Monday kicks off a new work week with an eight-game featured slate beginning 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 Jaylen Brown and Dalano Banton, plus plenty of Bulls, Trail Blazers and other recommended options.
Subscribe today for access to our industry-leading resources, including our lineup generator (available for NFL, NBA, MLB and PGA), our DFS simulation tools (available for NFL, NBA, MLB, PGA, MMA and NASCAR) and our industry-leading projections for every sport.
NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: Monday, March 18
NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks
Jaylen Brown: Celtics vs. Pistons
Stokastic’s Fantasy Point Projections
DraftKings: 38.65 | FanDuel: 37.61
Stokastic’s Rostership Projections
DraftKings: 3.0% | FanDuel: 11.4%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $8,400 | FanDuel: $8,700
Jaylen Brown got Sunday night off, while the Celtics dismantled the Wizards 130-104 in Washington. Boston has a commanding lead of 9.5 games in the Eastern Conference standings, along with a sizable cushion over the best team records in the West.
Al Horford and Jrue Holiday are out, while Kristaps Porzingis could miss yet another game with his hamstring issue.
Sam Hauser splashed a career-high 30 points, dropping 10 treys on the Wizards. Sadly, he twisted his ankle in the third quarter and will sit tonight. Jayson Tatum had 30 points as well and it remains to be announced if he will get a night off, or continue playing as he hopes to generate some MVP and All-NBA buzz. His presence would mute the upside for both himself and Brown as Boston is already double-digit home favorites, but both would still be fine as tournament differentiators.
If Holiday does indeed get the night off, then Derrick White and Payton Pritchard would become two of the best fantasy point per dollar options in their respective salary ranges. Even if Pritchard comes off the bench in a scenario similar to yesterday, he should still seem ample opportunities. Oshae Brissett had a spot start and he could see a second stint with the first five again tonight. Keep tabs on the injury reports as the Celtics once again should provide excellent plays across every position.
Dalano Banton: Trail Blazers at Bulls
Stokastic’s Fantasy Point Projections
DraftKings: 32.21 | FanDuel: 31.51
Stokastic’s Rostership Projections
DraftKings: 42.9% | FanDuel: 75.1%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $5,600 | FanDuel: $5,100
There is a seemingly a DFS darling every spring as the NBA rosters become more and more chaotic with injuries and resting players. This year it looks like Dalano Banton has caught lightening in a bottle and continues to ride the wave of popularity while the DFS salary algorithms have been slow to react to his new baseline production.
Portland is without Malcolm Brogdon and Jerami Grant, while Shaedon Sharpe is of course out for the remainder of the season. That has led to Banton starting seven of the last eight games, playing 38 minutes or more in four of the last five starts. He has attempted 20 field goals in each of the last two games and while that is likely to slide back to the mid-teens, enjoy the elevated opportunities while they last.
Anfernee Simons had a couple years of late season heroics in lost campaigns and now he is a legitimate DFS hero most nights. He continues to be a strong tournament option, particularly with his salary holding steady. Deandre Ayton has had three different injury stretches, but he is healthy at the moment and playing ridiculous minutes. His streak of double-doubles ended at seven, but over the last 11 games he is averaging 33.7 minutes and 15.9 field goal attempts with a 63.4% success rate. This has resulted in 21.6 points, 13.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 2.0 combined blocks and steals. While he is going to be battling Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond in the paint, he should again see north of 30 minutes.
From the Bulls, Vucevic and DeMar DeRozan are the preferred plays, with Alex Caruso and Ayo Dosunmu moving into the picture if Coby White misses a third-consecutive game with a hip injury.
Looking for more NBA DFS picks and advice? You’ve come to the right place. Sign up for our NBA DFS Premium Package for access to our player projections, ownership projections and our state-of-the-art NBA DFS simulation tools.
NBA DFS Picks: Key Games
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Atlanta Hawks
Anthony Davis was bonked on the noggin on Saturday in the first half against Golden State, suffering a bruised forehead and swollen eye. He did not return to action. That allowed the Warriors to move into a tie with the Lakers for the 10th seed in the Western Conference. Both teams should make the Play-In Tournament, but each is three games behind the next three teams. This is a crucial game for Los Angeles, so hopefully Davis plays. If he does not, LeBron James becomes a phenomenal option and it would elevate Rui Hachimura, Taurean Prince and Jaxon Hayes, who would fill the frontcourt minutes void. D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves would see a trickledown effect with more opportunities and the Lakers in desperate need of a victory to end their two game skid.
Last night the Atlanta Hawks embarrassed the Clippers, taking over the lead at the end of the first quarter and racing to a 110-93 victory. Bogdan Bogdanovic left the game with an injury in the fourth quarter and he is questionable for tonight. Dejounte Murray and Jalen Johnson are strong options, as they continue to be the main players filling in the void left by Trae Young and Onyeka Okongwu.
Clint Capela had a strong game with 15 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and three combined blocks and steals last night, with De’Andre Hunter looking good off the bench with 20 points in just 24 minutes.
Today’s Top Sports Betting Pick
Jonathan Kuminga is facing the New York Knicks tonight, which has the under his 26.5 points + rebounds + assists (PRA) prop looking like a great wager on FanDuel, where it is currently available at odds of -125.
By using OddsShopper to do the heavy lifting when researching favorable bets, we can quickly spot inefficient lines like this one, which we can then use to our advantage.
Per the true odds of -129 (how OddsShopper measures the potential expected ROI of a given wager), this opportunity has a solid 3.3% positive expected ROI as a function of the inefficient line.
NBA Bet Pro currently has Kuminga projected for 31.8 minutes, 17.72 points, 5.70 rebounds and 2.26 assists for a 25.68 PRA. While this is below the 26.5 threshold, keep in mind a range of outcomes is far different than one specific projection. This is also demonstrated in the 57% projected win probability.
New York is finally getting healthy in the frontcourt, though OG Anunoby, Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson remain out. Precious Achiuwa has stepped up and proved to be a valuable contributor and Isaiah Hartenstein is ready for increased minutes. This along with the slower paced nature of the Knicks could lead to fewer possessions for Golden State, which would favor those backing Kuminga for the under.
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 Sleeper – new users, use this link to receive a $500 first deposit match! Full details here.
