Daily Fantasy DraftKings and FanDuel NBA Picks - Tuesday, March 21, 2023

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Point Guard/ Shooting Guard

CJ McCollum FD - $8700 DK - $8000
Opponent - SA
Proj Pts FD - 42.54 DK - 46.01

The Pelicans have had a disaster second half of the season and have fallen out of the play-in game for now. But they still have a chance to make at least a little noise here and we should expect them to play out the string in terms of their stars and rotations. CJ McCollum rings in as a value play here considering New Orleans draws the best DFS matchup in the league against the Spurs. McCollum has taken 17 or more shots in five of his last six games while putting up 22 points, 6.6 assists, and 5.3 rebounds over the month of March. The price is still very much a value on both sites, but especially on DraftKings.

Bradley Beal FD - $9100 DK - $8400
Opponent - ORL
Proj Pts FD - 44.26 DK - 47.21

The Wizard will be without Kyle Kuzma in this game and we should see major minutes out of Beal as long as the game stays close. That hasn’t been the case over the short-term for Washington, dealing with blowouts (one for, three against) in each of the last four games. But when things are right, Beal should hit 36-37 minutes with a usage bump because Kuzma is out of the mix. The price is a bit down because of the recent minutes concerns, but this is still a good spot to fire him up. Orlando isn’t a DFS pushover here, ranking 16th in defensive efficiency, but I like Beal in this spot.

Devonte' Graham FD - $5700 DK - $5000
Opponent - NO
Proj Pts FD - 28.08 DK - 30.63

The Spurs are going to be without Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, and Tre Jones in this game meaning they’ll be running with a new starting lineup and leaving plenty of shots on the table. Graham should be in the starting lineup for this one and that’s great news for his fantasy upside. Last time he got the start, Graham ran 32 minutes, took a team-high 16 shots and finished with a 20/3/3 line. He definitely needs to score in order to hit fantasy upside, but the run and usage should be there for him in this message.

Small Forward

Brandon Ingram FD - $8500 DK - $8600
Opponent - SA
Proj Pts FD - 44.33 DK - 48.14

Like we said with CJ McCollum, the Pelicans need to push it here in order to have any playoff hope at all, and that’s meant a big opportunity for Brandon Ingram especially. He’s coming off of 20 and 24 shot games respectively, scoring 26 and 30 points in the back-to-back games against the Rockets. Now he’ll draw an even better fantasy matchup against the Spurs who rank dead last in defensive efficiency and run the fifth-fastest pace. Stacking multiple Pelicans on this slate sure feels like the way to go and putting together McCollum and Ingram specifically should have a very high floor.

Keldon Johnson FD - $8200 DK - $7400
Opponent - NO
Proj Pts FD - 34.86 DK - 38.42

Like I said with Devonte' Graham, the Spurs are down some key players in this game which should open things up a bit for Keldon Johnson in this matchup. He will play 35 (ish) minutes when the going is good and over the last five games is averaging 21.6 points and 7.4 rebounds. The usage is there, getting up close to 19 shots per game and he’s been able to add some steals as well. I like the DraftKings price considerably more than what he’s going for on FanDuel.

Trey Murphy III FD - $5900 DK - $6200
Opponent - SA
Proj Pts FD - 30.43 DK - 32.08

Herbert Jones FD - $6000 DK - $5300
Opponent - SA
Proj Pts FD - 29.84 DK - 29.99

The Pelicans have been running these wings in the starting lineup and both are playing solid minutes as New Orleans shortens up the overall rotation for the home stretch. Neither is all that safe from a fantasy perspective but they have been playing enough and contribute just enough from a fantasy perspective to keep a suitable floor. The opponent in the Spurs is most of the story here.

Consider Keita Bates-Diop (FD 5100 DK 3700) if he’s in the starting lineup.

Power Forward/ Center

Kristaps Porzingis FD - $9000 DK - $8900
Opponent - ORL
Proj Pts FD - 46.47 DK - 48.4

Deni Avdija FD - $5000 DK - $5000
Opponent - ORL
Proj Pts FD - 27.32 DK - 29.45

With Kyle Kuzma out of the lineup, we should see more shots from Kristaps Porzingis as well with the Wizards still clawing for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. With Washington playing in blowout games of late, Zinger’s minutes have been cut some, but they should be there in this matchup against the Magic. He has double-double upside and has averaged 23 points and eight rebounds a game over the month of March. I like the prices on both sites, but he’s especially a good play on FanDuel where the power forward position can be tough to fill.

Additionally, with Kuzma out we should see more run for Deni Avdija as well. He’s still been coming off the bench even when there are injury issues for the Wizards, but he’s ended up playing minutes in the high-20s, giving him plenty of fantasy floor. He rebounds the position very well for a wing and had 11 boards in just 28 minutes last game.

Sandro Mamukelashvili FD - $5100 DK - $4200
Opponent - NO
Proj Pts FD - 25.83 DK - 27.64

Sandro Mamukelashvili should get the start for Zach Collins on Tuesday. It’s a role he took on a few days ago when the Spurs played an overtime game against the Mavericks. In that one, Mamukelashvili played 33 minutes in total, finishing with 10 points, seven rebounds, and two assists. It’s not an overwhelming line for sure, but the price is still very low on DraftKings at $4200. I think that makes him a pretty easy punt play call for this slate and suspect he’s a popular play there.