NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks: Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum (March 6)

Monday’s NBA action begins a new week with a splendiferous six-game featured slate tipping off at 7:00 p.m. ET on both DraftKings and FanDuel. There are several options in the player pool worth analyzing to find the top NBA DFS building blocks and NBA DFS picks for DraftKings and FanDuel lineups, including defensive specialist Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum of the Pelicans in a dream matchup against the Sacramento Kings.

NBA DFS Picks Today: Monday, Mar. 6

Core Play of the Day — Brandon Ingram: New Orleans Pelicans-Sacramento Kings

Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 42.79 | FanDuel: 41.1
Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings 18.4% | FanDuel: 26.3%
DFS Salary: DraftKings: $8,600 | FanDuel: $8,500

Tonight the Pelicans are on the road in Sacramento against the fantasy-friendly defense of the Kings. Over the last 10 games, Sac-Town has allowed 122.9 points per 100 possessions, which is the second most in the league. The Kings are also playing at a top-five pace during this timeframe, with a tick over 101 possessions per 48 minutes.

Even if Jonas Valanciunas (calf) is able to return from his two-game absence, Brandon Ingram should thrive in this matchup. Ingram has been a steady fantasy contributor over the last three seasons, and whenever Zion Williamson is out, the player known as “Slenderman” is a threat to flirt with the 50-fantasy-point plateau.

In his last 11 games, the 25-year-old is averaging 28.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 0.5 steals, which works out to just over 40 fantasy points per appearance.

Teammate CJ McCollum is also a strong option tonight that may be overlooked as gamers flock to his former teammate Damian Lillard, fantasy stalwart Joel Embiid and two-time reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic at the top of the salary sheet. McCollum projects for just over 40 fantasy points in this matchup, and he has realized that level of production in three of his last six games.

If Valanciunas is out for a third consecutive game, Jaxson Hayes and Guillermo “Willy” Hernangomez will remain fantasy viable options, though their respective salaries now account for their recent increase in opportunities.

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Additional NBA DFS Building Blocks Pick – Sports Betting Opportunities

Joel Embiid is an intriguing player to target in the betting market, with a points + rebounds + assists prop (PRA), set at 47.5, and while this is a lofty total, it is a cherry matchup against the Pacers in Indiana. Embiid has seen his rebounds slip this season, though he is averaging a career-best 33.0 points, which is well above his league-leading 30.6 from last season.

The PRA prop gives us a little leeway if the scoring is down, but the rebounds are up in any particular game. For the season, the Cameroonian is averaging 47.4 points + rebounds + assists.

NBA Bet Pro has Embiid projected for 33.54 points, 10.92 rebounds and 3.80 assists for a 48.26 PRA. Though this has a low-ish 57% likelihood that Embiid surpasses the over, BetMGM currently has this wager available at -115, giving it a respectable 5% expected ROI.

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Portland Trail Blazers-Detroit Pistons

This is a back-to-back and the third game in four nights for Portland. Last night, Damian Lillard led the Trail Blazers to a thrilling 122-119 victory over the Magic in Orlando. Lillard is playing heavy minutes trying to keep his squad in postseason contention, and with Jusuf Nurkic and Anfernee Simons both dealing with injuries, the diminutive guard has more than filled the void. In his last 25 games, he is averaging 37.3 minutes, 38.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists. In 11 of these outings, he has scored 40 or more points, including games of 50, 60 and 71. The workload is going to catch up to him at some point, but until then he is a strong fantasy selection.

Drew Eubanks and Trendon Watford are secondary targets where they have power forward eligibility, and they should thrive against the shorthanded Detroit frontcourt. The main knock on them is that they are essentially splitting 48 minutes at center and their salaries have increased throughout Nurkic’s extended absence.

Matisse Thybulle has averaged 30.8 minutes in his eight starts for Portland, and he has the green light to take 3-pointers, with 4.6 per game. He is also averaging 3.9 combined blocks and steals, and while that is tough to specifically count on, it does give him fantasy upside when things break his way.

Jerami Grant, Cam Reddish and Nassir Little are placeholder values, though they are likely to be replaced by better point-per-dollar options as news percolates throughout the day.

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Bojan Bogdanovic, Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Duren are all out. Killian Hayes (hand), James Wiseman (knee) and Rodney McGruder (ankle) are all game-time decisions. If Wiseman is out, Marvin Bagley III becomes one of the best options on the slate, as he should approach 30 minutes and he has produced 37 or more fantasy points in four of his last six games.

Jaden Ivey and Alec Burks will get a boost if Hayes is unable to go, with Cory Joseph and Isaiah Livers becoming desperation punts. Hamidou Diallo continues to see enigmatic results, though when everything clicks, he is a threat for 40 fantasy points. If Hayes or Wiseman is in street clothes tonight, Diallo will be a viable tournament play.

Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks Building Blocks Today

Tonight is a frontloaded slate with four of the six games tipping off in the first 30 minutes and the final two getting underway at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET. Be sure to get all the latest analysis and information by tuning in to the Stokastic Deeper Dive and Live Before Lock shows at 5:00 p.m. ET on YouTube, brought to you by No House Advantage.

Author

Eric MacPherson

Eric "EMac" MacPherson won the 2007 Fantasy Baseball grand prize (trip for two to the MLB All-Star game) in the Roto format on ESPN. He won again in 2008, this time in the H2H format. As one of the early adopters of daily fantasy sports, EMac has been providing content for baseball and basketball as well as both professional and college football since 2012 for a variety of websites including DraftKings Playbook, FanVice, RotoWorld, Daily Fantasy Bootcamp, and RotoGrinders. He is well into his third decade of fantasy sports and has a wealth of knowledge and experience. Follow him on Twitter @EMacDFS or contact EMac by emailing [email protected].