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Welcome to another Sunday, RotoBallers. We only have eight teams (four games) in action on the main slate in the NBA tonight, highlighted by a Thunder-Spurs game with a 237-point implied total and a Knicks-Lakers matchup with profound playoff implications.
Three teams are playing in the second half of a back-to-back set, and we know by now that teams can (and will) get creative with their lineup decisions on Sundays. Keep your eyes peeled for news, as we'll need it to feel comfortable with value plays tonight. Let's get to it.
Here is my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel and DraftKings on 3/12/23. Keep an eye on RotoBaller’s NBA injury news and also our full NBA injury report today to stay up to date before lineups are locked.
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NBA DFS Matchup Rankings
DraftKings and FanDuel Guards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Josh Giddey, vs. SAS (FD: $8,000, DK: $8,000)
Giddey had posted four straight games with at least 49.75 DK points before his last two, where he put up just 29.75 and 32.75 DK points in challenging road games. He will get back on track here against the Spurs, who allow the most fantasy points per game to opposing teams and the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing point guards. They also rank last in defensive rating and both teams rank in the top four in pace, which means this is projected to be a high-scoring affair with extra possessions and oodles of fantasy points scored. "Giddy" up.
Devin Vassell, vs. OKC (FD: $6,500, DK: $5,800)
We don't have much value on this slate, so we must work with what we have. Vassell missed about two months of games with a knee injury and just recently came back, scoring 24.5, 23.75, and 23 DK points over 23, 29, and 31 minutes, respectively. That's lower than his 32.7 DK point season average and doesn't come close to the 40-50 DK point efforts he'd occasionally produce earlier in the season. However, his minutes are ramped back up now, and there could be extra minutes and fantasy production available as Keldon Johnson and Jeremy Sochan are both questionable to suit up. Vassell averages a solid 25.7% usage rate and holds a 1.20 FPTS/min rate with those two off the floor this season, and his matchup against the Thunder tonight certainly doesn't hurt his outlook. The Thunder allow the seventh-most fantasy points per game to opposing teams this season.
CJ McCollum, vs. POR (FD: $8,100, DK: $7,500) If Brandon Ingram is inactive
Also consider: Isaiah Joe, Tre Jones, James Harden, Damian Lillard
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DraftKings and FanDuel Forwards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Jeremy Sochan, vs. OKC (FD: $6,300, DK: $5,600)
Sochan is currently listed as questionable to play tonight with 'right knee soreness.' The Spurs are officially eliminated from the playoffs, so we could see them start to rest players to kick off "silly season" in the NBA. If he does play, Sochan shouldn't have much trouble exceeding 5x value at his price tag. He needs 28 DK points for 5x value tonight, and he has been at or over that number in his last five games. He dropped 38.25 DK points against the Thunder back on 12/27, and it's not like the Thunder have improved defensively since Christmas. They're allowing the most fantasy points per game to opposing teams over their last seven games.
Jarred Vanderbilt, vs. NYK (FD: $5,500, DK: $5,000)
"Vando" will never be a high-usage player as he makes his bread by contributing defensively and in the hustle stats, which includes gobbling up boards and scoring when needed down low. They'll need him to keep doing his thing tonight against the Knicks, who roll out Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson for big minutes in the frontcourt. Vanderbilt is averaging 0.99 FPTS/min with LeBron James and Mo Bamba off the floor this season, and that number will work great at the low-30's minutes he has seen in competitive contests.
Also consider: Julius Randle, Jalen Williams, Lu Dort, Trey Murphy III
DraftKings and FanDuel Centers - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Jusuf Nurkic, vs. NOP (FD: $7,000, DK: $6,000)
There isn't much to love at the center position on tonight's slate. Embiid and AD are overpriced and in pace-down matchups against teams that defend frontcourt players well, and, as stated before, there isn't anything in the way of value. Enter Nurkic, who had his minutes ramped to 26 in Friday's game against the 76ers. You'd think that trend would continue as the Blazers had a day off, so while it's never "safe" to predict what the team will do with the big man's playing time, we can make some assumptions. Nurk scored 27.75 DK points in his brutal matchup against Embiid, but now he gets one of the softer frontcourt matchups in the league against the Pelicans. New Orleans allows the seventh-most fantasy points per game to opposing centers on the season, and they're allowing the third-most fantasy points per game to the position over their last 15 games.
Also consider: Zach Collins, Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid
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