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The top daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on March 9, 2020. Jesse Borek provides NBA DFS analysis and sleeper picks for building optimal DFS rosters.
After a small, three-game slate, we are back with nine games, a total of 18 different teams on display here. There are a few games with high-powered offenses which should yield bountiful fantasy stats. The Minnesota Timberwolves at Houston Rockets (-12.5) boast a projected point total of 244.5, the highest of the night so far. Despite being a 12.5-point favorite, the Rockets should keep this close as they have played poorly on the defensive end lately. Another game to keep an eye on is the Cleveland Cavaliers at Chicago Bulls. The Vegas lines have not been reported yet, but the Cavaliers have the 29th-ranked defense on the season and should yield some big numbers.
It seems a lot more common this year than most, but there are a plethora of big names on this slate who are hampered by injury. As always, double check these stars and check out our analysis to see who may benefit in the wake of all these injuries.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on 3/10/20. You can also check out today's FanDuel lineup picks. Remember to monitor injury news as the slate can completely change before lineup lock.
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DraftKings DFS Guards
Elfrid Payton - PG, NY @ WAS ($6,300)
After a little slump, Payton has bounced back in a big way lately. Payton has flirted with a triple-double in each of his past games with an average of 18.0 points on 61.1 percent shooting, 7.7 assists and 7.0 rebounds in 29.7 minutes per game. Tuesday's opponent is the Washington Wizards who continue to be one of the worst defenses and highest-paced teams in the league. Over the past four games, the Wizards are the 22nd-ranked defense and give up the second-best field goal percentage to opposing teams. Payton's lack of defensive stats and threes are a bit disappointing, but he does enough across the board to be fantasy-relevant.
Tim Hardaway Jr. - SG/SF, DAL @ SA ($6,300)
Hardaway returned from a one-game absence due to an illness and immediately picked up where he left off, dropping 30 points on Sunday. In fact, Hardaway has had double digit scoring in all but two games since the calendar turned to 2020. Hardaway and the Mavericks face a banged up Spurs team, but are also banged up themselves. Seth Curry (back) has already ruled out and Luka Doncic (wrist, thumb) is questionable with a couple different ailments. Curry was inactive Sunday where Hardaway went off and was also inactive on March 2nd where Hardaway dropped 26 points in 35 minutes.
Derrick White - PG/SG, SA v. DAL ($4,600)
Despite moving to the bench, White still played his normal amount of minutes and did not see any drop in production. This move should be short-lived as both LaMarcus Aldridge (shoulder) and Dejounte Murray (calf) have both been ruled out for Tuesday's game. Coach Gregg Poppovich may have no chance but to play White 30+ minutes with the team banged up. White is averaging 15.6 points on 45.9 percent shooting, 4.9 assists, 4.7 rebounds, 1.4 threes, 1.3 blocks and 0.9 steals per-36 minutes this season. White is a great punt play in Tuesday's game, especially against a banged up Luka Doncic (wrist, thumb).
DraftKings DFS Forwards
Kevin Love - PF, CLE @ CHI ($8,100)
Most users and analysts believed Love would be nearing a shut down around this time of year, especially with the Cavaliers having zero-percent chance at making the playoffs. Yet, Love has been a monster on the boards and even played both ends of a back-to-back this past weekend, logging 37 and 40 minutes, respectively. Love also has scored 20 or more points in four of his past five games. Love faces the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday, who give up the third-most fantasy points to opposing power forwards on the season. What makes the matchup even more enticing is Tristan Thompson (eye) will not play, leaving extra minutes for Love.
Robert Covington - SF/PF, HOU v. MIN ($6,200)
Revenge game?! As much as I like to believe it is a thing, that is not the only reason I like Covington here. The Rockets have been abysmal lately, losing four straight and Covington played poorly in their blowout loss to the Orlando Magic Sunday. His price tag lowered due to this and has an enticing matchup against his former team. Post All-Star Break, the Timberwolves have given up the most points, field goals made, assists and the second -most rebounds to opposing teams. Over this stretch, the Timberwolves also lead the league in pace. The Rockets are a small-ball team, built perfectly for a high-paced game. Covington should be able to dominate his former teammates.
James Johnson - PF/C, MIN @ HOU ($4,900)
Johnson continues to thrive in his new uniform and has been outplaying starter Juan Hernangomez which has earned him extra minutes. Johnson has played at least 20 minutes in every game as a member of the Timberwolves and has scored 27.0 fantasy points or more in nine of his past 10 games. Minnesota travels to Houston to face a Rockets defense who is in the midst of a four-game losing streak. Over this stretch, the Rockets are the 25th-ranked defense in the league and give up the seventh-most points, sixth-most three-point percentage, fifth-most offensive rebounds, and second-most points off of turnovers. Despite all this, Johnson's price tag has not changed much over the past month or so, making him a solid value play here.
DraftKings DFS Centers
AAron Baynes - PF, PHO @ POR ($5,900)
Baynes may have the most injury-dependent value on this slate. He exploded for back-to-back huge games while Deandre Ayton (ankle) was out. One of which, Baynes dropped a 37-point, 16-rebound, nine-three-pointer outing against the Portland Trail Blazers. The Suns face Portland again on Tuesday and Ayton is listed as questionable with the ankle injury. You would think Portland would scheme better for Baynes this time around and we can't expect another 69.5 fantasy point outburst, but the match up is still exploitable if Ayton sits. If not, another option would be DeAndre Jordan ($5,500) who is now starting after the head coaching change in Brooklyn. It is a tough matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers, but he has been able to contribute in hard matchups before. Jordan has at least eight rebounds in eight of his past 10 games, including four double-doubles over that stretch.
