Friday’s NBA action wraps up the work week with a terrific 10-game main slate beginning 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 the enigmatic Anthony Davis.
NBA DFS Picks Today: Friday, Mar. 3
Core Play of the Day — Anthony Davis: Los Angeles Lakers-Minnesota Timberwolves
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 55.43 | FanDuel: 55.31
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings 29.5% | FanDuel: 13.2%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $10,200 | FanDuel: $11,500
Anthony Davis sat out the second leg of a back-to-back on Wednesday, while the Los Angeles understudies took care of business with a 123-117 win in Oklahoma City, giving the Lakers four victories in their last five tilts. LeBron James (foot) is out for at least three weeks and may not return if Los Angeles has fallen out of the postseason race.
D’Angelo Russell is sidelined with an ankle injury, so Davis should see ample opportunities from a fantasy perspective. Over the last 15 games, the Timberwolves have allowed 111.5 points per 100 possessions which is the seventh best defensive efficiency rating during that timeframe. In this same span the Lakers rank third and the Timberwolves fourth in pace of play, so that should mitigate any DFS concerns.
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New Orleans Pelicans-Golden State Warriors
Zion Williamson, Larry Nance Jr. and Jose Alvarado are all out with injuries and Jonas Valanciunas is doubtful after missing Wednesday’s game with an ankle injury. Golden State thrashed the Clippers 115-91 in San Francisco last night and they are still awaiting the return of Stephen Curry (shoulder) and Andrew Wiggins (personal).
CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram are solid tournament options who project for right around 40 fantasy points as a median outcome, with access to the 50 fantasy point plateau if things go their way. Wings Trey Murphy, Josh Richardson, Herbert Jones and Naji Marshall are neutral options on the featured slate and strong point per dollar plays on the four-game late-slate.
Guillermo “Willy” Hernangomez makes for an intriguing value option if he draws his second start of the season, though if he is coming off the bench there should be some trepidation for him to not see the floor. Jaxon Hayes piled up 30 fantasy points in 16 minutes off the bench on Wednesday, but it is hard to see him with another four combined blocks and steals. Tournaments only, with the added caveat that he is better on sites that have granted him power forward eligibility. We can skip both of these players in the off-chance Valanciunas is able to return to action.
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In his last two back-to-back game sets, Klay Thompson played 35.9 and 28.5 minutes followed up by 26.7 and 35.5 minutes 10 days ago. Currently he is not on the injury report and it is reasonable to project him for 30-32 minutes in this fantasy friendly matchup. Draymond Green is also a risk in back-to-backs now that he is in his age 33 season, though as long as he is in the starting lineup something in the 28-30 minutes range is a reasonable estimate of his playing time.
Jordan Poole and Donte DiVincenzo are viable tournament options on the main slate who move into the core play category for the late-slate. Kevon Looney is one of a seemingly endless wave of centers and Jonathan Kuminga is a tricky player to trust as he rarely see more than 25 minutes (twice in his last 11 games).
Additional NBA DFS Building Blocks Pick – Sports Betting Opportunities
Cameron Johnson looks intriguing in the betting market tonight, with his 21.5 over/under points + rebounds + assists (PRA) prop. In seven starts as a Brooklyn Net, Johnson is averaging 19.0 points, 3.6 assists and 1.3 assists in 28.9 minutes per game.
Even accounting for the difficult matchup against Boston, NBA Bet Pro has Johnson projected for 17.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists along with a 56% likelihood that surpasses the over, BetMGM currently has this wager available at +105, giving it a stellar 15% expected ROI.
Did you know that you can get two free months of Stokastic+ Platinum for signing up and making your first bet at BetMGM? Claim here today!
Los Angeles Clippers-Sacramento Kings
The Clippers were bussed up to Northern California after losing in San Francisco and tonight they face a red hot Kings squad in Sacramento. Kawhi Leonard (rest) is out, while Norman Powell (arm), Marcus Morris Sr. (elbow) and Ivica Zubac (calf) are all game-time decisions. Powell played last night, but the latter two players did not.
The alleged minutes cap for Paul George appears to be very soft and he played just 27 minutes last night in the shellacking. Tonight he is an above average option as is Mason Plumlee, if Zubac is out once again.
Russell Westbrook has been a bad luck charm in his time with the Clippers and the team has lost all four of his starts. The Lakers lost their first three games of the season, before removing Westbrook from their starting lineup and the team lost the final seven games Westbrook started last year. That gives the erstwhile MVP 14 consecutive losses as a starting point guard. Yikes! For fantasy purposes, Westbrook will be in the mix for 35-40 points tonight, which makes him a viable option in the DFS world.
Depending on how many of the questionable players are out, Terance Mann and Eric Gordon are worth considering in the late-slate tournaments.
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Sacramento comes down to their two All-Stars being the best options from the team when everyone is healthy. Domantas Sabonis leads the league with 12.4 rebounds per game and with 49 double-doubles. FanDuel is the best place to employ his services as he has power forward eligibility on the Blue site.
De’Aaron Fox is dealing with a wrist injury and he sat out on Tuesday. Hopefully the five-day respite since seeing the court enables him to be in the starting lineup. He was a full participant in practice yesterday and with Sacramento trying to hang on to the third best record in the Western Conference, it sounds like he will be suiting up. The 25-year-old has 49 or more fantasy points in eight of his last 11 appearances.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks Building Blocks Today
Tonight should be a crazy one with four games tipping off at 10 p.m. ET or later. Be sure to get all the latest analysis and information by tuning in to the Stokastic Deeper Dive and Live Before Lock shows at 4:45 p.m. ET on YouTube, brought to you by NoHouseAdvantage.
