Daily Fantasy NBA Basketball Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - 3/20/18

Welcome to Tuesday night in the NBA! For the most part the sites are ignoring the 7:00 game between the Raptors and Magic, so we will focus on the six-game slate starting at 8:00ET. We've got some exciting contests with high projected scores and playoff implications and a ton of options to consider for our daily fantasy lineups. Let's take a look at our top picks!

Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our NBA optimizer and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below.

First time with NBA? Be sure to read our free NBA Ebooks on building lineups, general strategy and more. We've got you completely covered.

Point guard

Yogi Ferrell FD - $4900 DK - $5300
Opponent - NO
Proj Pts FD - 24.39 DK - 25.39
I don't see any reason to pay up at the point tonight. Russ is going up against the top-rated defense in the game, while Lillard and Paul are head to head. I might go as high as Rozier, but even that's a risky proposition, so let's look at two reasonably priced options in strong matchups. First, we have Yogi Ferrell. Ferrell stepped up on Saturday when Dennis Smith Jr. was forced to make an early exit with an ankle injury. The result was his third career double-double, consisting of a dozen each in the points and assists column and five boards in 32 minutes. He sees a bottom five defense at the position tonight in the form of the Pelicans who will force Dallas to speed up their game. JJ Barea is questionable with a rib injury and could join DSJ on the bench tonight. With both of those guys out of the way Ferrell sees his usage spike 7.1%. More importantly, his time of possession went up to 6.7 minutes in the last game, which is what led to all those assists. Ferrell has a solid 25 fantasy point (FP) floor, with 30-40 FP upside and is a stellar option in all formats tonight.

Austin Rivers FD - $6000 DK - $5800
Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 30.39 DK - 31.26
Sticking with the value theme at the point we find Austin Rivers. Rivers has been firmly entrenched in a 35-40 minute rotation since the start of the month and has put up reliable daily fantasy production in that stretch. While much of his appeal comes from his scoring (he's shooting over 50% from the field in his last three games), he's at his best when he opens up his game and piles on the peripherals as well. Though quite formidable against opposing point guards for most of the season, the Timberwolves have fallen off recently, surrendering the tenth most FP to the position over their last five contests. Minnesota is clinging to the final spot in the west, while the Clippers are trying to claw their way in, which makes this game with the nights highest projected total, and lowest point spread so very appealing from a daily fantasy perspective. Rivers is an exciting play and should be considered everywhere tonight.

Shooting Guard

Lou Williams FD - $7100 DK - $7200
Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 37.86 DK - 39.58
We're going to attack this game from all angles tonight, and we're going to attack it from both sides here at the two. The 227 O/U is the largest opening line by a mile tonight and with just a three-point spread there should be no lack of upside coming out of this game. It wasn't that long ago Lou Williams was commanding over $8K on both sites, and now he's sitting just over $7K. He's scored over 20 points in six of his nine March contests, including a 30 point outing against the Trail Balzers on Sunday in a move back to the bench after five straight starts where his fantasy production took a dive. It almost feels as though Sweet Lou is more comfortable running with the second unit, and as the minutes don't really suffer regardless of his spot in the rotation we stand to benefit from his return to the bench as well. Minnesota is allowing nearly 15 more FP per game (FPPG) to opposing two guards over their last five contests than their season average, and have been a bottom five defense during that time. If Williams continues to run with the second unit while playing like he did on Sunday, it's a matter of time before the price shoots back up, and we are getting him at an absolute bargain tonight. Deploy Williams with confidence.

Andrew Wiggins FD - $6800 DK - $6200
Opponent - LAC
Proj Pts FD - 31.6 DK - 31.77
Williams will spend much of his night contending with this guy. Andrew Wiggins has seen no fewer than 33 minutes in a game going back to the start of February and has averaged nearly 36 in his last five. His scoring has been considerably better since Jimmy Butler went down, and he's up against a good team to score against. The Clippers present a huge uptick in pace of play for the Wolves which should open Wiggins up to a few extra shots tonight, and their defense at the two is among the worst in the game, allowing 12% more fantasy points per game to opposing shooting guards. Wiggins might not have the upside of some of the other guys we've looked at in this game, but he's certainly cash game viable and 30-35 fantasy points should be a good bet tonight.

Small forward

Nemanja Bjelica FD - $6100 DK - $5800
Opponent - LAC
Proj Pts FD - 32.48 DK - 33.06
Probably the only person to benefit more from the loss of Jimmy Butler than Andrew Wiggins is Nemanja Bjelica. Bjelica found himself thrown into the starters role nine games ago and while he has disappeared from time to time in some rough matchups he has also flashed some serious upside in the right ones. Since joining the starting rotation Nemanja has averaged 37 minutes per game and has flashed 40-45 FP upside. Over the last ten games, no team has allowed more fantasy points per game to small forwards than the Clippers. They're giving up 59 in that span, 20 more than their season average to the position. Minnesota is going to rely heavily on Bjelica with Butler likely out for the remainder of the regular season leading to huge runs and expanded opportunities. Our NBA lineup optimizer likes him for 30-35 fantasy points tonight, and I for one wouldn't be surprised if he shatters that projection by the start of the fourth quarter.

