DFS NBA Lineups for March 28, 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.

Looking at the NBA DFS tournament slate for Tuesday, 3/28/17, DraftKings is running a big Crazy 8’s contest with an $8 buy-in and $450k in the prize pool. The winner will take home $50,000 in that one. At FanDuel, they’ve got the $3 Shot tournament with $250k in the prize pool and $25k going to first place. Of note, DraftKings has removed the two late tip games from the main slate. Only games that start at 8p and earlier will be found in the main contests.

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.

PLAYERS RULED OUT

Kevin Durant (knee)
Paul Millsap (knee)
Kent Bazemore (knee)
Thabo Sefolosha (groin)
Dion Waiters (ankle)
Michael Beasley (knee)
Ryan Anderson (ankle)
Eric Bledsoe (knee)
Brandon Knight (back)
Tyson Chandler (rest)
Reggie Jackson (rest)

INJURY NEWS TO MONITOR

Jahlil Okafor (knee) – UPDATE 11:15a – RULED OUT
Brandon Ingram (knee)
Sean Kilpatrick (hamstring)
Leandro Barbosa (hamstring)

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

Bucks @ Hornets -3.5 (7:00p): 201
Timberwolves @ Pacers -4.5 (7:00p): 208
76ers @ Nets -3 (7:30p): 222.5
Suns @ Hawks -7.5 (7:30p): 220
Heat -2.5 @ Pistons (7:30p): 201
Warriors @ Rockets -1.5 (8:00p): 234
Nuggets @ Blazers -1.5 (10:00p): 224 – FanDuel Main Slate Only
Wizards -9 @ Lakers (10:30p): 226.5 – FanDuel Main Slate Only

Best DFS NBA Picks for March 28, 2017

James Harden ($12.3k DraftKings, $12.5k FanDuel)
There’s clearly a premier matchup to target tonight and a premier player that will execute everything for Houston in that home tilt. So far this season, Harden’s posted a triple double with 29 points in a 2OT win at Golden State and struggled in relative terms with 17 points and 11 assists when the Rockets suffered a blowout loss to the Dubs. Yet that was with Kevin Durant in the lineup and the Warriors (+1.5) have become much closer to vulnerable without their second superstar. Harden has been en fuego this month with averages of 32.3 PPG and 11.3 APG over 12 March appearances and only really hit the brakes on Sunday because the Thunder didn’t pose much of a threat in Houston. The Rockets will need everything he has tonight and there should be a bounty of stats with two of the top 3 offenses in terms of scoring and pace meet.

Stephen Curry ($9.4k DraftKings, $9.9k FanDuel)
If you want to commit to stacking a game with a 234-point Over/Under, then paying up for Curry certainly makes sense. It’s been an adjustment for everyone to learn how to play without KD again and Curry’s no exception, but he’s started to regain his MVP form with 48 points and 23 assists over his last 2 appearances. Both of those games were pretty easy wins at home, but tonight the Dubs are actually slight underdogs on the road against one of their chief competitors in the WCF and the Chef could cook against overrated defender Patrick Beverley. Houston is giving up the second-most FPPG (48.22) to opposing PGs over the last month despite Beverley’s reputation as a pest and Curry is averaging 26 PPG and 6 APG over two meetings with the Rockets.

Dennis Schroder ($7.8k DraftKings, $7.2k FanDuel)
Now if you don’t want to pay up for a PG on a slate with tons of appealing options at that position. Schroder is killing it for the most part with Paul Millsap on the shelf and the Hawks leading scorer has already been ruled out ahead of tonight’s juicy matchup against a Suns team that gives up the second-most PPG (113) in the NBA this season. Phoenix also coughs up the most FPPG (49.4) to opposing PGs over the last month and allowed Schroder to go for 31 points on 13-of-23 FG shooting in a previous meeting this season. He’s second on Atlanta in overall usage but that Usage Rate spikes to 32.4% while he averages 1.03 FPs per minute with Millsap off the floor.

