NBA DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Primer: Monday (3/7)

We’re down to one month of NBA basketball, and I’m ecstatic to see what happens next. It’s been one of the most bizarre seasons up to this point, but it’s crunch time for all of these teams.

This is going to be a wild slate. The Warriors and Trail Blazers will be the key pieces to this slate, missing pretty much every pivotal player on those teams. Finding the right values from those two will be imperative to be successful on this slate, and we’ll do our best to pick the right ones!

View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our NBA Prop Bet Cheat Sheet

Schedule and Odds

  • ATL at DET (ATL -8) O/U: 227.5
  • CHI at PHI (PHI -6) O/U: 229
  • HOU at MIA (MIA -16) O/U: 226
  • POR at MIN (MIN -15) O/U: 237
  • UTA at DAL (DAL -1.5) O/U: 216
  • LAL at SAS (SAS -3) O/U: 233
  • GSW at DEN (DEN -10) O/U: 221
  • NYK at SAC (SAC -3.5) O/U: 229

Check out our consensus game odds as well as the odds from each sportsbook at BettingPros

Injury Report

Core Plays

Dejounte Murray (PG – SAS): $11,100DraftKings, $9,900 FanDuel
Murray has been one of the best options in fantasy all season, averaging 20.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 9.4 assists per game. That’s led to Dejounte scoring at least 31 DraftKings points in 53 of 56 games this season en route to a 51-point average. We love all of that against the Lakers, with Los Angeles ranked third in pace and 28th in points allowed. Not to mention, they surrender the most fantasy points to opposing point guards, allowing Murray to average 58 fantasy points per game in their three meetings this season, despite shooting below 50 percent in each of those

Jimmy Butler (PF/PF – MIA): $8,500 DraftKings, $8,000 FanDuel
Anytime Butler is this cheap, he should be in your lineup. We’re talking about a guy who’s averaging 42 fantasy points per game for the season, establishing a 30-point floor. Those numbers should be easy to reach against Houston, with the Rockets ranked first in pace and dead-last in defensive efficiency. That was on full display when Butler dropped 37 raw points on them in their one meeting earlier this season.

Josh Hart (SF – POR): $7,400 DraftKings, $6,000 FanDuel
Hart was doing some severe damage as an ancillary piece in New Orleans, but it’s scary to think how good he could be as the primary playmaker in Portland. He already had a career-high 27 percent usage rate with his new team, but that number should get well above 30 here, with Simons expected to miss this game. No Simons, Lillard, or Nurkic leaves Hart as one of the only options left, and he should be an easy bet for 30-40 DK points since that is what he was averaging in a much smaller role.

Cash Game Considerations

Nikola Jokic (C – DEN): $12,400 DraftKings, $10,800 FanDuel
The Joker just had a 46-point triple-double on Sunday, and it wasn’t even his best game of the season! The big man has scored at least 40 DraftKings points in all but one game this season, leading the NBA with nearly 61 fantasy points per game. He’s killed the Warriors this season, too, averaging 28.5 points and 18 rebounds in their two matchups this season.

Karl-Anthony Towns (C – MIN): $10,600 DraftKings, $9,200 FanDuel
Big KAT is playing some of the best basketball of his career right now. Losing Edwards has put a ton of Towns plate, and he’s happy to provide the fantasy production we’ve been waiting for. He’s averaging 54 fantasy points per game in the last three games without ANT, seeing his usage and shot attempts skyrocket in this expanded role. That’s bad news for Portland, with the Trail Blazers ranked 27th in points allowed and 29th in defensive efficiency.

Rudy Gobert (C – UTA): $7,900 DraftKings, $8,000 FanDuel
Gobert is one of the best cash game options in fantasy. He’s leading the NBA with 15 rebounds per game, providing a double-double on a nightly basis. In fact, Rudy has at least 27 DK points in 46 of 49 games this season, providing a career-best 42 fantasy points per game. That’s all you can hope for from an $8K player, especially since he faces Dallas, one of the worst frontcourts in the NBA.

GPP Targets

Malik Monk (SG/SF – LAL): $5,400 DraftKings, $4,700 FanDuel
With Davis sidelined once again, Monk has found himself in the starting lineup. He’s been a beast in this role all season, averaging 30 DK points per game in his 22 starts this year. That’s a fantastic total from a $5K player, and it’s no surprise since his minutes and shot attempts increase exponentially in this expanded role. Facing the Spurs is sensational, too, with San Antonio sitting fourth in pace and 26th in total defense.

Jordan Poole (PG/SG – GSW): $5,300 DraftKings, $4,700 FanDuel
With Curry, Thompson, Wiggins, and Green all sitting this game, Poole should be running the show. With all of those guys off the floor, JP leads the club with a 34 percent usage rate, averaging 1.2 DK points per minute. That means he should be looking at 40-50 fantasy points if he plays the 35-40 minutes we’re anticipating, which would be an amazing total from a player in this price range. He had 29 DK points across 22 minutes in his last meeting with Denver, and that looks like his floor in this sort of role.

Trendon Watford (PF – POR): $5,100 DraftKings, $3,700 FanDuel
Somebody in Portland needs to step up. Nurkic, Lillard, and Simons are all sitting this game, while McCollum, Covington, and Powell are all playing elsewhere. That has left Watford as one of their best players, combining for 73 fantasy points across 64 minutes in the last two games. He’s quite simply been one of the best players on this dismantled roster, and he should continue to get a more prominent workload as the season progresses for this putrid Portland team.

Value Plays

Alec Burks (PG/SG – NYK): $5,800 DraftKings, $5,200 FanDuel
Burks is finally starting to get it going. He really struggled coming off the bench earlier this season, but he averaged 30 fantasy points per game as a starter. That’s the guy we’ve seen recently, with Alec averaging 15.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.0 assists over the last two games. The best part is this matchup, though, with Sacramento sitting 29th in points allowed and 28th in defensive efficiency.

Otto Porter (SF – GSW): $4,600 DraftKings, $4,100 FanDuel
We already mentioned how Golden State is missing their four-best players, leaving Porter as one of the critical pieces to this offense. He’s probably the best remaining guy, posting a 29-point average in the 20 games he’s played at least 24 minutes. We expect him to be playing 30-35 minutes for this shorthanded team, making him one of the best values on the board.

Jonathan Kuminga (PF – GSW): $4,500 DraftKings, $4,600 FanDuel
Kuminga has been one of the biggest surprises among the rookie class, averaging 24 DraftKings points per game across 25 minutes a night over his last 13 games played. He’s actually scored at least 25 fantasy points in eight of those, and we believe that’s going to be easy to reach here with so many Golden State players sitting. If you look at the 11 games JK has played 24 or more minutes, he’s providing a 30-point average. Good luck finding that from another $4,500 player!

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Joel Bartilotta is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Joel, check out his archive and follow him @Bartilottajoel.