DFS NBA Lineups for March 21, 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.
We’ve got 8 games on the DFS NBA slate today with a couple of games without spreads and totals while we wait on injury information. Ricky Rubio has been playing lights out and gets a price discount today because he’s facing the Spurs. This works out great for us because Rubio doesn’t rely on scoring to produce in DFS, so the matchup doesn’t disqualify him from consideration. That said, he’s found a lot of success against this team with a double-double and a triple-double his last two games against the Spurs (50 & 51 DK points). Further, he’s played at least 32 minutes in 7 of his last 8 games and should see every bit of that tonight. If you’re a mass entry guy, you’ll want exposure to the Pistons with them facing the Nets. The safest place to look is Andre Drummond, with volatile, upside plays coming by way of Tobias Harris and Reggie Jackson. And finally, rostering guys against the Suns has been good for our DFS lineups. Find a few spots for some Heat players.
DraftKings and FanDuel are almost running it back tonight after the success of last night’s massive tournaments. For the big bankroll players, there’s a $888 buy-in, $500k guaranteed GPP with $100k going to the winner. For the more modest bankroll, they’re running a Crazy Eights Encore. Same $8 buy-in, but a $400k guarantee with $50k going to first place. At FanDuel, they’re again running their $7 buy-in Enormous Layup, a $250k GPP with $50k going to the top spot. They’ve also added an Enormous Monster for tomorrow with a $444 buy-in and $400k guaranteed.
PLAYERS RULED OUT
Kevin Durant (knee)
Kyle Lowry (wrist)
Dion Waiters (ankle)
Michael Beasley (knee)
Nemanja Bjelica (foot)
Sean Kilpatrick (hamstring)
Brandon Knight (back)
INJURY NEWS TO MONITOR
Giannis Antetokounmpo (ankle)
Devin Booker (ankle)
Jeremy Lin (ankle)
Nick Young (illness)
NBA GAME SPREADS, TOTALS & START TIME FOR TODAY’S GAMES
Bulls @ Raptors -7 (7:00p): 201.5
Pistons -5 @ Nets (7:30p): 215
Suns @ Heat (7:30p): TBD
Grizzlies @ Pelicans -2.5 (8:00p): 205
Warriors -3.5 @ Mavericks (8:30p): 209.5
Spurs -5 @ Timberwolves (9:30p): 205.5
Bucks @ Blazers (10:00p): TBD
Clippers -8 @ Lakers (10:30p): 221
Best NBA Picks for March 21, 2017
Karl-Anthony Towns ($9.7k DraftKings, $10.4k FanDuel)
Two former No. 1 picks out of Kentucky are under priced on DK tonight due to their opponents. Anthony Davis draws a tough matchup against Memphis, while Towns is in a slightly more appealing spot at home against the Spurs. He’s been a beast at Target Center all year with averages of 26.1 PPG, 12.9 RPG and 51.1 DK PPG on the season and he’s been productive enough with averages of 20.7 PPG and 14.7 RPG over three meetings with the Spurs this season. San Antonio is still a disciplined defensive team, but lacks the personnel to contain truly elite big men with Tim Duncan retired and LaMarcus Aldridge struggling a bit this year, so KAT should be able to maintain his red-hot hand while posting great numbers again tonight.
Blake Griffin ($8k DraftKings, $9.3k FanDuel)
Apparently DraftKings is trying to bait people into putting more exposure down by pricing superstar big men so low. Griffin was a bargain in a plus matchup against the Knicks last night and he’s even cheaper tonight against a Lakers team that now ranks dead last in defensive rating and opponents FG shooting (.482%) while blatantly tanking for a top draft pick. Those concerns could make Griffin a candidate to rest down the stretch of a blowout win, but while he’s out there he should be quite productive, as the Lakers give up the most FPPG (48.21) to opposing PFs this season. Griffin has yet to face the Clippers crosstown rivals this year, but he’s dominated the Purple and Gold in the past and represents a matchup nightmare for Julius Randle and company.
Tyler Ulis ($7.3k DraftKings, $6.4k FanDuel)
We warned you that Ulis wouldn’t be this cheap for long, although he still remains under priced on FanDuel. He should be locked into lineups on that site and serve as a great cash game play tonight with Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight unavailable. Ulis logged 39, 40 and 43 minutes over three appearance since EB was shut down and he might have to carry an even heavier workload tonight if Devin Booker (ankle) is hobbled or inactive. Regardless, he draws a good matchup against a Heat team that gives up the fifth-most PPG (24.62) to opposing PGs over the last month and he’s now functioning as the maestro of the Suns fast-paced offensive attack.
Mid-Tier DFS NBA Plays
Jusuf Nurkic ($6.9k DraftKings, $6.7k FanDuel)
Nurkic remains a bargain on both main DFS sites and a perfect alternative to some of the pricier options at center tonight. He’s been rolling since dropping an unexpected dud against the Pelicans poor interior defense, as he’s produced 39 points, 30 rebounds, 9 assists and 9 blocks over three tough matchups against the Spurs, Hawks and Heat since then. He’s been a beast over five home games with the Blazers and should have a great game tonight against a weak Bucks frontcourt. Milwaukee is giving up the sixth-most RPG (16.38) to opposing centers over the last month and tenth-most FPPG (48.39) to the position this year, while particularly struggling against true 7-footers who play with physicality.
Harrison Barnes ($6.3k DraftKings, $5.8k FanDuel)
Not much has been made of the Harrison Barnes revenge narrative, but he’s quietly (as is his calling card) averaged 25 PPG and 37 DK PPG over two meetings with the Dubs this season. Golden State is reeling defensively following the loss of Kevin Durant and Barnes is the type of skilled wing player that can give them issues in this road test. The Warriors may be a little tired after a tough road game at OKC last night and the Mavericks are well rested heading into this bout, so we could see HB look for his offense early and often if he feels at all slighted by his former team.
Value DFS NBA Plays
Denzel Valentine ($4.5k DraftKings, $4.6k FanDuel)
It appears as though Valentine has league-winning potential as a late add in seasonal fantasy basketball since is soaking up minutes and touches with Dwyane Wade (elbow) ruled out for the rest of the season. The Michigan State product has scored 11 points in four consecutive games and added solid peripheral stats with 28 rebounds and 11 assists during that span, which was his calling card as a great all-around player in college. He draws a decent matchup tonight against a Raptors team that’s been discombobulated with Kyle Lowry out of the lineup and might use a banged up DeMarre Carroll (ankle) to guard Valentine.
Spencer Dinwiddie ($3.8k DraftKings, $3.5k FanDuel)
With Jeremy Lin doubtful tonight and looking at potentially coming off the bench the rest of the season, Brooklyn has made it clear that they intend to start Dinwiddie going forward. The rookie has been sporadic in terms of production this season but rewarded the trust of his coaching staff with 18 points and 7 assists over 30 minutes in a loss to Dallas. The nets draw a plus matchup tonight against a Pistons team that gives up the eighth-most FPPG (44.28) to opposing PGs this season and fourth-most PPG (25.23) to the position over the last month, while Dinwiddie barely needs to score to meet value.
If, Then Player
If The Greek Freak is unable to suit up tonight, Khris Middleton will likely see the most usage for the Bucks. However, Malcolm Brogdon will also be a great mid-tier option and Greg Monroe could get force fed touches in the post in a plus matchup at Portland.
