DFS NBA Lineups for March 24, 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 both running big guarantee, low buy-in DFS NBA tournaments on 3/24/17. DraftKings is rolling out its 20 Max Championship. Everyone can only enter 20 lineups in this $300k guaranteed GPP that’s paying out $25k to first place. At FanDuel, they’ve again put $250k up for grabs in the $7 Layup, and have added a $666 buy-in DEMONster with $600k in the prize pool and $150k up top.
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. Of note, only the eight games that start at 8p or earlier are on the main slate tonight at DraftKings. FanDuel has included the two late tips in their main slate.
PLAYERS RULED OUT
Kevin Durant (knee)
Paul Millsap (knee)
Kent Bazemore (knee)
Michael Beasley (knee)
Tyson Chandler (rest)
Brandon Knight (back)
Eric Bledsoe (knee)
Sean Kilpatrick (hamstring)
INJURY NEWS TO MONITOR
T.J. Warren (foot)
Danilo Gallinari (knee)
Andre Iguodala (hip)
Brandon Ingram (knee)
NBA GAME SPREADS, TOTALS & START TIME FOR TODAY’S GAMES
Cavs -3 @ Hornets (7:00p): 212.5
Pistons -4 @ Magic (7:00p): 206.5
Nuggets @ Pacers -2 (7:00p): 218
Nets @ Wizards -12 (7:00p): 224.5
Suns @ Celtics -16 (7:30p): 219.5
76ers @ Bulls -6.5 (8:00p): 210
Hawks @ Bucks -6 (8:00p): 202
Pelicans @ Rockets -7.5 (8:00p): 230.5
Timberwolves -6 @ Lakers (10:30p): 218.5 (FD main slate only)
Kings @ Warriors -17.5 (10:30p): 213.5 (FD main slate only)
Best NBA Picks for March 24, 2017
DeMarcus Cousins ($10k DraftKings, $9.3k FanDuel)
Boogie woke up in a big way in what he’s admitted is the toughest matchup for him against Marc Gasol and the physical Grizzlies defense, burning that squad for 41 points, 17 rebounds and plenty of peripheral stats in an impressive win for New Orleans. Now he’ll face a Rockets team that’s giving up the fourth-most FPPG (50.11) to opposing centers this season and the fifth-most overall PPG (111.31) over the last month while playing at a very fast pace. He averaged 25 PPG, 9.7 RPG and 3 BPG over 3 meetings with the Rockets as the lead dog in Sacramento and dealt with a couple of blowout losses in those meetings, while the Pelicans are bound to be a little more competitive on the road.
Jimmy Butler ($9.2k DraftKings, $9.5k FanDuel)
The Bulls roster is also chock full of values, which will get to later. Of course Butler is the main man in that offense with Dwyane Wade out for the season and he’s sporting a 33.1% Usage Rate while averaging 1.28 FPs per minute with Wade off the floor this year. Butler followed up a 37-point double-double in Toronto with a solid line in a blowout win over Detroit, and should be asked to do a bit more with the Bulls hosting the surprisingly competitive Sixers tonight. Philly is giving up the third-most overall FPPG (217.95) over the last month and has given up plenty of production to Butler in the past, including a career-high 53-point performance last year.
Nikola Vucevic ($7.8k DraftKings, $8.2k FanDuel)
Vucci Mane has been a beast lately for a Magic team with virtually no other source of offense and he should be productive along with his adversary tonight in Andre Drummond ($7.8k DK, $7.8k FD). Neither big is particular strong on the defensive end, but Vucevic is a better bet for production considering he’s sporting a 27.5% Usage Rate while averaging 18.8 PPG and 11.6 RPG over 8 March contests. He’s only averaging 11.5 PPG and 11 RPG over 2 meetings with Detroit this season, but his role was much different back then while he played just 27 MPG in those contests. Now everything is running through Vucevic and he’s exceeded value in 6 of his last 7 appearances as a result.
Mid Tier DFS NBA Plays
Tim Hardaway Jr. ($6k DraftKings, $5.8k FanDuel)
Timmy leads the charge of a number of popular Atlanta value plays with Kent Bazemore and Paul Millsap still out. He’s sporting a 29.7% Usage Rate with both of those players off the floor this season and just went off fro 29 points and a full line against a Wizards team that’s giving up the most PPG to opposing SGs over the last month and now he faces a Bucks team that’s giving up the an above average 22.08 PPG to SGs this season while focusing on shutting down opposing PGs (read: Dennis Schroder). Along with Hardaway Jr., Ersan Ilyasova ($5.7k DK, $4.7k FD) is a good bet for production against his former team and Thabo Sefolosha ($4.6k DK, $3.9 FD) seems like a reliable value with limited upside despite the absence of two of Atlanta’s biggest producers.
Ish Smith ($4.8k DraftKings, $4.7k FanDuel)
The charade of Smith and Reggie Jackson changing roles on a nightly basis seems to be up, as Smith drew the start last night in Chicago. He’s averaging 9.1 PPG and 5.45 APG over the last two months and is producing 13 points and 7.8 assists per 36 minutes this year. While he’s unlikely to see more than 25-30 minutes tonight, Ish is definitely worth a look at a relatively modest price tag in a plus matchup against a Magic team that gives up the fifth-most FPPG (45.13) to opposing PGs this season.
Value DFS NBA Plays
Alex Len ($4.5k DraftKings, $4.8k FanDuel)
Let’s not beat around the bush here, Len was the best play on yesterday’s 5-game slate and he should remain squarely in play at this modest price tag on DK. The big man went for 11 points and 11 boards to exceed value in a plus matchup against the Nets on Thursday, and while the Celtics are a stronger overall defensive team, they still give up the eighth-most FPPG (48.79) and RPG (15.71) to opposing centers while ranking 27th in total rebounding on the year. Kelly Olynyk ($4.2k DK, $4.1k FD) has been earning more and more minutes and might serve as a good value in his own right as he tries to use his quickness to get the best of Len, but Kelly-O stands little chance of stopping the massive Len on the other side of the floor, while Alan Williams’ illness could limit him on the second half of a B2B set after he only managed 16 minutes last night.
Chicago Bulls
Butler’s supporting cast is still very cheap on both main DFS sites and they should continue to provide excellent returns even with Robin Lopez returning from a one-game suspension tonight. Nikola Mirotic ($5.4k DK, $4.6k FD) was the man on Wednesday with RoLo out and he may just have played his way back into the rotation for HC Fred Hoiberg, while Bobby Portis ($4.6k, $4k) and Joffery Lauvergene ($4.1k DK, $3.8k FD) become more of true GPP dart now that Lopez should be back. Paul Zipser ($3.8k DK, $3.8k FD) stands out as probably the best value on the team after exceeding value once again on Wednesday and he can be locked into lineups in a plus matchup against the 76ers.
If, Then Player
If T.J. Warren remains out with a foot injury Marquess Chriss could follow up his huge double-double with another big game, while all other wings will benefit for the Suns.
Brandon Ingram’s potential absence could open up more shots for Nick Young and Jordan Clarkson amongst others.
