RADIO
We kick off the NBA “work week” with a solid eight-game slate Monday night, one that appears set to provide some high-scoring environments to focus on from a DFS perspective, as well as some intriguing battles during the latter portion of the night in Clippers-Nuggets, Pacers-Nuggets and Lakers-Warriors.
Big-name injuries appear to be at a minimum, so there should be no shortage of options to choose from at every point on the salary scale. The Grizzlies, Spurs, Clippers and Warriors are also on the back end of back-to-back sets, but there’s a big difference between the energy level exerted by Los Angeles’ starters – none logged more than Kawhi Leonard’s 29 minutes in a blowout loss to the Pelicans – and those of Golden State, which saw Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green all put in at least 36 minutes in a tough battle versus the Jazz.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel on 3/15/21. I’ll be providing multiple player suggestions for players at guard, forward and center on FanDuel, aiming to highlight one option apiece at the high, middle and lower end of the salary scale. You can also check out DraftKings lineup picks and injury news before lineups lock. Good luck, RotoBallers.
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FanDuel DFS Guards
Luka Doncic, PG – vs. LAC ($10,200)
Doncic has three sub-50 FD-point tallies in his last four games, a veritable slump by his lofty standards. However, the star point guard should be involved wire to wire in what could be the best game of the night versus the Clippers, a team he already racked up 47.8 FD points against in just 26 minutes back on Dec. 27 in a surprising 124-73 Mavericks rout. Monday’s game should naturally be much more competitive, and Doncic should have his way frequently with Reggie Jackson, as Patrick Beverley (knee) will remain out. Los Angeles also comes in exceedingly vulnerable to point guards of late, allowing the fifth-most FD points per game to ones (52.5) over the last 15.
Devin Booker, SG – vs. MEM ($7,500)
Booker is averaging 38.4 FD points over his last 10 games, a stretch during which he’s tallying 26.6 points (on 50.8 percent shooting), 5.1 assists and 3.7 rebounds across 31.3 minutes. The star shooting guard faces a Grizzlies defense that’s allowing 37.3 percent three-point shooting to two-guards for the season, and that’s given up 41.7 FD points per game to the position over the last 15. Booker put up 32.5 FD points over just 26 minutes the last time he saw Memphis on Feb. 20, and eight of the 13 games in which he’s delivered over 5x return on his current salary have come since Feb. 7.
Reggie Jackson, PG – at DAL ($4,600)
As mentioned earlier, Jackson is due for another start Monday due to Beverley’s absence, and he’ll be looking to build on a solid 21.2 FD-point tally he accomplished in just 24 minutes against the Pelicans on Sunday. Jackson has delivered over 5x his salary in 12 of 36 games, and 10 of those instances have come in starts. The Mavericks have been about middle of the pack statistically against PGs this season, but Dallas is allowing the eighth-most points (27.4) and fifth-most made threes (3.76) per contest to ones over the last 15.
Also consider: James Harden ($11,300); Russell Westbrook ($10,200); Bradley Beal ($9,800); Stephen Curry ($9,400); Kyrie Irving ($9,300); De’Aaron Fox ($9,000); LaMelo Ball ($8,500); Ja Morant ($8,200); Jamal Murray ($7,300); Chris Paul ($6,800); Terry Rozier ($6,700); Malcolm Brogdon ($6,700); Dennis Schroder ($5,900); Jrue Holiday ($5,800); Donte Divincenzo ($4,500)
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FanDuel DFS Forwards
Kawhi Leonard, SF - at DAL ($9,100)
Leonard offers a nice discount over much more expensive options Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James (listed below in the “Also Consider” section), and he shouldn’t be overly affected by the back-to-back scenario he’ll be playing under after logging just the aforementioned 29 minutes against the Pels on Sunday. Like Doncic, Kawhi is worth rostering in a game like this that should be very competitive throughout, and he’ll come in with four tallies of over 50 FD points in his last 11 games, and another four between 42.0 and 49.8 in that sample as well. Leonard missed the Clippers’ first game of the season against the Mavs, and Dallas comes into Monday giving up the second-most points (24.1) and third-most made threes (3.4) per game to small forwards over the last 15.
