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After easing back into action with a two-game slate Wednesday, the NBA goes full bore with a mammoth 11-game ledger Thursday night that officially welcomes us to the second half of the season. With teams coming back to the floor after a seven- or eight-day layoff, there’s always the chance of some early rust. However, the rest that many weary legs have gotten is more than a fair trade-off and usually leads to some strong DFS production across the league.
There should also be plenty of DFS-friendly game environments to facilitate that, with the Celtics-Nets, Timberwolves-Pelicans, Mavericks-Thunder and Rockets-Kings matchups all having the potential for some gaudy offensive numbers. There’s also plenty to be mindful on the injury front, as Kevin Durant (hamstring), Joel Embiid (COVID-19 protocol) and Ben Simmons (COVID-19 protocol) are among the notable names that will be out, while Boston will welcome back Marcus Smart from a calf injury.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel on 3/11/21. I’ll be providing multiple player suggestions for players at guard, forward and center on FanDuel, aiming to highlight one option apiece at the high, middle and lower end of the salary scale. You can also check out DraftKings lineup picks and injury news before lineups lock. Good luck, RotoBallers.
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FanDuel DFS Guards
Stephen Curry, PG – at LAC ($9,700)
Curry checks in at a nice discount over the likes of James Harden and Luka Doncic, who are certainly also both worth considering but may have a tougher time offering a 5x return on investment. Meanwhile, Curry checks in having scored 46.3 to 57.2 FD points in seven of his last eight first-half games, a sample that includes four tallies over 50. He also racked up a whopping 63.9 FD points the last time he saw the Clippers on Jan. 8, one of five hauls of over 60 FD points this season. Los Angeles also comes in ranked in the bottom 10 in offensive efficiency allowed to point guards (27.5 percent), and the Clips have given up 47.2 percent shooting to the position as well.
Trae Young, PG – at TOR ($8,800)
Young finished up his last nine games of the first half of the season with five tallies of more than 50 FD points, including one over 60. The third-year guard averaged a stellar 27.7 points (on 40.5 percent three-point shooting), 9.8 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals over that sample, leading to an average of 47.6 FD points. The Raptors also surrendered 48.9 FD points to Young in their one prior encounter with him Feb. 6, and they’ve allowed 47.8 FD points per game and the third-most assists (9.9) per contest to PGs over the last seven. Then, consider Young has delivered over 5x his current salary in 21 of 34 games (including once against TOR), making it likely he offers another strong return yet again Thursday.
Coby White, PG – vs. PHI ($5,900)
White is priced particularly reasonably for a player that averaged 33.4 FD points over his last six games of the first half. White accomplished that impressive number on the strength of 49.0 percent shooting, including 39.0 percent from behind the arc, along with solid averages of 21.2 points 6.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists. The positional matchup against the 76ers, normally a fairly prohibitive one for point guards, is made much easier Thursday by the absence of Simmons, as White instead should see plenty of Shake Milton and Tyrese Maxey. Considering his sub-$6K salary, he could potentially end up serving as one of the best fantasy-point-per-dollar plays of the night.
Also consider: James Harden ($11,500); Luka Doncic ($10,400); Damian Lillard ($10,000); Zach LaVine ($9,400); Kyrie Irving ($9,000); LaMelo Ball ($8,900); Kyle Lowry ($8,500); De'Aaron Fox ($8,500); John Wall ($8,200); Victor Oladipo ($7,700); Chris Paul ($7,500); Terrence Ross ($5,700); Seth Curry ($4,200); Shake Milton ($4,200), Tim Hardaway Jr. ($4,100)
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FanDuel DFS Forwards
Jimmy Butler, SF- vs. ORL ($9,600)
There are several options at the upper echelon of the forward pool Thursday, but Butler could potentially offer the best return of all of them with Bam Adebayo (knee) out for Miami and the Heat facing a vulnerable and short-handed Magic squad. Butler already touched up Orlando for 48.1 FD points in his one prior game against the Magic on Dec. 23, and he finished the first half of the season generating 49.9 FD points per contest over his last 11 games on averages of 22.9 points (on 40.0 percent three-point shooting), 9.1 assists, 8.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals across 35.2 minutes. Butler also sports a 28.7 percent usage rate and averages 55.5 FD points per 36 minutes without Adebayo on the floor this season, enhancing his already strong case.
