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NBA Picks and Pivots – FanDuel Picks for March 21

By Brian Tulloch

Mar 12, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) celebrates after an assist on a basket against the Phoenix Suns during the fourth quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Suns 123-116. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 12, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) celebrates after an assist on a basket against the Phoenix Suns during the fourth quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Suns 123-116. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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NBA Picks and Pivots – FanDuel Picks for March 21

Welcome to the Monday edition of Picks & Pivots, a daily fantasy column focused on providing analysis for the upcoming NBA FanDuel slate. The purpose of this column is to first identify key building blocks that can be used for any roster construction and then identify pivot points to help differentiate your lineup in hopes of a big pay-day!

Looking over tonight’s slate of nine games, we have three games with double-digit spreads so there is plenty of blowout risk across the slate but looking closer at the schedule there are a few matchups that we must dig into when constructing our rosters.

First and foremost, the Warriors and Timberwolves are projected to score over 230 points tonight which means we are going to want some exposure to this game. I am not typically one for narratives but after struggling on Saturday night against the Spurs on the national stage, I expect PG – Stephen Curry to have a monster bounce back performance against Minnesota this evening. The Warriors are projected to score more than their season average in points tonight and with the game on the road coming off Saturday’s loss, I expect Curry to play major minutes and I will take the risk of the blowout on in order to have exposure to what I expect to be a big evening.

The other high-priced star in a favorable matchup is C-Demarcus Cousins against the Bulls. I absolutely plan to have tournament exposure to Boogie and a variety of other players in this game tonight however keep an eye on the status of Pau Gasol as there is a chance he could return this evening which would have implications across a variety of options. The Bulls are projected to score over 10 points more than their season average and have the most favorable uptick in projected pace. The challenge will be monitoring Gasol’s status, as if he sits out again it opens up tremendous opportunity at very reasonable price points to roster players like Taj Gibson, & Nikola Mirotic.

One player I plan to roster across all formats tonight is PF – Zach Randolph as the Grizzlies take on Phoenix. Returning from injury Saturday night, Zach put up a massive triple double and 54 fantasy points as the depleted Grizzlies lineup ran the entire offense through him. Sitting at $6,900 and with clearly demonstrated upside, I plan to roll out Randolph in the majority of my lineups and hope that gamers may have missed the comeback effort over the weekend.

Two additional budget options I will look to roster this evening to open up salary savings are SG – Tim Hardaway Jr. and PF – Amir Johnson. Hardaway has returned over 6x value the last two games, scoring 27 and 37 points in consecutive games and has gained the confidence of his coaching staff and at $4,100 in a favorable matchup against the Wizards is a budget friendly option I plan to utilize. Additionally, Johnson has put up over 30 fantasy points in 2 of his last three games, and his price has not yet adjusted with the additional minutes he is getting on a consistent basis. At $3,800, Johnson allows us to roster a player with upside at a near minimum price giving us the ability to target Curry/Boogie tonight.

Best of luck tonight gamers!