DraftKings NBA Picks March 17
By Mike Marteny
DraftKings NBA Picks March 17
The NBA still has eight games in the main DraftKings tournament despite the NCAA tournament making its mark. Since DraftKings took away the NCAA basketball tournaments, we have to “settle” for the NBA. Fine by me! Let’s take a look at who to target from those eight games.
More from DFS
- DraftKings Open Championship picks 2023: Best PGA DFS golf lineup
- Genesis Scottish Open DraftKings picks 2023: Best PGA DFS golf lineup
- Rocket Mortgage Classic DraftKings picks 2023: Best PGA DFS golf lineup
- US Open DraftKings picks 2023: Best PGA DFS golf lineup
- RBC Canadian Open DraftKings picks 2023: Best PGA DFS golf lineup
The money line was up at 268.5 last night. On a night with a lot of bargains available, I was actually expecting higher. One of my lineups placed. The other busted thanks to poor games from Vince Carter and Willy Hernangomez. My other lineup placed despite having Willy and a below average night from Jamal Murray.
The winning lineup was just 346 DraftKings points. A big game from the low owned Rudy Gobert created the separation, while he had the bargain play that everyone did with Will Barton and Mason Plumlee. A 7.7% owned J.J. Redick didn’t hurt.
I can’t stress enough how important it is to watch our Twitter feed right up until lock time. We will try and relay the information out to you as soon as we can, along with any lineup changes. If you aren’t able to do that, my best advice is to lay off of anyone that may be injured. As far as the healthy scratches, we are all in the same boat. The only ones we really have a shot to switch out anymore are the games that tip at or before 7:30 eastern.
If you would like to try DraftKings for the first time, use this link for the referral bonus! It is good for $20 worth of free entry tickets. We have plenty of advice on the site to help you turn that into a solid bankroll!
Point Guards
Best Bets:
Giannis Antetokounmpo ($9,900): Giannis racked up 68 DraftKings points in the first game against the Lakers. He has had three straight games of under 40 DraftKings points, but this should get him back on track. I trust him a little more than I do James Harden tonight. Harden needs way too many points to get value, and New Orleans has contained him pretty well so far.
Elfrid Payton ($7,800): Payton only scored 30 DraftKings points last night, but when you consider that he only played 22 minutes, that isn’t bad at all. There is no injury issue here. It was just a Klay Thompson issue. This game got out of hand early, so Payton and the rest of the starters all played 25 minutes or less. He should see a much longer run against Phoenix tonight.
Honorable Mention:
Ricky Rubio ($7,700): Yes, the Heat are tough on point guards. I get it. So are Boston and Washington and Rubio racked up 102.5 DraftKings points on them over the last two games. I wouldn’t expect that gaudy of a total again, but he put up 41.75 in the first game against Miami. He could hit that again.
Goran Dragic ($7,300): Dragic racked up 52.5 DraftKings points on Minnesota in the first meeting. However, that was when Miami was still plagued with injuries. Dragic wont have to carry as much of a load now, so don’t expect a repeat performance. He could approach 6x value though.
Dark Horses:
Patrick Beverley ($5,600): Beverley has 71.75 DraftKings points in two games against New Orleans this year. Beverley has not been a huge fantasy asset this year, but he still played a lot of minutes. That increases the chances of him making value. That makes him a little less of a risk than most in this range who usually come off the bench.
Marcus Smart ($4,900): Isaiah Thomas is out the next two games, so Smart should see an uptick in minutes as the starting point guard. He may not produce much more as the Celtics are deep in the backcourt, but it increases his chances of getting more than 5x value. His price is cheap enough that 30 DraftKings points here is a good bargain.
Brandon Jennings ($4,000): This is only a play if John Wall‘s foot is too sore for him to play. If Jennings starts, he will have a huge game for this price. Rajon Rondo is back in the starting lineup for the Bulls, but Jennings only needs 20 DraftKings points for 5x value. He could get closer to 8x if he starts.
My picks: Antetokounmpo(PG); Smart(PG)
Shooting Guards
Best Bets:
Jimmy Butler ($8,800): Dwyane Wade is done for the year, so Butler will be relied on to carry the team, something he did for a lot of last season. Butler has 106.75 DraftKings points in just two games against the Wizards this year. He could be in for another big game here.
