RADIO
Happy Friday to you, my fellow Rotoballers and DFS addicts! March Madness is upon us, and while that phrase generally refers to NCAA action, there is quite a bit of madness in DFS right now. The madness of projecting and finding players who should see a healthy number of minutes. Anywho, we've got 10 beautiful games on deck for this evening, and there's much to breakdown.
Looking at this from a Vegas angle, describing the slate as "beautiful" might be doing it a disservice. Very beautiful might be more appropriate (a stronger adjective escapes me). Of the 10 games, five of them feature over/under lines of 220 points or greater! And the spreads of those games? Dream situations, as the biggest spread is only six points, and a few up at the top are essentially pick'em games at this point. Perhaps March Madness has ascended upon the Association? The monster games start with Cavs and Clippers (230), followed by Lakers and Nuggets (229.5), Warriors and Blazers (222), and both the Rockets at Raptors and Wizards at Pelicans games are listed at 220. That's a lot you can sink your teeth into - or game-stack, rather.
Below you will find our daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel on 3/9/18. These DFS lineup picks can vary from higher-priced players and elite options, to lower-priced players and value picks on FanDuel. You can also read more DFS lineup picks for DraftKings and other sports too.
FanDuel DFS Guards
Lonzo Ball - PG, at DEN ($7,500)
Lonzo against the "defense" of Jamal Murray - one of the bottom 10 defending point guards in the league? Color me enticed in cash games and very intrigued for GPP action. When you look at the playoff standings, it's pretty clear the Lakers don't have a likely path to the playoffs - but this young unit has molded together beyond the Cleveland trade, and starters under Coach Luke Walton are still seeing major minutes (which isn't the case with many teams outside of the potential playoff picture). Lonzo has played no less than 33 minutes in the Lakers last four games, and only failed to reach value once in that span. The price is a little high, but he's shown the ability to pay this tag off and he's an incredible stat-stuffer. His shot doesn't need to be falling for him to surpass the value threshold, but lately it has looked much better (well, the shot motion remains ugly - but they're falling!) which only raises his ceiling and my interest in him. The game context here is fantastic, as this game should move at a fast pace and it has the second highest projected point total of the night.
Also Consider: Luke Kennard - SG, vs CHI ($3,600)
Jrue Holiday - SG, vs WAS ($8,500)
This matchup between Washington and New Orleans checks a lot of the boxes I run through when deciding to stack a game. Fast pace, high over/under, tight spread- to name a few. It has great written all over it, and with the news that Anthony Davis is Doubtful tonight, we'll want heavy exposure to New Orleans' option number two on offense - Jrue Holiday - who, I might add, is having himself a fantastic season. The price here is a little higher than the ideal (have I mentioned how good FanDuel has become at pricing players? This wasn't always the case, even in the 2017-18 season.) but it's not too much to pay considering the fantastic game context. The absence of Anthony Davis may appear as a deterrent to stack this game, but his price has become so steep that stacking this game completely with the Brow in your lineup leaves very little cash and ultimately caps your upside. Jrue should be able to run wild in this one, and a heavy dose of shot opportunities is on deck.
Also Consider: Rajon Rondo - PG, vs WAS ($6,500)
FanDuel DFS Forwards
Kevin Durant - SF, at POR ($9,800)
Another star absence creating value and upside for a teammate. Above it was Anthony Davis and Jrue, now, with Steph Curry sidelined with his reoccurring ankle injury - Kevin Durant becomes the beneficiary. I realize they played last night in a tough one and have a playoff birth locked up, but the volume of shot opportunities should be tremendous for Durant tonight - not to mention the additional assist opportunities as a primary ball handler. Portland does well against the wings, but I think the potential upside here outweighs the DVP risks. One thing I do love about the value and ability to return high ROI here is the fact his price was set before Curry re-injured his ankle. Had it happened before, Durant would own a five digit salary. And as for the narrative game, Portland loves hosting Golden State - they adore it, thrive on it. I think this will be a competitive game if Damian Lillard gets going, and it will be up to Durant and Klay Thomspon to provide the offensive firepower on the Warriors side of the ball to match Dame and Co.
Also Consider: Mario Hezonja - SF, at SAC ($4,300)
Nikola Mirotic - PF, vs WAS ($6,700)
I gushed about using the Pelicans' second best offensive weapon (Jrue) in a number one role, but with how well Mirotic has performed I'd like to insert him as well. Luckily for us, he's very affordable on FanDuel tonight. The matchup isn't top shelf, but Washington does allow more than two points over salary based expectations to opposing power forwards and Niko is quite crafty about finding his shot. Even with Anthony Davis in the fold the last few games, Mirotic did not post a game with under a 20% Usage rate. Seeing as he's hitting value in those situations, I like him even more tonight as the Pels would look to get him his shot more often than they usually do.
Also Consider: Montrezl Harrell - PF, vs CLE ($5,700)
FanDuel DFS Centers
Enes Kanter - C, at MIL ($6,900)
Even with the improved play, I was worried about rolling out Kanter in the past two weeks as it looks like they were tapering his minutes. Coach Hornacek must have had a change of heart, as Kanter has eclipsed 27 minutes in two of his last three and crushed value in each. Now, he gets a dreamy matchup against a Milwaukee team that might as well be center-less. Their presence in the middle is nothing, and Kanter should be able to clean the boards and find plenty of opportunities for put-backs. Over the past month, he has greatly improved his already impressive FanDuel point-per-minute mark, going from 1.19 to 1.37 in that time. I think he's a good play in all formats tonight.
Also Consider: Jusuf Nurkic - C, vs GSW ($6,000)
