DFS NBA Lineups for March 3, 2017 at Draftkings.com & Fanduel.com

Happy Friday! On days that there’s a nice slate of DFS NBA games, we’ll give you the game totals, point spreads, and pertinent injury news to follow for NBA daily fantasy, as well as some players that we’re considering for our lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel.

We’ve got a huge 10-game slate in DFS NBA for 3/3/17, and Russell Westbrook is back over $13k at DraftKings after putting up 66 DK points last night. There would have to be multiple serious value plays appear for us to be able to work him into our cash lineups, however. And while Bob Covington and Dario Saric remain the 76ers we feel good about rostering, Nik Stauskas is likely to start with Gerald Henderson out tonight. He’s only $3.8k and they play the Knicks. And finally, we generally loathe rostering Jazz players, but they’re playing at home against the Nets. Some GPP exposure to Gordon Hayward and Rudy Gobert wouldn’t be out of the question.

Looking at our DFS NBA tournaments for March 3, DraftKings has a $4 buy-in, $315k Guaranteed Four Point Play that’s again maxed at 20 entries. If you’ve ever wanted to multi-entry, but felt you didn’t have a chance to truly compete, well, this is the tourney for you. DK is also running a $20 buy-in Shootaround Finale with a $500k prize pool. At FanDuel, they’re running a $55 buy-in Epic Slam that comes with a $500k guarantee.

As always, be sure and monitor any of the injury news that breaks throughout the day, as value plays and player upgrades can arise in a moments notice.

PLAYERS RULED OUT

Joel Embiid (knee)
Kyle Lowry (wrist)
Kevin Love (knee)
Victor Oladipo (back)
Wesley Matthews (hip)
Michael Beasley (knee)
Rodney Hood (knee)
Guillermo Hernangomez (ankle)
Gerald Henderson (hip)

INJURY NEWS TO MONITOR

Hassan Whiteside (illness)
Dion Waiters (ankle)
Gerald Green (heel)

NBA GAME SPREADS, TOTALS & START TIME FOR TODAY’S GAMES

Heat -4.5 @ Magic (7:00p): 208.5
Cavs -3 @ Hawks (7:00p): 213.5
Knicks -1.5 @ 76ers (7:00p): 217.5
Raptors @ Wizards -5 (7:00p): 207.5
Clippers -4.5 @ Bucks (8:00p): 211.5
Grizzlies -2.5 @ Mavericks (8:30p): 190
Nets @ Jazz -13.5 (9:00p): 206
Thunder -4 @ Suns (9:00p): 226
Spurs -6.5 @ Pelicans (9:30p): 207
Celtics -7.5 @ Lakers (10:30p): 219.5

Best NBA Picks for March 3, 2017

Anthony Davis ($9.4k DraftKings, $10.9k FanDuel)
The Brow is even more under priced on DK after seeing a $1K drop in his price tag going into Friday’s slate. Sure, Boogie Cousins is back from suspension and the Pelicans face a tough defensive team in the Spurs, but San Antonio is tougher to beat in name than in actuality down low, as they give up 20.7 PPG to opposing PFs over the last month. Prime Tim Duncan isn’t walking through that door to slow down Davis, who has been lighting the league on fire since overcoming several nagging injuries and has been even more productive after Cousins was traded to New Orleans. He’s at home tonight, where he’s averaging 29.2 PPG and 12.9 RPG on the season and the matchup is pretty much irrelevant when you talk about one of the Top 5 most talented players in the league priced below $10K.

Isaiah Thomas ($9.3k DraftKings, $9.8k FanDuel)
After bouncing back in a good matchup against the Cavs, Thomas draws the best matchup imaginable against a young Lakers team that’s pretty much packed it in at this point in the season. The Lakers cough up the most FPPG (49.16) and most APG (12.22) by far to opposing PGs over the last month as they completely lack defensive discipline and leadership on either end of the floor with such a young roster. Perhaps Thomas won’t need to initiate his usual fourth quarter heroics in what could be an easy win for the Celtics, but he’s still a very good bet to meet value against such a poor defensive team and he has plenty of upside as an elite offensive player facing the league’s 29th-ranked defense.

Kawhi Leonard ($8.8k DraftKings, $9k FanDuel)
Given the difference in their price tags, I will take Leonard all day over LeBron as the top SF option tonight. He faces a far worse defensive team in the Pelicans and should be called upon for some scoring down the stretch in what should be a close game with Boogie and the Brow challenging the Spurs in New Orleans. The Pelicans give up the ninth-most PPG (106.6) in the NBA this year and Leonard is carrying the Spurs elite offense while averaging of 28.4 PPG on 51% FG shooting since the calendar turned to 2017. He’s had mixed result against the Pels this year, which might explain his somewhat diminished price tag, but you can trust Kawhi to produce with his robotic efficiency, which makes him a fantastic cash game play tonight.

Mid Tier DFS NBA Plays

Kristaps Porzingis ($6.6k DraftKings, $6.7k FanDuel)
Finally, Porzingis is performing up to his potential and his price tag is far from catching up. The Unicorn went for 20 points and 9 rebounds to narrowly miss a double double in a win at Orlando on Wednesday and now he faces a 76ers team that is back to serving as a defensive doormat with Joel Embiid (knee) done for the year. Kyle O’Quinn logged just 20 minutes as the Knicks only other option at center on Wednesday while Guillermo Hernangomez (ankle) couldn’t play and Joakim Noah (hamstring) was shut down, so the Zinger could see plenty of minutes at the 5 against a Sixers team that coughs up the second-most FPPG (58.58) to opposing centers over the last month.

Dennis Schroder ($6.2k DraftKings, $6.5k FanDuel)
Targeting the Cavs with great guards has been a foolproof strategy over the last couple of months and that shouldn’t change tonight. Schroder is second on the Hawks with a 27.3% Usage Rate on the season and he’s facing a Cavs team that’s allowing the third-most FPPG (48.22) to opposing PGs over the last month. Schroder dropped 28 points on 10-of-16 FG shooting against Kyrie Irving and Cleveland earlier this season and the Cavs interior defense has plummeted with Kevin Love out indefinitely, opening things up for a slasher like Schroder.

Value DFS NBA Plays

Alan Williams ($4.4k DraftKings, $4.9k FanDuel)
He exceeded value again last night with 16 points and 12 rebounds in a good matchup against the Hornets and Williams is still very much under priced ahead of a tougher test against the Thunder. Sure, OKC has a much better defensive center in Steven Adams, but Williams is tough enough to have met value against Marc Gasol and the Grizzlies recently and he’s seeing the lion’s share of minutes at center with the Suns moving in the direction of youth development and benching veteran Tyson Chandler. An injury To PF Marquess Chriss secures his playing time even more and he’s a great source of salary relief on DK right now.

Austin Rivers ($4.2k DraftKings, $4.7k FanDuel)
The demise of Doc Rivers’ son has been greatly exaggerated, as he’s produced two very useful lines and one dud since Chris Paul returned from a lengthy absence after the ASB. Rivers went for 16 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assist over 26 minutes off the bench against Houston on Wednesday and he could be productive in similar fashion during a potential shootout at Milwaukee tonight. The Bucks sell out to stop opposing PGs, which means that CP3 might be worth fading tonight, but we could see a dangerous combo guard in Rivers come off the bench and pick up the slack as the Clippers look to bounce back from a rough patch.

If, Then Player

If Hassan Whiteside (illness) can’t go, Willie Reed would emerge as a great value option in a plus matchup against the Magic.

Of note, Porzingis and Kyle O’Quinn see a nice boost with Guillermo Hernangomez (ankle) remaining out tonight.