Josh Jackson FD - $6500 DK - $6300
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 31.96 DK - 32.14
Believe it or not, there are other games going tonight. One of the more appealing games taking place outside of Minnesota, sees the Suns hosting the Pistons. Detroit is the only team on a B2B tonight, traveling in from a late night set in Sacramento last night. Phoenix meanwhile has had two days to rest but are still coming into tonight with their own issues. Devin Booker wasn't able to fully practice yesterday after missing Saturday's game with a hand sprain, and TJ Warren is doubtful after spraining his knee on Saturday. This could mean big things for Josh Jackson. Jackson scored 36 points in 36 minutes against a Warriors team fighting their own injury issues and finished the night with a 36/6/4/1/2 line for his best fantasy production of the season. Per NBAWowy.com, Jackson sees his usage climb from an already impressive 25.5% to 30.4% with Booker and Warren out of the picture. Jackson is under-priced on that basis alone, and when you put him against a defense ranked 23rd overall defending the position we have a guy who looks like a phenomenal play. It's obviously dependent on Booker and Warren, but expect huge ownership if those guys are out again.

Power forward

Anthony Davis FD - $12300 DK - $11500
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 59.86 DK - 59.79
Anthony Davis leads all raw point projections in our system by quite a bit, but he's also the most expensive play on the day. Davis has scored 55 fantasy points or better in nine of his last 15 games. Seven of those nine have surpassed 70 FP with four of those seven going for 80 or better. AD is an all-around threat who is capable of stuffing the stat sheet like no other, allowing him the ability to post 70 FP or more on any given night regardless of the match-up. Even against a slower Dallas team, this game sports a 100.1 combined pace factor and Davis will be everywhere in my lineups tonight, in all formats.

Dwight Powell FD - $4900 DK - $5900
Opponent - NO
Proj Pts FD - 29.74 DK - 29.17
To help offset the cost of Davis, we'll look to the opposing team and Dallas PF Dwight Powell. Powell started seven games for Dallas before returning to the bench last week for a game against the Knicks. He has since started the following two games. In his nine recent starts, Powell has been fairly consistent paying 5X points per dollar or better in six of those. The Pelicans have been the sixth worst team at defending the four this season, and while the Mavs play one of the leagues slower games, New Orleans is a top three team in terms of pace of play, which will present Powell and the Mavericks with added possessions to stuff the stat sheet. This game has the second highest projected total of the evening, after the LAC/MIN game, opening with a 219.9 O/U and a nine-point spread. There's a bit of risk here, but as long as he continues to start, Powell should be able to get us the 25-30FP we look for in cash games.

Blake Griffin FD - $8600 DK - $8500
Opponent - PHO
Proj Pts FD - 43.14 DK - 44.77
Blake Griffin is a much pricier option that could be tough to pair with AD, but I wanted to take a moment to spotlight him here because our system loves him tonight against a terrible Phoenix defense. Outside of a pair of blowout losses at the hands of the Jazz and the Cavaliers, Griffin has been locked into a steady 34-37 minute rotation for the month of March, while routinely posting 40-45 fantasy points on a nightly basis. He had an off night in Portland on Saturday, but tonight he'll see a weak opposition from a Suns team allowing the most fantasy points to opposing PFs in the NBA this season. The Pistons are on the outside looking in at that eighth playoff spot, and this is why they traded for Blake, so look for him to dominate this one. This is the one game we don't have an opening line on, but I would expect it to be one of the higher scoring affairs of the night with it's 100.6 combined pace factor. Blake is a solid cash option if you can afford to pair him with AD, or just feel like living dangerously and fading the brow.

Center

Clint Capela FD - $7800 DK - $6600
Opponent - POR
Proj Pts FD - 37.82 DK - 37.92
At the five, Clint Capela has been one of my favorite plays to consider lately whenever the Rockets play, and he has rarely let me down. I rode with him on Sunday against the Wolves and he delivered handsomely, paying 5.4X PPD on FanDuel, and 6.4X PPD on DraftKings, where he is still way underpriced. Sunday was the third straight game where Capela saw over 30 minutes, and also the third straight double-double for the Rockets big man. The Trail Blazers are average defending against the five this season. If he is going to continue to see 30+ minutes a night on the floor, then he should be an $8K play easy, and until he is, he's an excellent cash play everywhere with upside for days on that DraftKings price.

Karl-Anthony Towns FD - $10500 DK - $9500
Opponent - LAC
Proj Pts FD - 48.04 DK - 49.78
We'll close out back in the Clippers/Wolves contest with Minnesota big man Karl-Anthony Towns. Towns is the other top-tier play I am looking at tonight, and while he's not going to give us the 60 we're looking for from Anthony Davis, he still projects for similar points per dollar and is particularly appealing for that sub $10K price tag on DraftKings. KAT has been straight heat for the Timber Wolves over the past several games, scoring 20+ points in four straight, and double-doubling in 11 of his last 13. While he's certainly capable of putting up 55-70 FP on a given night, with Capela available, I don't think I'll go there on FanDuel, but on DraftKings where two centers can be played, and both are much more affordable, I love Towns as a top play in all formats.

Thanks for reading, and as always good luck out there tonight! Feel free to leave any questions or comments below. Cheers.

GRAB A FREE TRIAL OF OUR PROJECTION SYSTEM, AND CHECK OUT DFSR PRO!