Welcome to March everyone! March Madness will be the headliner later in the month, but until then we have some good ole NBA DFS to keep us busy. We have a slightly more moderately sized nine-game slate here. #1 piece of advice as always is to be up to date on injuries, as the info in this article will only be up to date as of Tuesday night. The value is pretty terrible right now, we’ll need injury news to get up to multiple spend ups.
Let’s get down to it. Pricing is always (Fanduel/DraftKings). I mostly play tournaments and my picks will always bias towards volatility and upside.
Guards
Spend ups ($9k and over)
Ja Morant ($10,000/$9,900)
Damian Lillard just detonated on this terrible Rockets team for 71 points. Ja gets the same matchup and his price is down a bit from where it normally sits in the mid 10k range. The risk here is that this game blows out, but Ja would likely have a big hand in that so there is some give and take. Be aware of any shenanigans the Grizzlies might pull because this is the 2nd leg of a B2B and the Rockets are so bad the Grizzlies might make this a rest game. If Ja is out I’m going 100% on Tyus Jones in every lineup and I’d recommend you do the same.
Middle-to-High (7k-8.9k)
Josh Giddey ($7,800/$7,600)
With SGA out, Giddey has been underwhelming recently, but he still benefits with SGA out and he’s in a decent matchup against the Lakers. His ownership will go up or down depending on how well he plays tonight, as people have short memories.
Jalen Green ($7,300/$6,500)
Much more expensive on FD than DK, I would be more inclined to play him on DK. You know the drill, it’s Jalen Green and he’s a chucker. Sometimes the shots go in, sometimes they don’t. Tournament play only, as he’s high variance with a tremendous ceiling and a terrible floor.
Middle ($5k-6.9k)
Dennis Schroder ($5,900/$5,400)
With no LeBron, I think this price is a bit cheap for Schroder. He’s not a priority play, but if he fits in your build, he’s a good last guy in.
Value Town (Under $5k)
There is really no value at guard on FD. A couple plays for DK only are below.
Immanuel Quickley ($5,800/$4,900)
Quickley has been a big part of a new look closing lineup for the Knicks and has been getting minutes in the high 20s fairly consistently. Not a priority, but he’s playable in a pinch.
Isaiah Joe ($5,400/$4,500)
Joe has been starting with SGA out recently and has taken advantage of the opportunity, scoring 24 and 28 points in his last two games.
Forwards
Spend ups ($9k and over)
This is not where I’d be targeting my spend ups on this slate, as I’d rather spend up for Ja or a center. However, I’ll quickly highlight that Giannis is always playable but he’s just very expensive. Jimmy Butler is playable on DK only and Julius Randle is an option. None of those guys are priority plays for me, but all can be played if you want to spend up at forward.
Middle-to-High (7k-8.9k)
Paolo Banchero ($7,600/$7,300)
Don’t love this play, but Paolo is always in play in tournaments for the same reasons Jalen Green is: volatile with a high ceiling. He won’t be highly owned against the Bucks either.
Middle ($5k-6.9k)
Cameron Johnson ($5,600/$5,300)
Johnson has a nice increased role on his new team and I don’t think the price has caught up yet. Small samples and all that, but he’s taking 3 more shots per game and playing 4 more minutes per game on average than he was on the Suns. His price hasn’t changed to coincide with this new role and he’s a really solid play at this price point. He’s currently having a great night as I write this article so expect him to be popular.
Lu Dort ($6,000/$5,100)
Much more in play on DK than on FD with that price difference, so I probably won’t play him on FD. He has a bigger role with no SGA and 5.1k is too cheap with the increased usage he gets.
Value Town (Under $5k)
Cam Reddish ($5,400/$4,500)
Not in play for me on FD, but he offers some salary relief on DK and he’s playable. Very meh on playing him, but can do in a pinch.
Matisse Thybulle ($4,200/$3,700)
Again not a priority, but he’s playable. Thybulle has been starting, but he’s basically PJ Tucker with stocks. He’s an extremely low usage player and very boom/bust based on stocks and if he makes any 3s.
Centers
Spend ups ($9k and over)
Anthony Davis ($11,500/$10,200)
With LeBron out, Davis is going to have to go nuclear down the stretch run if the Lakers want to make the playoffs. I think he’ll be extremely popular on DK at that price point, but I’ll eat the chalk. Even though he’s much more expensive on FD I’ll still play him there as well. He’s my favorite spend up on this slate against a Thunder team with no one who can match up with him.
Nikola Vucevic ($8,900/$9,100)
The matchup against a James Wiseman and Marvin Bagley frontcourt seems pretty favorable. Not going crazy on him, but I can’t ignore that matchup completely as Vuc could feast here.
Middle-to-High (7k-8.9k)
I’m not playing anyone in this range at center.
Middle ($5k-6.9k)
Mitchell Robinson ($6,700/$5,000)
Mitch averages more points on FD than DK, but that’s still a huge price difference. He’s playable on DK only here.
Value Town (Under $5k)
There is really no value at center on FD either. A couple plays for DK only are below.
Marvin Bagley ($5,600/$4,900)
Bagley is averaging 21/15 since returning from injury despite coming off the bench and not playing 30 minutes. Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart are both still out, which clears out the frontcourt rotation. Bagley and Wiseman have been splitting the center minutes fairly evenly and they limit each others upside because they’re not going to play together much if at all. Last game you could’ve played both of them and that turned out to be a good play, but Bogi and Ivey were both out (Jaden is off the injury report and Bogi is probable) and I wouldn’t expect quite as much usage to go to Bagley and Wiseman as it did last game. I’d only play one of them in each lineup, but Bagley is cheap and worth a play to see if he can continue this production.
James Wiseman ($5,800/$4,800)
Wiseman is coming off a 23/7 game in his own right, and repeat everything I said for Bagley.
Xavier Tillman ($5,300/$4,600)
He’s been starting with Adams out, but some games they go to Brandon Clarke more than others and that’s a risk you have to take if you play him. If he gets a full complement of minutes he can be played on DK.
