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FanDuel NBA Picks and DraftKings NBA Picks - Sunday, 3/28/21
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Point Guard
Kyle Lowry FD - $6600 DK - $7500
Opponent - POR
Proj Pts FD - 40.59 DK - 42.88
Lowry didn’t get traded at the deadline, much to the surprise of, well, almost everyone. But the Raptors couldn’t find a deal they liked and decided to keep the best player in franchise history. The plan is to still run him major minutes and he played 35 in a close game against the Suns on Friday even with some foul trouble. This is a short slate and Toronto, who still very much would like to make the playoffs have the best matchup against the Trailblazers and their second-worst defense in the league.
Michael Carter-Williams FD - $5300 DK - $6300
Opponent - LAL
Proj Pts FD - 29.07 DK - 29.82
Carter-Williams didn’t get the start on Friday night for the Magic but it was only because he didn’t feel well at the last second before tip-off. He still came in off the bench when his tum tum started feeling better. The Magic made team-gutting moves at the trade deadline, but didn’t bring back much in the way of guards other than rookie RJ Hampton. I still think there are a lot of minutes for MCW here who averaged 11 points, six assists and five rebounds in *only* 28 minutes last game. The floor is higher for him if he’s starting again and the FanDuel price is a little too cheap.
Shooting Guard
Fred VanVleet FD - $7400 DK - $7800
Opponent - POR
Proj Pts FD - 44.65 DK - 45.29
Like Lowry, there are still a lot of minutes for the Raptors’ starters going forward and Fred VanVleet plays as many minutes as anyone in the league. He’s played 39 or more in four of the last five games and has put up 10+ three-pointers in three of the last four. This is a great matchup against the Blazers who struggle with perimeter defense and FVV has some higher scoring upside in this game. On the shorter slate, it’s tough to face his minutes floor considering the matchup is the best on the slate.
C.J. McCollum FD - $7900 DK - $8000
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 44.31 DK - 46.27
The price is on the higher side, but the Blazers are just totally locked into the scoring needed from McCollum and Lillard here that I think you can justify even playing both in cash. It’s long been the case that you played one when the other was out of the game, but that might not have to be the case anymore. The minutes restrictions for CJ are off after coming back from injury and two games ago, with Dame also on the court, the former played 38 and jacked up 25 shots. The usage is still there even when the two play together.
Small Forward
Michael Porter Jr. FD - $6500 DK - $6800
Opponent - ATL
Proj Pts FD - 37.55 DK - 38.13 The Nuggets are a slightly different team now that Aaron Gordon is in the mix. It will be interesting to see how their offense plays out with both of them on the court together. That being said, I don’t think Gordon’s minutes cut into Porter as much as they do Millsap making MPJ still something of a play here on this slate. It’s a little risky for sure until we 100% know what the plan is with these two wings, but the latter is getting up 14+ shots a game over his last seven games and he’s averaged 21 points and seven rebounds in that stretch.
James Ennis III FD - $5000 DK - $5600
Opponent - LAL
Proj Pts FD - 25.82 DK - 26.01
Like I said with Carter-Williams, the Magic are a bit of a mystery right now and had to run some random players a lot of minutes last game. I don’t think that will be as much the case in this game with Otto Porter, Wendell Carter and (maybe) RJ Hampton set to make their Orlando debuts. But there should still be a decent amount of minutes for Ennis on the wing in this game. Last game he ran 36 minutes and took 10 shots on his way to 18 points, four rebounds and three assists. The usage might take a little bit of a hit in this game, but the mid-tier price is still palatable on a short slate of games.
Power Forward
Pascal Siakam FD - $8500 DK - $7600
Opponent - POR
Proj Pts FD - 43.27 DK - 43.63
Siakam is another major minutes guy for the Raptors and that isn’t set to change anywhere close in the short-term. The Raptors are going with smaller lineups with Siakam and Anunoby running at the four and five respectively to start the game. I’m not 100% sure they do that again against the Nurkic/ Kanter combo but the minutes wouldn’t come from these guys but rather from Gary Trent in the starting lineup. Over the last three games, Siakam is averaging 25 points and 10 rebounds and has even pitched in five assists. This is a higher floor play considering the makeup of the Raptors right now.
Chuma Okeke FD - $5300 DK - $5700
Opponent - LAL
Proj Pts FD - 25.42 DK - 25.11
Okeke is another one who benefited from the Magic playing so short-handed on Friday. Again, it’s unclear what the total plan here is going to be with the team on Sunday. But I do think they are committed to giving the young rookie big some significant run going forward to see what they have. We has excellent in his 37 minutes last game, leading the team with 22 points and taking the second-most shots on the team with 15. He also added six rebounds and four assists in as well. Again, they Magic are bringing in Wendell Carter Jr. from the trade who could take some big man minutes, but Okeke feels on the safer side at power forward.
Center
Montrezl Harrell FD - $7200 DK - $7400
Opponent - ORL
Proj Pts FD - 36.83 DK - 36.26
Harell is still coming off the bench for the Lakers, but the minutes have been there as the long as the game stays relatively close and he doesn’t get played off the court. That shouldn’t be the case here against a very weak Magic team and Harrell should be abel to hit value. Over the last five games, with Lebron James and Anthony Davis both out of the mix, Harrell is averaging 33 minutes and in that stretch putting up 22 points and nine rebounds.
Khem Birch FD - $5800 DK - $5000
Opponent - LAL
Proj Pts FD - 29.86 DK - 28.47
This is another one of those Magic guys who could see some run, but there are question marks around the bigs. If Wendell Carter Jr. gets the start then obviously, Birch isn’t in play here. But he’s coming off a big game last time out against the Blazers. He played 37 minutes and finished with a double-double of 14 points and 15 rebounds for the game. Again, this is going to be something to monitor when it comes to the starter for the Magic.