Bradley Beal ($8,200): If Wall does miss the game, Beal could be in for a monster game. He has scored at least 20 points in every game since the break anyway. If he is forced to take on some of Wall’s responsibilities, he could hit 40, and that’s just in points. If Wall is out, I will have Beal everywhere!
Honorable Mention:
DeMar DeRozan ($8,000): DeRozan only had 28.5 DraftKings points last night, but that had more to do with the Thunder blowing out the Raptors than shutting DeRozan down. He played just 29 minutes. DeRozan has 84.25 DraftKings points over two games against the Pistons this year, which would put him right at 5x value. He doesn’t have the upside of the upper tier, especially if Wall sits, but he wont be highly owned either.
Devin Booker ($7,200): Booker scores a whole lot of points, but he is now a solid play in DFS because he rebounds pretty well for a perimeter player. That makes his floor more tolerable, even at this price. We all know that if he gets hot, he can pile up points in a hurry. Orlando is a decent, but not great, defensive team. Booker has a shot at a good game if you don’t want to pay up for the premier options.
Avery Bradley ($6,000): Bradley has 91 DraftKings points in two games against Brooklyn this year. Now that the team will be without star Isaiah Thomas for the rest of the week, Bradley has a shot at a couple of big games. He was up to 32 minutes against the Timberwolves on Wednesday. He can do a lot of damage in that time.
Dark Horses:
Seth Curry ($5,900): Curry has been only a scorer lately, which has diminished his value, particularly in daily leagues. He did put up 42.75 DraftKings points in just 34 minutes on Philadelphia earlier this season though. His stats were helped out by four steals, but if he scores 22 points again, he should be able to toss in a couple of assists to hit 5x value.
Lou Williams ($5,800): LouWill was cold heading into Wednesday’s game against his former team. He responded by shooting the lights out. It was his best game as a Rocket by far. The issue with using Williams now is that the Rockets have other options that they will use if Williams goes cold whereas the Lakers did not. He has 99 DraftKings points in three games against the Pelicans this year. Can he stay hot against them?
Denzel Valentine ($4,100): Rather that toying with the Brodgon-Dellavedova situation in Milwaukee, I will target the likely replacement for Dwyane Wade. Paul Zipser will steal minutes, but Valentine has been the more productive player. Valentine is over 5x value in three of the last four games.
My pick: Beal(SG), Bradley(G), Valentine(SG); Booker(SG), Valentine(G), Williams(UTIL)
Small Forwards
Best Bets:
Dion Waiters ($6,700): If you don’t want to feel like you are slumming it here, Giannis and Butler are also eligible at the position. Waiters isn’t really slumming though. He had 30.75 DraftKings points in the first meeting with Minnesota, and has topped 5x value at this price in three of the last five games. His numbers declined with Dragic back, but there could be value in a little owned player here if he plays well.
T.J. Warren ($6,600): Warren has two 40+ DraftKings points showings in his last four games. The two that he missed were against Portland and Dallas, who defend the position well. Warren could come close to 40 tonight against Orlando against Terrence Ross.
Honorable Mention:
Jae Crowder ($5,400): Throw out his recent struggles, this is the Nets. They have given up 61 DraftKings points to Crowder in two games in just 50 minutes. Crowder could see a slight increase in minutes as well with Marcus Smart starting at the point. That can only make him more valuable against this team.
Trevor Ariza ($5,200): Ariza has 62 points in two games against the Pelicans so far. With Tyreke Evans gone, Ariza could see more room to operate. He has at least 5x vlaue in three straight and four of the last five games.
Dark Horses:
Terrence Ross ($4,800): For whatever reason, Ross has taken less shots with the Magic lately. This is a disturbing trend since he is mostly a scorer. So why am I interested here? Because the tempo of the Suns involves more shots for everyone involved. That can only help Ross, who has mostly be a non-factor lately.
Tony Snell ($4,000): The Lakers have been awful on defense lately. So why Snell and not Middleton? Middleton’s price is out of control right now. He may go off on the Lakers, but he didn’t in the first meeting with roughly the same personnel. And if the game gets out of hand, Middleton will see extended rest. Snell might as well, but at least at this price even if he tanks, it wont be much of a loss.
