RADIO
Welcome back, RotoBallers, and happy Monday! We have a spectacular seven-game slate on tap tonight on FanDuel. From my years of experience playing NBA DFS, six or seven games is the absolute sweet spot for slate size and I'm excited about a number of really solid game environments tonight, including a 240 point total in Memphis!
We have a number of injuries and players who could sit out or rest that will impact tonight's slate. Let's start with what we know for sure. Damian Lillard, Tristan Thompson, Jakob Poeltl, Jaren Jackson Jr., Brandon Clarke, Jalen Brunson, Darius Garland, and Dennis Smith Jr. are all out tonight. Important news to watch for today would be the status of LaMarcus Aldridge (doubtful), Luka Doncic (questionable), and Cam Reddish (questionable). For a complete injury breakdown, click here for our Rotoballer Daily Injury Report.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel on 3/2/20. These DFS lineup picks can vary from higher-priced players and elite options to lower-priced players and value picks on FanDuel. You can also check out today's DraftKings lineup picks. Find me in the NBA Chat Room or @ThunderDanDFS on Twitter.
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FanDuel DFS Guards
Trae Young - PG, ATL vs. MEM ($9,900)
Like I mentioned in the opener, we have an elite game environment in Memphis tonight with two fast-paced teams squaring off in a high total. The Hawks are only two-point favorites here and the Grizzlies are flying high after knocking off the Lakers this weekend. Trae Young has one of the best matchups on the board tonight as the Grizzlies are a team that has struggled defensively, specifically against ball-handlers and rebounders (ahem...John Collins). He should be a popular play today, but don't let that keep you from rostering him. If Luka Doncic were to miss tonight's game against Chicago, then Trae and Russell Westbrook would be the top spend-ups at the point guard position and I prefer Young tonight for the salary cap savings and because I think this game stays more competitive than the Houston-New York game. If you're game stacking this one, definitely considering running back JA Morant (6,900) who is red-hot right now and simply too cheap.
Terrence Ross - SG, ORL vs. POR ($4,900)
I'm not sure what else Terrance Ross has to do in order to get a price hike, but FanDuel just refuses to price him up which puts him in play on just about every slate. One look at his game log will show you that the guy is as reliable as it comes and he's flashed a 7-8x ceiling recently several times as well. With a 22% usage rate off the bench and a solid 28-32 minute role in the rotation, Ross is an elite play tonight against Portland, a team with a poor defense. I definitely want some exposure to this Magic team as they have both an increase in pace and a big bump in their projected team total in this matchup.
Goran Dragic - PG, MIA vs. MIL ($5,300)
I'm going to go with a sneakier spot here and recommend Dragic as one of my favorite GPP pivots. This game between Milwaukee and Miami is likely to go overlooked with some of the other games on the slate having some big totals. Dragic has a 25% usage rate this season, which is the highest of any bench player on this slate. People often forget about him since he doesn't start, but he has been excellent lately. He's played over thirty minutes in three of his last four games and scored over thirty FanDuel points in those three games. The Heat will be paced up by this Bucks team and while Milwaukee has the best defensive rating in the league, they do give up a lot of threes to opposing guards. I expect this to be a hard-fought, close game and for Miami to lean on their veteran Dragic tonight in this matchup of two Eastern Conference contenders.
FanDuel DFS Forwards
Aaron Gordon - PF, ORL vs. POR ($7,400)
Tonight feels like a great night to jump right back on Aaron Gordon. His string of 50+ FanDuel point outings was finally ended on Saturday in San Antonio, but he is primed to bounce back in a big way in this matchup with Portland. The nice thing is that his dud lowered his price by 600 dollars and is likely to keep some ownership off him at a loaded power forward position. Portland is a team that I love to target with big men, and Gordon specifically has the type of skill set that could give the Blazers fits. His ability to stretch the floor is a matchup nightmare for Portland and his rebounding and passing give him a solid ceiling/floor combination. He's averaging just over seven assists across his last seven games, which just shows that he's taken a more active role in the Orlando offense as a playmaker.
Rudy Gay - SF, SA vs. IND ($4,300)
Rudy is going to be a popular source of salary relief tonight, and for good reason. In the six games that LaMarcus Alridge has missed this season, Gay has played more than twenty minutes and is averaging 24 FanDuel points. The Spurs are likely going to be without Aldridge and are definitely going to be without Jakob Poeltl, who replaced Aldridge in the starting lineup last game. That should mean (I know it's tough to figure out Coach Pop) increased minutes and workload for Gay and teammate Trey Lyles (4,300) who is another solid value play.
Domantas Sabonis - PF, IND @ SA ($8,700)
The decisions we are forced to make at power forward tonight are tough. I already mentioned Aaron Gordon and John Collins in great spots and Trey Lyles as a potentially elite value. And if Luka Doncic ends up missing tonight then Kristaps Porzingis probably becomes the highest owned player at the position after he dropped 75 FanDuel points on Minnesota yesterday sans-Luka. But I have to mention Sabonis here as an elite GPP pivot. He's one of my favorite players in the league right now and is consistently flashing some of the most well-rounded play of any big man. He's quietly gone over 50 FanDuel points twice in the last three games and has come up only one assist shy of a triple-double in those two games. He's a lock for a healthy double-double nightly and tonight he could feast on a banged-up Spurs team that is forced to play small due to injuries.
FanDuel DFS Centers
Andre Drummond - C, CLE vs. UTA ($7,600)
With Tristan Thompson out again tonight, we should see Andre Drummond get the majority of minutes at center for Cleveland. He is fresh off a 62 FanDuel point performance on Saturday and badly underpriced compared to where he was priced when starting in Detroit (around 9-10k). A matchup with Utah doesn't look great on paper, but these Cavs are only seven-point underdogs at home and Utah has not been playing all that well lately. Targeting centers against Gobert is actually a trend I've been following the last few seasons and despite his reputation as an elite defender, he does give up some big stat lines to opposing big men. I look for Drummond to grab fifteen or more rebounds tonight and rack up his usual 3-4 blocks/steals on the way to a solid performance.