Tobias Harris, PF – at CHI ($6,900)
Speaking of players who could certainly benefit from the absences of key teammates Thursday, we have Harris, who’s sporting a very appealing mid-range salary. As mentioned earlier, both Embiid and Simmons will be out for Philadelphia, which will automatically shift a substantial amount of offensive responsibility to the veteran big man. Harris owns a 29.6 percent usage rate and averages 1.20 FD points per minute when he doesn’t share the floor with either teammate, and he already put up 42.9 FD points on Feb. 19 against Chicago, which is also surrendering 48.7 FD points per game to PFs in the last seven.
Saddiq Bey, SF – at CHA ($4,900)
Bey is enjoying a solid rookie campaign, and he headed into the All-Star break averaging 26.2 FD points per game across his last 11 contests of the first half. Bey shot 41.5 percent from distance during that span, and the matchup Thursday lines up well for him to continue his hot hand. The opposing Hornets have allowed the sixth-highest offensive efficiency (24.2 percent) to small forwards, along with the fourth-most FD points (44.1), second-most assists (5.4), third-most made threes (3.3) and fourth-most blocks (1.1) per game to the position over the last 15 games.
Also consider: Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,300); Julius Randle ($9,400); Kawhi Leonard ($9,300); Zion Williamson ($9,000); Jayson Tatum ($8,900); Jaylen Brown ($7,900); Brandon Ingram ($7,700); Kristaps Porzingis ($7,700); Khris Middleton ($7,600); Norman Powell ($7,500); Jerami Grant ($7,300), Gordon Hayward ($7,200); Chris Boucher ($6,500)
FanDuel DFS Centers
Nikola Vucevic– at MIA ($9,900)
Vucevic mustered a relatively modest (by his standards) 36.7 FD points against the Heat on Dec. 23, but the matchup gets a lot easier Thursday with Adebayo out of action for Miami. Vucevic has been outstanding during what could turn out to be a career-best season, as he’s averaging a career-high 24.6 points (on 41.0 percent three-point shooting) and complementing them with 11.6 rebounds. The All-Star big man went into the break averaging an excellent 52.3 FD points over his last 14 games, and with Evan Fournier (groin) and James Ennis (calf) both still out for Orlando to kick off the second half, Vucevic should be even more heavily involved than usual.
Richaun Holmes —vs. HOU ($6,800)
Holmes has been a revelation in his first season as a full-time starter, putting up a well-rounded line of 13.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.5 blocks across 29.4 minutes over 32 games. The big man scored 30.3 to 45.9 FD points in his last four games before the All-Star break, and he’s averaged 38.2 FD points across 34.5 minutes per contest in two games against the Rockets this season. Houston will remain without Christian Wood (ankle) on Thursday as well, and Holmes will enjoy a four- and six-inch height advantage against P.J. Tucker and Jae'sean Tate, respectively, down low. Notably, that duo is partly responsible for the Rockets surrendering 60.7 points in the paint over the last three games, an area of the floor where Holmes averages 9.4 of his aforementioned 13.0 points per contest.
Dwight Howard – at CHI ($3,800)
As already noted, Embiid will sit out Thursday’s game for the Sixers due to COVID-19 protocols, meaning Howard will be set for a spot start. The veteran big man has scored 23.2 and 40.1 FD points in two of his four previous turns with the first unit this season, and he also scored 21.5 to 34.1 FD points in four of his last 10 games in the first half, offering a reminder of his upside even when coming off the bench. The Bulls have been highly susceptible to centers all season and check in ranked in the bottom 10 in offensive efficiency allowed to the position (33.0 percent) while also allowing the second-most points (27.4), most blocks (3.4) and most FD points (61.6) over the last 15 games. Chicago is also allowing the second-most points in the paint of any team on its home floor (53.8), while just under 70 percent of Howard’s scoring emanates from that part of the floor.
Also consider: Karl-Anthony Towns ($9,500); Deandre Ayton ($7,200); Enes Kanter ($6,700); Mason Plumlee ($6,200); Robert Williams III ($5,200); Brook Lopez ($4,800); Cody Zeller ($4,500)
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