NBA Daily Fantasy Picks: DraftKings + FanDuel Ownership Projections

For Wednesday night, there are 11 NBA games on the schedule, and below are some of my favorite NBA daily fantasy picks for both FanDuel and DraftKings based on Awesemo’s grades and values.

Join AWESEMO+ today!

Use accurate data and advanced tools crafted by the #1 DFS player.

NBA Daily Fantasy Picks: Awesemo Grades | March 24

Point Guard: James Harden

DraftKings Grades: A, Values: A

FanDuel Grades: A, Values: A

Due to a personal matter, Kyrie Irving didn’t travel with the Nets for their two-game West Coast road trip that began in Portland last night. With Kevin Durant (out, hamstring) also still on the shelf, all eyes were on Harden on Tuesday. And he didn’t disappoint, recording 62.75 DraftKings points in the win. Harden has already played five games without Durant and Irving since being acquired by the Brooklyn back in January, supplying 63.1 DraftKings points per game on those occasions.

In those starts, Harden posted a 35.8% usage rate and 56.2% assist percentage, both of which are team highs. Following the victory over Portland, the Nets are right back in action tonight against the Jazz. This showdown between two of the NBA’s best clubs carries a 230-point game total, and contrary to popular belief, this Utah defense has been rather weak recently. In their last 10 the Jazz rank 22nd in defensive rating and are playing at the sixth-highest pace. If these trends continue, this is a prime spot for Harden, and he is worth the paying up for tonight.

Update: Harden has been listed as questionable with a neck injury. He carried this same tag Tuesday and ended up leading the team with 40 minutes. This is obviously a situation to monitor because his absence would open up some elite punts, most notably Bruce Brown and Tyler Johnson. But given Harden’s track record, I highly doubt he will sit tonight.

Projected NBA DFS ownership projection: DraftKings 32.1%, FanDuel 31.5%

Latest NBA DFS Content

Center: Rudy Gobert

DraftKings Grades: B, Values: C

FanDuel Grades: B, Values: B

Monday night Gobert destroyed the Bulls for 56 DraftKings points, and he is in another outstanding spot tonight against the Nets. In Brooklyn’s past five they have yielded a whopping 87.5 DraftKings points per game to opposing centers, which is the highest average in the league by a significant 4.3 fantasy points. If we take a deeper dive into this ugly defensive stretch, these are the last five DraftKings performances by the opposing primary big man facing Brooklyn: Julius Randle 63.5, Domantas Sabonis 61.25, Nikola Vucevic 58, Alex Len 36.25 and Enes Kanter 55.25.

Gobert has a strong chance of erupting tonight, and based on Awesemo’s ownership projections, he is expected to be essentially unowned on both DraftKings and FanDuel.

Projected NBA DFS ownership projection: DraftKings: 1.4%, FanDuel 2.2%

Center: Nicolas Claxton

DraftKings Grades: C, Values: A

FanDuel Grades: C, Values: B

Going against Gobert, I also love Claxton this evening. Claxton’s new role as the Nets’ main center continued last night against Portland, with 28.75 DraftKings points in 22 minutes off the bench. For the fourth consecutive game, he was featured in the Nets’ closing lineup over DeAndre Jordan, receiving 8.5 minutes of the final period. Claxton is now averaging 9.8 fourth quarter minutes in his last four, while Jordan hasn’t seen a single minute in any of these fourth quarters. This is a rather telling stat, and it feels like a forgone conclusion that Claxton will be replacing Jordan in the Nets’ starting five sometime soon.

Nonetheless, Claxton should see close to 25 minutes tonight, especially with Blake Griffin (rest) ruled out, and this matchup with the Jazz has become an outstanding spot for centers to attack. As noted above, Utah has slipped to 22nd in defensive rating over their past 10, and during this stretch they have surrendered the second-most DraftKings points per game to opposing centers. Everything is lining up for Claxton’s success to continue tonight, and we can confidently use him in both cash-games and GPPs.

Projected NBA DFS ownership projection: DraftKings 23.2%, FanDuel 1.4%

[osBestBetsSingleGameOdds league=”nba” date=”03/24/2021″ team=”hornets”]

Shooting Guard: Terry Rozier

DraftKings Grades: B, Values: B

FanDuel Grades: B, Values: B

Life without LaMelo Ball (out, wrist) is going to make Rozier a strong option every night he is in action. Monday was the first instance Ball has been inactive this season, and Rozier finished with 44.25 DraftKings points across 39 minutes in the win over the Spurs. Since the start of the month, in the 105 minutes he has played sans Ball, Rozier’s usage has only seen a 1.6% bump, but his assist rate has skyrocketed a team-high 9.1%. This results in 1.17 DraftKings points per minute, and Rozier is going to be needed for 35 to 40 minutes regularly going forward, particularly tonight in a close projected contest against Houston (Charlotte -3). The Rockets rate as the seventh-worst defense over their last 10, and in the Hornets’ last 10 contests that had a spread under 5, Rozier averaged 39.5 DraftKings points per game.

Projected NBA DFS ownership projection: DraftKings 12.4%, FanDuel 13.4%

Follow us on all of our social channels! Check out our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for more great Awesemo content.

Looking for more NBA daily fantasy picks content? We have loads of NBA daily fantasy picks articles, data, FanDuel cheat sheets and more on the Awesemo NBA home page. Just click HERE.