It’s Friday, March 28th. The National Basketball Association (NBA) has a total of seven games on the docket. The Phoenix Suns and Minnesota Timberwolves square off at 8:00 p.m. ET on NBA TV. All but one of the games tip off at 8:00 p.m. or earlier, with one tip-off time at 9:00 p.m. ET.
Here are our top NBA DFS lineup picks and advice for tonight’s slate.
View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our NBA Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
NBA DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Primer
NBA DFS Core Plays
- DraftKings: $8,500
- FanDuel: $9,100
It isn’t often that Scottie Barnes will be your best DFS option for the night, but here we are. Several more expensive, more productive options are on the board, but some carry a questionable tag due to injury, others are ruled out and others have extremely unfavorable matchups.
Barnes and the Raptors host the Charlotte Hornets in a favorable matchup at Scotiabank Arena. He’s averaging 43.1 fantasy points per game, which is better than some of his higher-priced counterparts. The Hornets are 19th in opponent rank, too. Build your lineup(s) around Barnes, and feel confident in doing so.
Anthony Edwards (SG, SF – MIN)
- DraftKings: $9,600
- FanDuel: $9,300
Anthony Edwards has a favorable matchup against the visiting Phoenix Suns, posting 45.3 fantasy points per game while the Suns have an opponent rank of 23rd.
Edwards has had some poor shooting performances in the past two outings, averaging just 17 points per game (PPG) in the past two games, while hitting 13-of-32 (40.6%) from the field and going just 1-of-11 from downtown last time out in Indiana. However, he is still averaging 27.3 points, 4.5 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game in 12 games in March.
- DraftKings: $9,600
- FanDuel: $9,600
If you want to spend top dollar on a veteran option at point guard, and you just can’t trust Russell Westbrook, look to his former teammate in James Harden.
The Beard averages 47.3 fantasy points per game, which is the most on Friday’s board among available players. However, the Brooklyn Nets have an opponent rank of eighth, which makes this a somewhat unfavorable matchup.
However, Harden played 80 NBA games in parts of two seasons with the Nets, and he could be a little more motivated because of that. While the Nets allow just 111.6 PPG (ninth in the NBA), they give up field goals at a 47.8% clip (27th), while teams hit 36.1% from behind the three-point line (16th).
NBA DFS Cash Game Targets
- DraftKings: $8,200
- FanDuel: $7,200
Mark Williams has a very favorable matchup in Toronto, as the Raptors have an opponent rank of 28. He is a great center to build around, as he is averaging 35.7 fantasy points per game. The Raptors are averaging 115.3 PPG to rank 19th, and they’re 11th in field-goal percentage (46.4%).
- DraftKings: $7,400
- FanDuel: $6,900
Russell Westbrook is coming off an absolute stinker, hitting just 2-of-9 from the field with six points, including 1-of-6 from behind the three-point line. He ended up with six assists, two rebounds and one steal in 24 minutes against the Milwaukee Bucks. It was his first single-digit point total since he had four points against his original NBA franchise (Oklahoma City) on March 9th.
Westbrook is still averaging 32 fantasy points per game and the Utah Jazz defense has an opponent rank of 29th. Utah allows 120.1 points per game to rank 29th in the NBA, while teams hit 47.4% from the field, ranking 24th. Westbrook is in line for a nice bounce-back game, but it takes a little more of a leap of faith than Barnes above.
- DraftKings: $7,400
- FanDuel: $7,300
Julius Randle is averaging 35.6 fantasy points per game. He is facing a Suns defense that has an opponent rank of 27. He is coming off a stinker in Indiana on Monday, going for nine points on 3-of-7 shooting, while going 0-for-2 from behind the 3-point line. Randle had six rebounds and two assists, but the single-digit showing snapped an 11-game streak with double-digit points.
NBA DFS GPP Targets
- DraftKings: $6,700
- FanDuel: $7,000
We won’t go too much more into point guards, but if you can’t trust Russell Westbrook and don’t want to spend up for James Harden, Immanuel Quickley is your next best bet. As mentioned above with Barnes, the Raptors have a very favorable matchup against the Hornets.
Quickley is averaging 32.5 fantasy points per game and the Hornets are 23rd in opponent rank.
- DraftKings: $6,500
- FanDuel: $6,600
Draymond Green is hit or miss, so proceed with caution. He had just two points with five boards and three dimes in 23 minutes at Miami last time out on Tuesday. He is just two games removed from going for 21 points with seven rebounds, five assists and four steals in 31 minutes on March 20th against Toronto.
When the matchup is favorable, such as on Friday, Green is a good play. He is averaging 29.8 fantasy points per game, and the Pelicans have an opponent rank of 25.
- DraftKings: $6,300
- FanDuel: $6,800
Rudy Gobert faces a favorable matchup against the Suns. The “Stifle Tower” is averaging 11 points and 10.3 rebounds per game this season. He heads in with two double-doubles in the past two outings, averaging 15.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and three assists.
Gobert had a double-double in the first matchup with the Suns, posting 11 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots.
NBA DFS Value Plays
Dennis Schroder (PG, SG – DET)
- DraftKings: $5,100
- FanDuel: $5,400
Dennis Schroder is expected to get the starting nod with Cade Cunningham out for a third consecutive game due to a left calf contusion. The 31-year-old is averaging 11.3 points, five assists and one three-pointer per game in the past three outings.
- DraftKings: $4,000
- FanDuel: $4,400
KJ Simpson might draw into the starting five with Lonzo Ball sidelined due to an ankle ailment. Simpson is averaging just 6.3 points, 3.3 assists and one three-pointer per game in three March contests.
However, Simpson finished up February relatively strong off the bench most of the time, posting 11.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and four assists in eight outings, while hitting double digits in points on five occasions. With an extended run, he could easily outproduce DFS salary expectations.
- DraftKings: $4,800
- FanDuel: $4,700
Bruce Brown has registered 12+ points in each of the past three games, averaging 13.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, three assists and 2.7 three-pointers per game in the past three outings. The Warriors have an opponent rank of 22nd, so Brown should continue to overproduce salary expectations.
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