My Pick: Ross(F), Warren(UTIL); Ariza(SF)
Power Forwards
Best Bets:
Karl-Anthony Towns ($10,400): Towns’ streak of 20 point games was snapped by the Celtics on Wednesday, and he still came up with 41.5 DraftKings points. That caused a slight dip in price. Against Miami in the first meeting, Towns ended up with 51 DraftKings points. he is a better all-around player now than he was then. This could be a huge game for Towns.
Dario Saric ($7,900): The rookie put up at over 50 DraftKings points against both the Lakers and Warriors on this trip, and he went over 40 against Portland. He has proven to be a matchup problem for teams that don’t have an athletic big man. Dallas has good bigs, but not necessarily athletic ones. He should top 40 again for the seventh time in 11 games.
Honorable Mention:
Dirk Nowitzki ($6,400): If Dirk plays center, I like him a lot more, though that task will likely go to Noel. Nowitzki has at least 30 DraftKings points in five of the last six games. He isn’t done yet, and he has shown he can still put up good numbers. He just wont dominate like he used to.
Markieff Morris ($6,100): Morris struggled against Dallas and Minnesota. Dallas was more with foul trouble than anything else. The trade of Taj Gibson made the Bulls less intimidating up front, and Morris averaged 37.3 DraftKings points in three games against the Bulls with Taj. He could get back on track in a big way here.
Dark Horses:
Nikola Mirotic ($4,300): The Bulls have been using Mirotic more than Bobby Portis lately because they need his offensive production. They will definitely need it now with Wade gone for the rest of the year. It will be tempting for them to try and combat Morris with Portis, but Mirotic will still see plenty of run. Mirotic has 65.25 DraftKings points in the two prior games against Washington this year. He could be the bargain we are looking for tonight.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson ($4,000): RHJ had a big game last night with Trevor Booker resting. His numbers wont be up where they were last night, but the Celtics are also weak against power forwards. His performance last night should earn him at least half a game on the court tonight, so we could see him hit value with ease because he is a sneaky good rebounder.
My pick: Mirotic(PF); Towns(PF), Mirotic(F)
Center
Best Bets:
DeMarcus Cousins ($9,800): The Rockets have been able to contain Anthony Davis this year, but not Cousins. Boogie has 157.25 DraftKings points in just three games against Houston this year. You never really know which of the two will be more successful on any given night, especially when the Pelicans seem to look to Davis first. The smart money seems to be on Cousins tonight, or you could just avoid the entire situation.
Hassan Whiteside ($8,100): Whiteside racked up 42.75 DraftKings points in the first game against Minnesota. Both Whiteside and Towns can be had on the defensive end of the court, so we could see both of them have huge games. Given the fact that Whiteside put up strong numbers against New Orleans, I’m inclined to trust him a little more than I used to.
Honorable Mention:
Alan Williams ($6,300): It doesn’t really matter if the Suns start him or not. Williams has seven double-doubles in the last eight games. He also has at least 5x value in seven of the last ten games. He lacks significant upside since the Suns give a lot of players run, but Williams does a lot with the minutes he gets. That makes him an attractive option, especially in cash games.
Al Horford ($6,100): Horford usually doesn’t put up big numbers, but he can when the matchup is right. Such as Wednesday against Minnesota. Brooklyn presents another chance for Horford to put up some pretty big numbers. He has 75.75 DraftKings points in just 57 minutes against Brooklyn this year. Depending on how many minutes he plays, he could have a huge night.
Dark Horses:
Clint Capela ($5,500): Capela has really nice upside, but perhaps the best thing about him is the solid floor. He has at least 5x value in all but two games since the All Star Break. After seeing what Whiteside did against the New Orleans skyscrapers, there could be value here for Capela.
Ivica Zubac ($5,400): Just when you think Zubac is getting on track, he has an absolute clunker like he did against Houston on Wednesday. Foul trouble had something to do with it, but not all. The good news is that Zubac picked up 26.5 DraftKings points in just 20 minutes against the Bucks in the first meeting. Center remains a sore spot for Milwaukee.
My pick: Horford(C); Whiteside(C)
Stay tuned for our FanDuel picks, and our picks for NHL and the PGA tour! We even have some EPL picks coming your way! I will also have the round by round picks for the NCAA Tournament, the place where your bracket is never busted. Once again, make sure to follow our Twitter feed leading up to tipoff!