DFS NBA Lineups for March 22, 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.

DraftKings and FanDuel are continuing their run of huge DFS NBA tournaments. At DraftKings, they’ve got their Triple Threat Championship, a $500k guarantee tourney with a $33 buy-in. At FanDuel, they’re yet again running their $7 buy-in Enormous Layup, a $250k GPP with $50k going to the top spot. They’ve also added a Jumbo Slam with a $40 buy-in and $444k guaranteed that pays out $100k to first place.

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. As we enter the final weeks of the season, this is more important than ever. Late tip teams like the Kings and Knicks have nothing to play for and could sit any player, and shuffle their rotations without any notice.

PLAYERS RULED OUT

Paul Millsap (knee)
Kent Bazemore (knee)
Michael Beasley (knee)

INJURY NEWS TO MONITOR

Wilson Chandler (groin)
Danilo Gallinari (knee)
Tyreke Evans (ankle)
Jahlil Okafor (knee)
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (ankle)
Derrick Favors (knee)
Kyle Korver (foot)
Deron Williams (thumb)

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

Hornets -5 @ Magic (7:00p): 206
Pacers @ Celtics -8 (7:30p): 208.5
Pistons @ Bulls -1 (8:00p): 199
Hawks @ Wizards -7 (8:00p): 214.5
76ers @ Thunder -11 (8:00p): 218
Cavs -3.5 @ Nuggets (9:00p): 228.5
Bucks -3.5 @ Kings (10:30p): 204.5
Knicks @ Jazz -10.5 (10:30p): 203.5

Best NBA Picks for March 22, 2017

Russell Westbrook ($13.1k DraftKings, $13k FanDuel)
Admittedly, playing Westbrook in his last game was a mistake. His Thunder team was potentially overmatched without a supporting cast around him and the Warriors were finally starting to hit a groove. But how about playing an angry Westbrook? He should be seething after a blowout loss to the hated Warriors and faces his personal punching bag tonight in the 76ers. He came up just shy of a triple-double with 32 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists in his sole meeting with Philly this year and averaged 20.5 points, 16 rebounds and 10.5 assists over two meetings with the Sixers last year. Philadelphia’s interior defense has arguably been the worst in the league since Joel Embiid went down for the season, so this definitely profiles as a get right matchup for the most dangerous man in NBA DFS. It’s worth nothing the Thunder are the biggest favorites on the slate tonight, so there’s at least the potential for this one to get out of hand and a small chance Westy doesn’t get his usual 35+ minutes.

Isaiah Thomas ($8.1k DraftKings, $8.6k FanDuel)
If you don’t want to mortgage the rest of your lineup to get Westbrook on this full slate, feel free to use Isaiah and another upper-tier option at PG, perhaps even his direct adversary in Jeff Teague ($6.5k, $6.7k). The Celtics and Pacers should play a very competitive game tonight with seeding in the ECF playoffs on the line. Indiana’s defense has improved of late, but the Pacers are giving up an above average 8.91 APG and 21.6 PPG to opposing PGs this season. Thomas is averaging 25.5 PPG over two meetings with Indy this year, but most importantly, he’s at home and is fully capable of turning up in the fourth quarter should this game go down to the wire. And his salary is down $1200 since March 3, so it’s much more in line with where his production will be moving forward now that Avery Bradley is back in the lineup.

Nikola Vucevic ($7.9k DraftKings, $8k FanDuel)
You could pay up for Nikola Jokic in a perceived good matchup against the Cavs, or you could get a more reasonably priced Nikola and hope for comparable production in a matchup that might be even better. The Hornets are giving up the fourth-most RPG (16.03) and an above average 48.3 FPPG to opposing centers this season. Vooch has been on a tear since Serge Ibaka was traded and has seen a nice uptick in minutes in the Month of March. Seemingly unaffected by the Achilles injury that held him out for a couple games, he’s averaging 19.4 PPG and 12.4 RPG over his last five appearances with bigtime double-doubles in four of those games. To boot, Charlotte doesn’t have the personnel to stop a player with his combination of size and skill. Small disclaimer as we reach this point in the season, watch out for a scratch. Apparently the Achilles flared up on him a couple days ago (he played through it and scored 48 DK points in 36 minutes), but the Magic have nothing to play for and there’s no reason to risk further injury. That said, if he plays as planned, you can roll him out with confidence.

