NBA DFS action on Thursday, March 25, locks at 7:30 p.m. ET with a mega five-game main slate on Yahoo, DraftKings, FanDuel and SuperDraft. Before you lock in your lineups, make sure to check out Awesemo’s daily fantasy basketball picks, rankings and projections. Let’s dig into some daily fantasy basketball picks, including Bam Adebayo, Julius Randle, Tyrese Haliburton and more.
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NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks, Thursday, March 25th
Yahoo Play of the Day – Tyrese Haliburton: Sacramento Kings at Golden State Warriors
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 35.19 | DraftKings: 35.29
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 40.4% | FanDuel 36.5% | DraftKings 29.3%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $20 | FanDuel $5,700 | DraftKings $6,000
In four of his last five games, Tyrese Haliburton has played 32 or more minutes. While this is the third game in four nights for Sacramento and Haliburton is coming off consecutive 36-minute outings, it seems reasonable to project him in the 32- to 34-minute range. This is a very winnable game for the Kings; they are favored by a bucket against the Warriors, who will be without Stephen Curry through the weekend.
The Kings have dealt Cory Joseph to the Pistons for Delon Wright. This leaves Buddy Hield, Harrison Barnes and DaQuan Jeffries as the non-traditional facilitators behind De’Aaron Fox and Haliburton. Sacramento has won four of their last five and is battling to reach the play-in tournament. It is going to be an all-hands-on-deck game for the Kings, which should provide plenty of fantasy goodness.
Julius Randle: New York Knicks vs. Washington Wizards
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 48.07 | DraftKings: 51.19
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 26.4% | FanDuel 34.8% | DraftKings 17.6%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $46 | FanDuel $10,200 | DraftKings $10,200
We should have no problem making Julius Randle a major focus of our rosters tonight against Washington. On Tuesday the Knicks rolled to a 131-113 victory behind Randle’s 37 points. While New York is getting back to full strength, Randle is still going to be a candidate for 36 to 38 minutes most nights as coach Tom Thibodeau’s best player. This season he is averaging a career-best 37.1 minutes and 17.6 field-goal attempts. While he may see his 5.9 assists per game trend downwards with Elfrid Payton and Derrick Rose back in the mix, he will continue to be a nightly double-double threat with his 23.3 points and 10.9 rebounds per game.
Washington is playing at the fastest pace in the league, with 104.8 possessions per 48 minutes. They are also owners of the fourth-worst defensive efficiency rating, allowing 114.4 points per 100 possessions. New York has averaged 120.0 points in the first two meetings, which is nearly 15 more than their season average.
Bam Adebayo: Miami Heat vs. Portland Trail Blazers
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 39.19 | DraftKings: 40.34
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 20.2% | FanDuel 36.3% | DraftKings 16.9%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $34 | FanDuel $8,000 | DraftKings $8,000
Bam Adebayo is continuing to build on last year’s breakout season. He is producing a nearly identical stat line with 33.7 minutes, 9.5 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.0 combined blocks/steals per appearance. With his ability to produce across many categories, he has become a reliable fantasy option. Tonight he has an excellent matchup against Portland, who will look to protect the paint with a combination of Enes Kanter, Robert Covington and Carmelo Anthony. Over their last 15 games the Blazers are allowing a league-worst 119.8 points per 100 possessions. Additionally, they have posted bottom-five rebounding metrics in this timeframe.
Good Value
Jordan Poole: Golden State Warriors at Sacramento Kings
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 30.25 | DraftKings: 32.28
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 28.6% | FanDuel 25.9% | DraftKings 30.1%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $22 | FanDuel $6,200 | DraftKings $6,100
Stephen Curry is going to be out for at least three more games with his bruised tailbone. That means secure minutes for Jordan Poole, who has moved into the starting lineup. In his three games as a starter Poole is averaging 37.1 minutes and 17.3 field-goal attempts, including 8 from behind the arc. This has translated into 23.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 0.7 steals. In 342 minutes without Curry, Poole is averaging a 23.8% usage rate and nearly 1 Yahoo fantasy point per minute. Even with his increasing price point, he is a fine play in a matchup against the worst defense in the league and is getting a solid run of minutes. Tonight he should be in the mix for fantasy points in the mid-30s, and there is some attainable upside if his shot falls.
Risky Value
Washington Wizards at New York Knicks
The NBA trade deadline is this afternoon at 3:00 p.m. ET. There will likely be enough movement that we will see plenty of value options available. One place gamers may look to is the Washington players other than Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook. While Troy Brown and Moritz Wagner have been traded to Chicago, we need to understand that they have not been part of the recent rotation for coach Scott Brooks. Both Brown and Wagner saw the court just once in the last five games, and that was when the Wizards emptied the bench on Tuesday in New York, pulling the starters for the final frame.
Their absence is not going to do anything with regards to securing minutes for other players. Additionally, considering Washington is facing one of the league’s toughest fantasy matchups, there is not much upside even if a player is going to get unexpected minutes. The Wizards are going to need to move another player or two or even a starter before anyone but their top two stars becomes a viable option.
Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies
- Marcus Morris: PHI at SAS – $11
- James Wiseman: GSW at SAC – $10
- Alex Caruso: LAL vs. PHI – $10
SuperDraft Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks
- De’Aaron Fox: SAC vs. GSW – 1.25x multiplier
- Richaun Holmes: SAC vs. GSW – 1.40x multiplier
- Ivica Zubac: LAC at SAS – 1.60x multiplier
Final Thoughts on Thursday, March 25th NBA DFS Slate
While we will have all of the critical news from today’s trade deadline well before tip-off, we may not know specifically how this could change roles and responsibilities until closer to lock. Keep in mind that salaries and scoring formats differ across the various fantasy sites, and a slam-dunk play on Yahoo may be a below-average NBA DFS pick on DraftKings or FanDuel.