Saturday welcomes the weekend with a compact seven-game featured slate, locking at 7:00 p.m. ET on FanDuel and DraftKings. Let’s get into the top NBA DFS picks and building blocks, including Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and Jamal Shead from Toronto, with several fun targets from Houston, in a favorable home matchup against New Orleans.
These picks are based on the latest information available. For the most up-to-date lineup updates, visit our NBA DFS Starting Lineups Page!
NBA DFS Picks Today – Building Blocks: Saturday, March 8
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NBA DFS Picks Today: Building Blocks
RJ Barrett: Raptors vs. Wizards
NBA DFS Projections
DraftKings: 39.28 | FanDuel: 37.31
NBA DFS Ownership Projections
DraftKings: 36.6% | FanDuel: 18.3%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $7,100 | FanDuel: $7,600
Toronto is resting Immanuel Quickley tonight against Washington, which will be the first game off in over a month for the 25-year-old point guard. Quickley was magnificent on Friday, putting up 34 points, five rebounds, five assists and a trio of takeaways in 34 minutes, cruising into the mid-50 fantasy point range.
Gradey Dick, Ochai Agbaji and Jonathan Mogbo remain out, with Chris Boucher (dental/tooth) questionable after missing last night’s action. Rookie Ja’Kobe Walter had a strong performance, rolling up over two-dozen fantasy points, before suffering a quad issue, early in the second half.
Scottie Barnes propelled the Raptors to a third-consecutive victory, with 22 points, 12 rebounds, six dimes and five “stocks” (steals plus blocks), for 50-plus fantasy points. The do-everything wing is once again a primary target, since it looks like he will have the ball in his hands on most possessions.
RJ Barrett (rest) and Jakob Poeltl (injury maintenance) did not play last night, though both are expected to be back with the first five on Saturday night.
Barrett continues to be a jack of all trades, averaging 21.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.1 stocks per game this year, in 33.3 minutes of run. The playing time is right in line with his career-average, though all of the stats are personal-bests. Aside from a 1.6 increase in assists, the rest of this production mirrors Barrett’s 32 games after joining Toronto midway through the season last year.
In four games since missing eight with a hip pointer, Poeltl has worked his way up to a 25-to-26 minute baseline. That is still well below his average of just over 31 minutes per game, prior to the injury, so expecting more than upper-20s for run may be folly. That said, anything less than a double-double against the woeful Washington frontcourt would be a disappointment for the giant Austrian.
Per the F-R-E-E Stokastic Starting Lineups page, it looks like rookie Jamal Shead is going to be running the point. He has one other spot start this season, which took place about a month ago, where he played 30.5 minutes with just over 22 fantasy points. That is a reasonable baseline, with another handful of fantasy points readily attainable, against the worst defense in the league. Considering his rock bottom salary on DraftKings ($3,500, 38.1%) and FanDuel ($3,900, 44.1%), expect the 45th overall selection from last year’s NBA Draft to be one of the more popular plays of the night, if of course he is in the starting lineup.
Tidying things up for Toronto, Orlando Robinson would be a neutral punt option, if Boucher is ruled out. If Boucher is in, then things are crowded, as long as Poeltl reclaims the pivot position as expected.
If Jordan Poole (elbow) returns from a three-game absence and Richaun Holmes is available to play, things are pretty muddled for the Wizards. Khris Middleton, Kyshawn George and rookie Alexandre Sarr are neutral options, would would move up into tertiary targets, if Pool or Holmes is out. They can be avoided on FanDuel, unless this named duo are unavailable AND joined by a third player. Otherwise the salaries are just a little too high, to account for the uneven playing time, when there is a full rotation.
NBA DFS Picks Today: Building Blocks
Tari Eason: Rockets vs. Pelicans
NBA DFS Projections
DraftKings: 31.11 | FanDuel: 32.35
NBA DFS Ownership Projections
DraftKings: 34.3% | FanDuel: 23.2%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $5,600 | FanDuel: $6,500
Tari Eason looks like a strong play, even with a 28-minute baseline projection. The oft-injured third-year wing has an appealing DFS skillset, plus the Rockets have been mostly predictable with his minutes, when he is available.
Over his last 11 appearances, including seven starts, the native Washingtonian has averaged 29.2 minutes, with 14.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and most appealing, 2.7 stocks.
Looking at the Stokastic NBA Boom/Bust Tool, we can see that Amen Thompson has seen enough of an increase to his salary, that his Bust probability now exceeds his Boom potential. He is still very much in play, since he is a demon on defense and continues to have a major role as a non-traditional offensive facilitator, with Fred VanVleet out. It is just important for gamers to understand that the “profit potential” will not be as easily recognized, though a foray to the 50-fantasy point plateau is still in the range of potential outcomes.
Alperen Sengun should not have much trouble with rookie Yves Missi, journeyman Kelly Olynyk or a resurgent Zion Williamson in the paint. There will be extra competition for rebounds, but with so much of the Houston post play going through Sengun, he is shaping up as a preeminent center-only option, pacing to be on one-third of all tournament rosters on the blue site. Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks are neutral plays on DraftKings, in the 12%-to-15% range, though this duo is projecting for nearly double that on FanDuel.
The salaries for Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy III have increased enough, that similar to Thompson, this duo will be hard-pressed to significantly overperform. Williamson has deservedly crested over $9,000 on both of the main DFS sites, with Murphy about a grand behind.
Today’s Top Sports Betting Pick
For those that keep clamoring for an over, we have Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 5.5 assists prop on FanDuel at +106, with BetRivers, SugarHouse and Unibet not far behind at +102.
The screenshot of Portfolio EV shows that this wager has a historical 2.1% ROI. The combination of today’s matchup variables, along with the +106 odds, results in a strong 4.9% expected value when factoring in the -104 “True Odds.”
HardRock is putting out an incredibly punitive line at -200, while several other operators have pushed the assist target to o6.5, which works out to a negative 10.0% ROI, even with a +130 payout. Be a savvy shopper!
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Stokastic’s Advanced NBA Statistical Projections have Antetokounmpo projected for 34.1 minutes and 5.23 assists. That is below the 5.5 target, though still in play at “plus” money.
In the six games since Antetokounmpo has gotten back to 30-plus minutes of run, the Bucks are 5-1, with the two-time NBA MVP averaged 31.2 minutes and 7.2 assists. Make no mistake, Orlando is far from an easy matchup, with solid defense and a preference to slow down the pace. To counter that, over the last 10 games, Milwaukee is playing at the third-fastest pace in the league with 102.9 possessions per 48 minutes. Giannis has nearly a 32% assist rate this season, while averaging 9.2 potential assists over the last 10 games.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today
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