Friday brings a six-game featured slate locking at 7 p.m. ET on DraftKings and FanDuel. There are several options in the player pool worth analyzing to find the top NBA DFS building blocks and NBA DFS picks. Let’s dig into the NBA DFS picks and core plays like Jaren Jackson Jr. and Dejounte Murray, plus there are several pending injury situations.
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NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: Friday, March 8
NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks
Jaren Jackson: Grizzlies vs. Hawks
Stokastic’s Fantasy Point Projections
DraftKings: 47.92 | FanDuel: 47.54
Stokastic’s Rostership Projections
DraftKings: 31.1% | FanDuel: 21.9%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $8,200 | FanDuel: $9,000
After missing three games with a quad injury, Jaren Jackson Jr. laid down an impressive stat-line on Wednesday as he led the Grizzlies to a 115-109 victory over the short-handed 76ers in Philadelphia.
The reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year racked up 30 points, 11 rebounds, one assist and six blocks on his way to nearly 60 fantasy points. Tonight he has another fantasy friendly matchup against the Atlanta Hawks, making him the core play of the day.
Surprisingly this game has a relatively sedate 215.5 projected total, but there are ample options from both sides as the Grizzlies remain depleted and the Hawks of course are missing Trae Young, Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu. That has former University of Washington stalwart Dejounte Murray on the short list of DFS targets tonight, as he is all but preordained to make a foray into the 50 fantasy point plateau. This season in 1,132 minutes alongside Young, he is averaging just under a fantasy point per minute. When he is running the show without Young, that efficiency surges to nearly 1.3 fantasy points per minute.
Memphis is still decent on defense, landing just ahead of league average over the last month, even though they are missing eight of their top 10 players. Saddiq Bey and De’Andre Hunter should benefit from the absence of Johnson, Bogdan Bogdanovic gets a boost with Young sidelined and Clint Capela should get 26-to-28 minutes with Okongwu still ailing. Bruno Fernando is a wild card as he is going to see 24 or so frontcourt minutes and he has been a solid fantasy producer when given the chance. The opportunity cost is elevated since he is only center-eligible, however, he does have a strong shot at 25 fantasy points with 30 in his grasp if everything goes his way.
Jordan Goodwin only has a handful of games left before his recently signed two-way deal would need to be converted to a full-time contract. He has been inactive for the last two games, so only can be trusted if he is in the starting lineup. Jake LaRavia has had a couple of moments of DFS relevance over the last fortnight, but it is hard to count on him as a bench player.
Vince Williams Jr. is receiving a heavy minutes allocation as Memphis looks to put him on the developmental fast track in this lost season. Even with the salary elevating, this is a strong matchup for his do a little bit of everything skillset.
Rudy Gobert: Timberwolves at Cavaliers
Stokastic’s Fantasy Point Projections
DraftKings: 42.4 | FanDuel: 42.33
Stokastic’s Rostership Projections
DraftKings: 17.8% | FanDuel: 8.5%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $7,700 | FanDuel: $8,500
Karl-Anthony Towns remains without a timetable after suffering a meniscus injury, so Rudy Gobert should see heavy minutes in this matchup against Cleveland.
Keep in mind Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell are out for the Cavs, so this is not as daunting of a matchup as it would be if all of the Cavaliers were available.
Gober is all but a lock for a double-double in this matchup and the Stifle Tower is on the short list of Defensive Player of the Year candidates. He sees around a 6% increase in his per minute fantasy production when Towns is off the court and that along with only have to battle Jarrett Allen in the paint and for rebounds, makes the Frenchman an intriguing tournament target.
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NBA DFS Picks: Key Games
Washington Wizards vs. Charlotte Hornets
Washington put on a good show Wednesday, leading the Orlando Magic by as many as 21 points in the second quarter, before they of course dialed thigs back to secure the 53rd loss of the season. Yes, it makes sense that the Wizards would want to end their 16 game slide, so perhaps they will actually go for it tonight, now that they have the worst record in the league after the Detroit Pistons beat the Brooklyn Nets last night.
Over the last 10 games, Washington has a bottom-three defensive efficiency, while Charlotte is somehow in the top-five. That is why the 226.0 game total feels a little light. Kyle Kuzma, Deni Avdija and Tyus Jones are the trio to target, with Jordan Poole a lottery ticket off the bench. Poole actually has produced 39-plus fantasy points in four o his last six games, with two over 48 fantasy points.
Cody Martin and Seth Curry are out, joining LaMelo Ball and Mark Williams. Tre Mann (groin) is dinged up, so we could see former Euro League star Vasilije Micic once again be a prominent part of our player portfolios.
Brandon Miller and Miles Bridges are outstanding options, with Nick Richards yet another viable center option. Grant Williams is a differentiation play for large-field tournaments as is former Wizard Davis Bertans.
Today’s Top Sports Betting Pick
Nick Richards is looking like someone to target in the sports wagering market, while also being a possible hedge in the DFS world for the under under on his 9.5 rebounds prop. This is currently available at odds of -115 on PointsBet.
By using OddsShopper to do the heavy lifting when researching favorable bets, we can easily take advantage of outliers in a situation such as this, with most books in the -125 to -130 range and “sharp” book Pinnacle down to -149, which is downright punitive. Be a savvy shopper!
Per the true odds of -125 (how OddsShopper measures the potential expected ROI of a given wager), this opportunity has an steady 3.7% positive expected ROI as a function of the inefficient line.
NBA Bet Pro currently has Richards projected for 27.6 minutes and 9.62 rebounds, which is a tick above the 9.5 target, but keep in mind a range of outcomes is far different than one specific projection.
Richards has failed to reach double-digit rebounds in his last three games and in seven of his last 10, while averaging 27.4 minutes an 7.9 rebounds in this timeframe. Washington is without Marvin Bagley III (back spasms) and they are not afraid to use Kuzma or even a combination of Bilal Coulibaly and Corey Kispert as “nominal” fives as they look to run the other team out of the gym. If Richaun Holmes were to get a spot start, that would be beneficial for William, otherwise he could slide down to the 25 minute range, depending on game flow. Of course he could still coral the necessary caroms to surpass the over, but it would make things just a little bit tougher.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today
Check out the Stokastic NBA Deeper Dive and Live Before Lock Shows starting at 5 p.m. ET on YouTube, breaking down all of the key elements for today’s slate. Brought to you by PrizePicks – new users, use this link to receive a $100 first deposit match AND – ONE FREE MONTH of OddsShopper Premium! Full details here.
