DFS NBA Lineups for March 14, 2017 at Draftkings.com & Fanduel.com

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.

Let’s start things off with a little review from last night. If you followed the plays in this column, you crushed. We’ll try and make it two in a row here. We have five games on the main slate in DFS NBA for Tuesday, 3/14/17 with all five games coming in at a total of at least 211. We also have some serious blowout potential in Oakland where the Warriors are massive 16.5 point favorites over the Sixers. That said, the Warriors have lost three games in a row and rested all their stars on Saturday, so this may be a ‘get right’ game at Oracle.

The most interesting aspect of this slate will be whether or not you can make a competitive lineup that includes Russell Westbrook ($13.4k DK, $13.4k FD). On DK (where you get bonuses), Russ has gone for at least 73 DK points in seven of his last ten games, and has 84.5, 89.75, and 82.75 DK point games over that stretch. Then, add in the fact that he’s playing the Nets, has Wednesday off, and has a very short commute to Toronto for Thursday’s game…Westy seems like a must play. We’re going to need a couple of value plays to open up to make it work and feel good about it, but should that happen, we might just be all in. And finally, Jusuf Nurkic has been great since his move to Portland, but his pricetag has now reached $7k on DraftKings, which means there’s no real room for error anymore. He’ll be on the court with at least one of the big two for the Pelicans, both whom rebound very well. We think he’ll have a hard time getting the 6-7x on his no-longer-cheap salary that is needed to win a GPP.

Looking at the DFS NBA tournament landscape for March 14, DraftKings has a $4 buy-in, $300k guaranteed that caps a single player’s entries at 20. Also, the string of huge GPPs continues with a $33 buy-in, $600k guaranteed, and $100k to first place. At FanDuel, you’ve got a $4 buy-in, $500k guaranteed, that’s paying out $100k to first. It’s also the last shot to qualify for FD’s live final with $7 and $1500 buy-in qualifiers.

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

Kevin Love (knee)
Kevin Durant (knee)
Evan Turner (hand)
Ed Davis (shoulder)

INJURY NEWS TO MONITOR

Dante Cunningham (illness)
Kyle Korver (foot)
Tobias Harris (knee)
Taj Gibson (hip)
Robert Covington (knee)

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

Pistons @ Cavs -8 (7:00p): 215
Thunder -6 @ Nets (7:30p): 224.5 
Pacers -3 @ Knicks (7:30p): 211
Blazers @ Pelicans -3.5 (8:00p): 216
76ers @ Warriors -16.5 (10:30p): 220
***Of note, there’s a chance of a PPD today due to winter storm Stella***

Best NBA Picks for March 14, 2017

Russell Westbrook ($13.4k DraftKings, $13.4k FanDuel)
It’s clearly difficult with his matching $13.4k price tag on both main DFS sites, but Westbrook is worth paying up for if you can swing it on this short slate. He’s coming off consecutive double-doubles against the two best defensive teams in the NBA (Spurs and Jazz) and now he faces the worst defense in the league, as the Nets are still giving up the most PPG (114.2) while playing at the fastest pace this year. Brooklyn coughs up the most FPPG (47.97) to opposing PGs on the season and Westy went for 30 points, 10 rebounds and 13 dimes the only other time he faced the Nets this year.

Anthony Davis ($10.5k DraftKings, $11.6k FanDuel)
While superstar teammate DeMarcus Cousins ($9.5k, $9k) is worth a look as a tournament play after his horrid game at Charlotte on Saturday, Big Cuz seems to be taking a bit of a backseat to The Brow, who is playing like an MVP again now that he’s healthy. Davis went for 46 points and 21 boards to carry the Pelicans while Cousins turned the ball over 6 times and looked generally defunct within his new offense in a plus matchup against the Hornets. Both big men are worth consideration tonight against a Blazers team that allows the fifth-most PPG (110.5) overall and the fourth-most FPPG (45.15) to opposing PFs on the season. Yet Cousins should draw the coverage of formidable center Jusuf Nurkic, while Davis gets to operate against Portland’s patchwork group of PFs tonight.

Draymond Green ($7.7k DraftKings, $7.9k FanDuel)
The Sixers have been unbelievably vulnerable down low with Joel Embiid done for the year and Jahlil Okafor serving as a swinging gate defensively. In fact, they now give up the most FPPG (53.68) and most PPG (24.63), while giving up an absurd 59.63 FPPG to opposing centers over the last month. Green is a PF of course, but he spends plenty of time at the 5 for the fast-paced Warriors and should be able to bully Rookie of the Year candidate Dario Saric all night. Robert Covington (knee) is somewhere between questionable and doubtful, leaving very few players quick and strong enough to have any hope of guarding the versatile Draymond.

Mid-Tier and Value DFS NBA Plays

Andre Iguodala ($4.6k DraftKings, $4.9k FanDuel)
While he’s been quiet (on the court) over his last couple of games, Iggy has still played 29 and 32 minutes in those contests as he’s playing a much bigger role in the absence of Kevin Durant. The former all-star is averaging 0.75 FPs per minute with KD off the floor this year and remains a good bet to be at the center of any Warriors blowout at home. After his controversial comments to the media, Iguodala may be motivated to go out and perform on the court against his former team in the Sixers, which happens to give up the most PPG (115.82) and second-most overall FPPG (222.8) over the last month.

Ish Smith ($4.2k DraftKings, $4.5k FanDuel)
Both Smith and fellow PG Reggie Jackson ($5.7k, $5.2k) were productive in the Pistons’ recent win over the Cavs at home and they should trade blows against an exhausted Kyrie Irving out in Cleveland tonight. While Ish only saw 17 minutes of run in a plus matchup against the Cavs, he produced 12 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists to exceed value and looks like a solid option against a team that’s coughing up the ninth-most FPPG (44.34) to opposing PGs this season. Jackson might see more minutes, but Ish has been the more efficient player recently and he’s more of a pure value.

Cleveland Cavs
It’s all about LeBron and Kyrie right now for the Cavs but they’ll have to make adjustments to continue to burn opposing defenses and gain a modicum of rest over the final month of the season. With Kyle Korver (foot) and of course, Kevin Love (knee), on the shelf Channing Frye ($4k, $4.3k) is getting more looks from downtown while J.R. Smith ($3.9k, $3.5k) is a total longshot to find his stroke while ramping up after a lengthy absence. Iman Shumpert ($3.4k, $3.6k) is a low-upside punt play to consider for cash games if Korver is officially ruled out, while Deron Williams ($3.9k, $4.2k) seems like the safest value in a Cavs uniform against a Pistons team that plays dual PGs quite often.

If, Then Player

If Robert Covington is ruled out, we should see more of Richaun Holmes in a tough matchup against the Sixers. Dario Saric will also see a heavier workload, but is hard to trust outside of GPP formats in a prospective blowout.