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The final day of the weekend is here and with it brings another tantalizing NBA slate. There are seven games on the main slate tonight, highlighted by the Pelicans-Hawks, Suns-Kings, and Spurs-Warriors in terms of implied totals and projected fantasy appeal. The Warriors are especially interesting, facing the forgiving Spurs at home but without the services of Steph Curry. We also have a tankathon extravaganza tonight as the Thunder will face the Magic in the night's least appealing game environment, by far.
There aren't any teams playing on the second half of a back-to-back set, but we do have a myriad of injury situations to monitor. The keys names to watch out for are Joel Embiid, Trae Young, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, De'Aaron Fox, Devonte' Graham, Jae Crowder, and Jalen Suggs. Josh Richardson, Hassan Whiteside, Moses Moody, and Keita Bates-Diop also all hold questionable tags coming into the day.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 3/20/22. Remember to monitor NBA injury news and our live-updating NBA injury updates tool as the slate can completely change before lineups lock. As always, feel free to follow my Twitter (@RING_DFS) - I post about a variety of things but mainly NBA DFS with my K-Rate model. Let's get to it - good luck RotoBallers!
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DraftKings and FanDuel Guards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Donovan Mitchell - PG/SG, UTA vs. NYK ($8,800 DK, $8,500 FD)
This is a really difficult game to get excited about targeting as it holds the lowest implied total on the slate and features two teams who play great defense and love to slow the game down to a grinding halt. These factors typically don't equate to the ideal environment for fantasy points. However, the star player on the better team is noticeably underpriced, and combining that with his recent form and the team's injury situation makes "Spyda" a great play tonight. The Jazz star guard missed the last game with a calf injury, but he's not the injury report for tonight. Point guard Mike Conley and starting forward Bojan Bogdanovic have already been ruled out, and Mitchell gets significant bumps in his usage rate (36%) and FPTS/min rate (1.47) in their absences. He'd been playing well even with them on the floor recently, going for 50.75 and 51 DK points in his last two contests. Fire him up as a core option against the Knickerbockers tonight.
Jordan Poole - PG/SG, GSW vs. SAS ($7,000 DK, $7,600 FD) | Better on DraftKings
The Warriors are now the Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole show with Curry sidelined indefinitely. Poole averages a high 30.7% usage rate and 1.11 FPTS/min with the star guard off the floor, and we can confidently give a boost to that per-minute rate tonight with the Spurs coming to town. San Antonio is allowing the eighth-most fantasy points per game to opposing teams this season, and the fourth-most fantasy points per game to opposing point guards. They also play at the fourth-fastest pace in the league, which combines well with the Warriors' 15th-fastest pace. Poole has been really productive as of late, scoring at least 20 real-life points in eight straight games and exceeding 45 DK points in three of his last seven. He's a high-volume shooter who has been on recently and he contributes with stocks and some assists and rebounds as well. Poole is a top guy to get exposure to at the guard positions tonight.
Delon Wright - PG, ATL vs. NOP ($4,900 DK, $4,400 FD)
If Trae Young gets ruled out again - and it's looking like that'll be the case - Delon Wright slots back in as one of the better value plays on the slate. Both sites priced him up after he went for 44.25 DK points over 32 minutes in a spot start on Friday, but he's still sub-$5k and gets an even better matchup tonight against the vulnerable New Orleans Pelicans.
Others to consider (FanDuel): Klay Thompson ($6,800), Trent Forrest ($3,500), Franz Wagner ($5,200), Jalen Suggs ($5,000), Tre Mann ($5,000), Tyrese Maxey ($5,300), Cole Anthony ($5,900), Trae Young ($10,400)
Others to consider (DraftKings): Trent Forrest ($3,000), Jalen Suggs ($4,700), Josh Richardson ($4,400), Devin Booker ($9,000), Trae Young ($10,200)
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DraftKings and FanDuel Forwards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Darius Bazley - PF/C, OKC vs. ORL ($5,700 DK, $6,200 FD)
Obviously, this is going to feel like a much better play if Gilgeous-Alexander were to be ruled out. That being said, Bazley is cheap enough and playing well enough to strongly consider him even with SGA ruled in for tonight. He flopped like a fish in his last game with 18.25 DK points, but that came against arguably the stingiest defense in the league in Miami. Orlando doesn't quite present the same level of difficulty, ranking 21st in defensive efficiency and allowing the sixth-most fantasy points per game to opponents this season. They're also allowing the second-most fantasy points per game to opposing power forwards, so Bazley has a golden opportunity to return to the 42.75 DK points average he posted in his three games prior to Friday's disaster.
Wendell Carter Jr. - PF/C, ORL vs. OKC ($7,800 DK, $6,900 FD) | Better on FanDuel
The Magic have begun to realize that WCJ needs to be a core player and are starting to give him more consistent minutes over the last month or so. He has responded emphatically, posting a smattering of 40+ DK point games and even a 50 DK point game since the middle of February. Projecting him for about 30 minutes is reasonable now, and there's a chance he plays a lot more as we just saw on 3/13 (39 minutes) and 3/11 (35 minutes). He averages 1.14 FPTS/min this season, but that has jumped to 1.22 FPTS/min since 2/14 and we can bump that number up even more with the matchup he gets tonight. The Thunder are allowing the second-most fantasy points per game to opponents this season, and they also give up the sixth-most fantasy points per game to opposing centers. They don't have the personnel to slow Carter Jr. down, and he is primed for a value-crushing outing tonight (especially at his FanDuel price).
Domantas Sabonis - PF/C, SAC vs. PHX ($8,400 FD) | Better on FanDuel
Others to consider (FanDuel): Tobias Harris ($5,600), Otto Porter Jr. ($4,400), Will Barton ($4,700), Jason Tatum ($9,300), Robert Williams ($6,200), Trey Lyles ($4,600)
Others to consider (DraftKings): Aleksej Pokusevski ($5,100), Chuma Okeke ($4,200), Keldon Johnson ($6,200), Mikal Bridges ($6,000)
DraftKings and FanDuel Centers - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Nikola Jokic - C, DEN vs. BOS ($12,000 DK, $11,300 FD)
I absolutely love getting to an unpopular Jokic on any slate, and that could be the scenario we run into tonight. Jokic has a "next-level" ceiling that no one else in the league can touch, and he just reminded us of this in early March when he went for 95, 75.5, and 77 DK points in consecutive games. He has ranged between 53 and 64.25 in the five games since, which has resulted in a steady decrease in his popularity in DFS contests. He's also facing the Celtics tonight, a team that defends the center position at an elite level and loves to grind games down to a slow, controlled pace. Jokic is the rare case where matchups don't matter, though, and we all should know this by now since he has done nothing but continue to prove it out. I'd compare it to prime Calvin Johnson (or Randy Moss) going up against an elite pass defense in the NFL - they're matchup-proof. He put up 65 DK points against Boston in mid-February, and he put up a triple-double and a 43/6/5/2/1 line in the two meetings with the C's last season. Don't fade the most valuable (and most productive) player in the NBA.
Others to consider (FanDuel): Kevon Looney ($4,900), Mo Bamba ($5,000), Jakob Poeltl ($6,400), Joel Embiid ($11,200)
Others to consider (DraftKings): Kevon Looney ($4,600), Joel Embiid ($11,300), Deandre Ayton ($7,100), Precious Achiuwa ($4,600)
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