108)
An awesome breakout season saw Shai's cousin make the fourth-most threes in the NBA while shooting the best efficiency of any player averaging at least eight attempts from deep. He buried seven against the Knicks earlier this month, and the Hawks need him shooting to keep pace at MSG. At plus money, that volume is essentially his floor, with efficiency being the key.
Top Daily Fantasy values of the day
Play DFS basketball at DraftKings.
$8,100+ salaries
Nikola Jokic, C, Denver Nuggets ($12,000)
In four matchups against the Timberwolves this year, Jokic averaged nearly 36 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists -- posting a triple-double in three of the four games. No player has this blend of floor and ceiling.
Karl-Anthony Towns, PF/C, New York Knicks ($8,300)
"KAT" averaged 28.5 points on 63% shooting with 13.5 rebounds in two games against Atlanta this season. The Knicks need to have Towns develop gravity in this series to allow Brunson lanes to score and create.
$6,100-$8,000 salaries
Julius Randle, PF, Minnesota Timberwolves ($7,400)
Randle put up 30 points in the first half alone in his only meeting with Denver this season. Aaron Gordon poses a strong threat, but Randle gets his in a variety of ways. The Anthony Mason of our era, Randle is ready for the playoffs.
$3,500-$6,000 salaries
Reed Sheppard, SG, Houston Rockets ($4,600)
Sheppard's potential is so much higher in this series now that the Lakers don't have the playmakers to hunt him in switches. With more energy and freedom on offense to catch and release from deep, Sheppard is in a strong spot against this depleted Los Angeles team.
Projections and Injury Reports
Basketball Power Index by ESPN Analytics. Injury aggregation by Rotowire.com. Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook
Toronto Raptors at Cleveland Cavaliers
1 p.m. ET on Prime Video
Line: Raptors +8.5 (-115) | Cavaliers -8.5 (-105)
Money line: Raptors +280 | Cavaliers -355
Total: 220.5 (-110 O, -110 U)
BPI Projection: Cavaliers by 3.8, straight up 62%, 223.3 total points.
Injury Report:
Raptors: Chucky Hepburn, (OFS - Knee)
Cavaliers: Thomas Bryant, (OUT - Calf)
Minnesota Timberwolves at Denver Nuggets
3:30 p.m. ET on Prime Video
Line: Timberwolves +6.5 (-105) | Nuggets -6.5 (-115)
Money line: Timberwolves +210 | Nuggets -258
Total: 231.5 (-110 O, -110 U)
BPI Projection: Nuggets by 7.3, straight up 72%, 230.2 total points.
Injury Report:
Timberwolves: Anthony Edwards, (GTD - Knee)
Nuggets: Spencer Jones, (GTD - Hamstring); Peyton Watson, (OUT - Hamstring)
Atlanta Hawks at New York Knicks
6 p.m. ET on Prime Video
Line: Hawks +5.5 (-112) | Knicks -5.5 (-108)
Money line: Hawks +185 | Knicks -225
Total: 216.5 (-110 O, -110 U)
BPI Projection: Knicks by 7.4, straight up 72%, 218.6 total points.
Injury Report:
Hawks: Jock Landale, (OUT - Ankle)
Knicks: None reported
Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers
8:30 p.m. ET on ABC
Line: Rockets -5.5 (-105) | Lakers +5.5 (-115)
Money line: Rockets -205 | Lakers +170
Total: 208.5 (-112 O, -108 U)
BPI Projection: Rockets by 0.4, straight up 51%, 213.4 total points.
Injury Report:
Rockets: Kevin Durant, (GTD - Knee); Fred VanVleet, (OUT - Knee); Steven Adams, (OFS - Ankle)
Lakers: Austin Reaves, (OUT - Oblique); Luka Doncic, (OUT - Hamstring)