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FanDuel NBA Picks and DraftKings NBA Picks - Tuesday, 3/2/21
With the All-Star break this weekend, we have a ton of games every day this week. Tuesdays usually tend to be lighter, but we have a full seven-game ledger here. That's all we can ask for, and it should be interesting with so much COVID news going on. That has forced the Toronto-Detroit game to be postponed already, and other teams have some issues a well. So, keep an eye on all that before submitting lineups.
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Point Guard
Ja Morant FD - $7100 DK - $7000
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 38.26 DK - 39.17
This price seems absolutely ridiculous. It's easy to see why when you see Morant's 23-point dud on Saturday, but that was hardly his fault. It was actually the Rockets fault, limiting Morant to just 25 minutes because of a 49-point blowout. That means we get quite the discount here because we believe Morant should be north of $8K in such an appetizing matchup. This is a Washington team that plays at the fastest pace in the NBA while ranked 27th in defensive efficiency. That's really scary against a guy this talented and athletic, with Ja averaging 36 DK points per game despite the most recent dud.
Monte Morris FD - $4800 DK - $4600
Opponent - MIL
Proj Pts FD - 27.83 DK - 27.96
With all of the injuries in Denver, Morris has established a nice little role for himself. After playing 33 minutes on Monday, Morris has now reached at least 28 minutes in six-straight outings. That's all we can ask for from someone this cheap, and he's been providing some great fantasy value in that stretch too. In fact, MM is averaging 26 DraftKings points per game across his last five outings and should continue to play big minutes with Gary Harris, Paul Millsap, Facundo Campazzo, and JaMychal Green all out of the lineup.
With Elfrid Payton out, Derrick Rose has been the starting point guard in New York.
Shooting Guard
Bradley Beal FD - $10200 DK - $9700
Opponent - MEM
Proj Pts FD - 51.59 DK - 52.56
We initially had Fred VanVleet slated in at this spot, but we're going to go with Beal since the Raptors game has been postponed. It's easy to see why we're recommending Beal when you see that he's leading the league in scoring, but it's not like he's some bum in the other categories. Amazingly, he's scored at least 38 DK points in all but one game this season, en route to a 50-point average on DraftKings. That floor and average are amazing totals from a player south of five-figures, and he really shouldn't have any trouble going off yet again in what's expected to be one of the highest-scoring games of the night.
Kevin Huerter FD - $5300 DK - $5600
Opponent - MIA
Proj Pts FD - 29.71 DK - 30.17
With Cam Reddish and DeAndre Hunter both out of the lineup, Huerter has been one of the go-to guys on the wing. It's really forced him into a monster role, averaging 35 minutes a game since being inserted into the starting lineup 23 games ago. He's also providing a 26-point average in that span, scoring at least 30 fantasy points in three of his last four games. One of those happened to come against this Miami team, with the Red Rifle collecting 35 fantasy points just last week. That limits the risk in this tough matchup, particularly with Miami owning a 24th OPRK against opposing SGs this season.
Devin Booker is starting to turn it on and could be motivated against a stout Lakers team.
Small Forward
Michael Porter Jr. FD - $6300 DK - $6700
Opponent - MIL
Proj Pts FD - 37.08 DK - 37.35
Porter really struggled in his return off the COVID list, but he appears to have found it now. He actually enters this matchup recording a double-double in four-straight games, scoring at least 28 DraftKings points in six of his last seven outings. More importantly, he's played at least 35 minutes in three of his last four, and as long as he does that, MPJ should record double-doubles at ease from here on out. While Milwaukee has a solid defense, we don't mind that they rank fifth in pace and 16th in points allowed.
Will Barton FD - $4900 DK - $5400
Opponent - MIL
Proj Pts FD - 27.25 DK - 27.96
Barton has been all over the map, but one has to believe he'll get better as the season progresses. All of the aforementioned injures are a major reason why Barton plays over 32 minutes a night since the end of January. This is a guy who has traditionally provided a fantasy-point-per-minute for his career, and if we get 32 DK points from a $5K player, we're way ahead of the pack. He actually excelled in this matchup earlier this season, too, dropping 35.3 fantasy points across 39 minutes of play.
Kyle Anderson has been good all year and should have no problem continuing his success against a terrible Wizards defense.
Power Forward
Bam Adebayo FD - $8700 DK - $8700
Opponent - ATL
Proj Pts FD - 44.54 DK - 46.13
It feels weird that Bam remains below $9K. This dude has done nothing but produce all season long, and he deserves to be at least $500 more. Where that's really evident is in his floor, scoring at least 44 fantasy points in eight-straight outings. This is a guy who's scored at least 35 fantasy points in 28 of his 32 games as well, and it's led to a 43-point average on the year. The biggest reason we like him today is this matchup, though, with Atlanta ranked 22nd in points allowed and 24th in defensive efficiency. That was on full display when you see that Bam has scored at least 43 DK points in four of his last five meetings with Atlanta, en route to a 49-point average.
Daniel Theis FD - $4900 DK - $5400
Opponent - LAC
Proj Pts FD - 27.47 DK - 26.91
It's always tough to predict when Theis is going to play well, but he always has the ability to provide 5X value. We say that because he's reached that in 12 of his last 18 games, scoring at least 32 fantasy points in back-to-back outings. That's a monster total from a player hovering around $5,000, and one has to believe he's the go-to guy with Tristan Thompson and Robert Williams playing with so much volatility. The frontcourt happens to be one of the Clippers few weaknesses too, owning a 29th OPRK against opposing PFs this year.
Nerlens Noel has been starting and regularly playing 30-plus minutes for the Knicks.
Center
Nikola Jokic FD - $11000 DK - $10800
Opponent - MIL
Proj Pts FD - 59.61 DK - 61.75
Jokic is an easy pick on a 12-game slate, so we obviously love him here. This MVP candidate has scored at least 42 fantasy points in all but one game this season, getting his season average just shy of 60 DK points per game. His last two outings have been absolutely absurd, combining for 58 points, 25 rebounds, and 22 assists. That doesn't even include a handful of steals and blocks, making him the best option in fantasy. Also, he's scored at least 56 DraftKings points in 10 of his last 11 games, dropping a 62-spot on this Milwaukee team in their only meeting earlier this season.
Jonas Valanciunas FD - $7000 DK - $7200
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 40.36 DK - 42.48
If you don't want to pay all the way up for Jokic, JV is a nice pivot to save a few thousand bucks. Let's start things off by talking about this matchup, with the Wizards surrendering the second-most fantasy points to opposing centers. That brilliant matchup should allow JV to feast, with the big man scoring at least 28 fantasy points in 11 of his last 12 games before that dud we mentioned in the Morant write-up. He also averaged 36 DK points per game in that span which looks like the floor in such a tasty matchup.
Jakob Poeltl should continue to get big minutes for the shorthanded Spurs.