Mid-Tier DFS NBA Plays

Richaun Holmes ($6.2k DraftKings, $6.1k FanDuel)
Holmes’ huge double-double on Monday night results in a marked price jump on both main DFS sites, but he should still be worth the money if Jahlil Okafor (knee) is unable to play tonight. As the only healthy big on the roster and the only one capable of playing any defense, Holmes should log heavy minutes in an attempt to contain the ‘stache brothers of Steven Adams and Enes Kanter. He’s 24-point, 14-rebound explosion against Orlando was not an anomaly, as he’s been putting up solid numbers for weeks now. He is a productive per 36 minute player with averages of 16.8 points and 9.7 rebounds on the year. The Sixers are still battling despite being out of the hunt with management wanting to get a good look at their young squad. Bob Covington and Dario Saric also make for very interesting tournament plays that will likely draw lower ownership than they should due to their not-so-cheap price tags. Both contribute in multiple categories have 34+ minute upside.

Khris Middleton ($6.2k DraftKings, $6.4k FanDuel)
While Giannis Antetokounmpo was able to play through an ankle sprain last night, he was largely ineffective, leaving Middleton to step up as the top offensive option for Milwaukee. He came through with a great game against Portland’s poor defense and faces an even weaker unit tonight in the young Kings. Sacramento is giving up the second-most overall FPPG (218.1) over the last month and the most FPPG (42.08) to opposing SFs during that span. He’s been somewhat inconsistent as a mid-tier option, but Middleton should be worth his price tag in a great matchup with The Greek Freak clearly playing at less than one hundred percent.

Atlanta Hawks
Paul Millsap is expected to miss at least one more game and Kent Bazemore is out for about a week, so the Hawks roster is full of players who will be given the opportunity to step up once again. Taurean Prince ($5k, $3.9k) is now a bit too pricey on DK but remains a great bargain on FanDuel while Thabo Sefolosha ($4.3k, $3.8k) should have another opportunity to contribute after exceeding value by a wide margin on Monday. Ersan Ilyasova ($5.5k, $4.5k) might be the safest play of the bunch as the replacement for Millsap in the starting lineup while Tim Hardaway Jr. ($5.8k, $5.4k) is worth a look in GPP formats in a plus matchup against the Wizards.

Value DFS NBA Plays

Chicago Bulls
While Denzel Valentine ($4.5k. $4.6k) came up short of value last night, he still played a consistent role with D-Wade out for the year and will be worth a look on the second half of a B2B set with Jimmy Butler and others potentially getting a bit of rest after an overtime dogfight in Toronto. Along with Valentine, Paul Zipser ($3.1k, 3.5k) appears to be a fantastic value after providing 8x returns on value last night. He can do a variety of things and well and is a good enough shooter to threaten a Piston team that ranks 21st in opponents 3PT shooting (.364%) this season. It might be worth chasing Rajon Rondo ($5.7k, $5.4k) after a huge game last night considering he played 40 minutes and draws a plus matchup against a Detroit team that gives up the eighth-most FPPG (44.28) to opposing PGs this season.

Juancho Hernangomez ($4.7k DraftKings, $3.8k FanDuel)
While his brother is starting to slow down a little as the Knicks are getting more options up front, Juan is thriving with the Nuggets down both Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari. Neither player is guaranteed to suit up tonight and that would open up a lot of opportunities for the versatile PF, who is averaging 13 PPG and 5.2 RPG over his last four appearances. Hernangomez averages 0.77 FPs per minute when WilChan and Gallo are off the floor this season and he makes for a solid value along with PG Jamal Murray ($4.5k, $4k) in a plus matchup against the Cavs inconsistent defense. If one of Chandler or Gallo does decide to give it a go, Juancho loses nearly all of his appeal at DraftKings with his elevated price on that site.

If, Then Player

You might want to consider Kyrie Irving as another upper-tier PG to pair with Thomas for example, especially if his backup is out in Deron Williams.

The Nuggets roster is filled with players who could step up in that game if Chandler and Gallinari remain out and Will Barton might have the most upside of the bunch at a reasonable price tag on FanDuel.