Khris Middleton, SF – at WAS ($7,400)
Middleton accumulated 41 FD points over just 33 minutes against the Wizards on Saturday, his second tally of that amount in the last three games. The veteran wing is in the midst of another rock-solid season across the board, and he’s currently boasting a career-best 42.4 percent success rate from three-point range. The Wizards should make for appealing targets again Monday, as they continue to play at an NBA-high pace of 107.7 possessions per game and are giving up the fourth-highest three-point shooting percentage (38.6). Moreover, Washington has allowed bottom-10 figures in points (23.2), rebounds (8.9), assists (5.2) and blocks (1.2) per game to small forwards over the last 15 on their way to surrendering an NBA-high 46.0 FD points per contest to threes over that span.
Harrison Barnes, SF – at CHA ($6,300)
Barnes is another veteran wing enjoying a typically productive season across the board, and he’ll check into Monday’s contest averaging 35.7 FD points across his last seven games. Barnes is shooting a red-hot 51.6 percent over that span, while his 49.2 percent season figure in that category is also a career high. The opposing Hornets, which he already touched up for 41.2 FD points in his one previous meeting against them Feb. 28, could coax another strong performance out of him, as they rank in the bottom 10 in offensive efficiency allowed to small forwards (24.1 percent) for the season and have given up the sixth-most FD points per game (44.1) to the position in the last 15 games.
Also consider: Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,100); LeBron James ($10,500); Julius Randle ($9,200); Domantas Sabonis ($9,100); Gordon Hayward ($7,400); Jerami Grant ($7,300); Draymond Green ($7,000); Michael Porter Jr. ($6,700); Marvin Bagley III ($5,900); RJ Barrett ($5,700); Will Barton ($5,500); Rudy Gay ($5,000)
FanDuel DFS Centers
Nikola Jokic – vs. IND ($11,000)
Sometimes the highest-salaried option at the position is worth every penny, and I believe such is the case with Jokic on Monday. The Joker went for what, by his standards, would be considered a modest 39.4 FD points against the Pacers in his prior game against them this season, but he’s a player with an 80-plus fantasy-point ceiling that’s delivered over 5x his current hefty salary in a jaw-dropping 25 of 38 games. Indiana hasn’t been a prohibitive matchup for centers by any means, either – the Pacers are allowing bottom-seven figures in points (24.7) and rebounds (15.7) per game to fives over the last 15 on their way to giving up 55.3 FD points per contest to the position during that span. What’s more, Indiana is yielding the fifth-highest three-point percentage (38.0) overall, while Jokic is shooting a career-high 41.1 percent from distance on 3.7 three-point tries per game.
Montrezl Harrell — at GS ($5,900)
Harrell carries an eye-catching salary for a player that’s put up 42.9 and 37.7 FD points in his last two games, and that also scored 26.2 to 44.8 in four others across his last eight overall. The big man also put up 34.1 FD points over 28 minutes in one of his two games against Golden State this season, and the Warriors are coming off having allowed a massive 24-point, 28-rebound double-double to Rudy Gobert on Sunday afternoon. The Dubs also check in surrendering 55.4 FD points per game to centers in the last 15, and they’ve allowed the fifth-highest offensive efficiency in the paint (59.4 percent) for the season, an area of the floor where 75.4 percent (10.5 points per game) of Harrell’s scoring emanates from.
Cody Zeller – vs. SAC ($4,300)
Zeller is another big who could offer a particularly rewarding return on investment Monday, as he’s facing a Kings team that gives up the highest offensive efficiency (62.8 percent) in the paint and to centers (35.8 percent). Sacramento is also surrendering the fourth-most FD points per game (56.0) to centers for the season, partly the byproduct their bottom-seven rankings in points (23.5), rebounds (16.5) and assists (4.6) given up to the position. Zeller has come back nicely from a four-game absence due to a hip injury, providing 24.9 and 23.9 FD points in the first two games of his return. He’s also fallen just a tenth of an FD point short of delivering at least 5x return on his current salary in 13 of 20 games.
Also consider: Jonas Valanciunas ($7,400); Richaun Holmes ($6,700); Deandre Ayton ($6,300); Jakob Poeltl ($5,800); Brook Lopez ($4,700); James Wiseman ($3,900)
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