Mid Tier DFS NBA Plays

Jusuf Nurkic ($7.4k DraftKings, $6.7k FanDuel)
It’s a bit disappointing that the Blazers and Nuggets game isn’t available as part of the main slate on DK tonight, but the Nurkic vs. Jokic matchup is almost a slate in itself. Nikola Jokic ($9.4k DK, $10.3k FD) is a virtual must play at that reasonable price on DK, while Nurkic is an elite option at center for any contest on FanDuel. He spent the better part of the season riding the bench behind Jokic because they possess similar skill sets, but you can bet that these two European sensations battled in every practice. Nurkic should be extremely motivated to show the world that he’s nearly as good as The Joker and he can certainly carve up a porous Nuggets defense with great passing or by scoring over his slim former teammate.

Clint Capela ($5.4k, $5.5k)
It bears mentioning Capela as a potential addition to a Rockets-Warriors stack even if there are a number of other appealing centers tonight. Capela is one of the more reliable cash game options you can find in this price range right now and he should be productive given his role as Harden’s PnR partner in a game that will be played with tons of pace and space. The Warriors are allowing an above average 15.09 RPG to opposing centers as well due to their blinding pace of play and Capela is averaging 16 PPG and 8 RPG over two meetings with the Dubs this season.

Atlanta Hawks
With Millsap out along with both Kent Bazemore and Thabo Sefolosha, the Hawks have a few appealing md-tier plays that could step up. Taurean Prince ($4.8k, $3.8k) stands out as a fantastic value on FanDuel after he logged a career-high 38 minutes and provided 17 points with those players out on Sunday. Ersan Ilyasova ($6k, $4.8k) is also worth a look on FanDuel at a more reasonable price tag, while Tim Hardaway Jr. ($6.5k, $5.9k) is a GPP play with upside in a dream matchup against the Suns horrific defense.

Value DFS NBA Plays

Phoenix Suns
The Suns continue to serve as a buffet of values with Eric Bledsoe, Tyson Chandler and Brandon Knight out indefinitely. While T.J. Warren ($7.2k DK, $6.4k FD) returned on Sunday with a great line at Charlotte, Leandro Barbosa (hamstring) is now iffy and that secures some playing time for Jared Dudley ($3.8k DK, $3.6k FD) as a swing forward. Tyler Ulis ($6.9k DK, $6k FD) remains a relative value given his massive playing time with no other healthy PGs available, while the big man duo of Alex Len ($4.6k DK, $5k FD) and Alan Williams ($5.4k DK, $5.4k FD) are both good sources of salary relief even if their upside is limited by the timeshare.

Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers
While most of the Sixers values might depend on Jahlil Okafor (knee) contuining to sit out, they’re worth mentioning at the top. If Okafor is out, Shawn Long ($4.2k DK, $4.5k FD) would remain an excellent value while Richaun Holmes ($6.3k DK, $5.7k FD) will be worth a look in a plus matchup at the Nets. Brooklyn is a horrific defensive team, but plays with plenty of pace and also gets a plus draw against a Sixers squad that’s giving up the third-most overall FPPG (217.85) over the last month. Spencer Dinwiddie ($3.9k DK, $3.5k FD) proved capable of exceeding value as a punt play over 21 minutes in his last outing and now he’s truly cheap. K.J. McDaniels ($3.8k DK, $3.8k FD) is also getting a crack at steady run and he’s very productive in terms of peripheral stats. Trevor Booker ($4.6k DK, $4.4k FD) is an extremely risky play given his volatile minutes and Isaiah Whitehead ($3.5k DK, $3.5k FD) could also come through as a punt but it’s hard to predict his playing time in a crowded rotation.

If, Then Player

As mentioned above, a couple of Sixers bigs could really benefit if Jahlil Okafor misses another game. Brooklyn is giving up the third-most FPPG (50.62) to opposing centers this season and not stopping anyone right now, while both Dario Saric and Robert Covington would also see a boost in usage.

With Reggie Jackson sitting again tonight, Ish Smith ($5k DK, $4.5k FD) becomes one of the best cash game plays on the board and has enough upside that he could be on a tournament winning lineup.