NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks: Buy Devin Booker vs. Kings (March 11)

Saturday’s NBA action will take a page from March Madness with a nine-game main slate locking at 7 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 Devin Booker, who is back to being the featured offensive option in Phoenix.

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NBA DFS Picks Today: Saturday, March 11

Core Play of the Day — Devin Booker: Phoenix Suns-Sacramento Kings

Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 49.78 | FanDuel: 47.9
Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings 14.5% | FanDuel: 6.9%
DFS Salary: DraftKings: $9,900 | FanDuel: $10,400

Devin Booker is suddenly back to being the top offensive option for the Suns with Kevin Durant expected to miss the remainder of March with an ankle injury. While there is no discount when it comes to his salary cap hit, that’s actually depressing Booker’s projected popularity into the single digits on FanDuel — and likely into the low-to-mid-teens on DraftKings.

Injuries have limited Booker to just 39 games this season, but he is having his best year from a fantasy perspective. Over his last four games, the 26-year-old is averaging 34.1 minutes and a phenomenal 24.5 field goal attempts with a 60.2% conversion rate. During this stretch he has produced 38.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.5 combined blocks and steals, resulting in four consecutive outings of 53 or more fantasy points.

Over the last 10 games, Sacramento has been playing at a top-10 pace with 101.4 possessions per 48 minutes while allowing an atrocious 120.3 points per 100 possessions. Sacramento’s offensive efficiency — 125.1 points per 100 possessions — has given them a +4.8 net rating. The Suns are only 3.5-point favorites in Phoenix, and, considering that Sacramento has a 2.5-game lead in the Western Conference standings, this is a crucial game for Booker, Chris Paul and company.

Chicago Bulls-Houston Rockets

Things are suddenly looking up for Chicago in the standings as the Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors continue to lose. The Bulls are now only half a game out of the play-in tournament and have everyone healthy. Over the last 10 games, the Rockets have allowed 120.3 points per 100 possessions which is the second-worst defensive rating in the league. Chicago is favored by 7.5 points on the road, but with Houston also mostly healthy, they have been pushing opposing teams. They are even 2-2 through their last four, although both wins came against a lackadaisical San Antonio squad.

Nikola Vucevic has back-to-back outings with 40-plus fantasy points. Zach LaVine has reached that mark in three of his last four appearances, and DeMar DeRozan has gotten there in three of his last five games. Two members of this trio should get there tonight, with any one of them able to reach the 50 fantasy point plateau. The salaries for this group allow you ample opportunities to roster at least one member with their collective positional eligibility covering every slot.

Tari Eason is the strongest point-per-dollar option from Houston across the DFS sites tonight, particularly where he qualifies at small forward. Coach Stephen Silas seems to have a soft cap of 30 minutes for his key players. Kevin Porter Jr. is expected to return after missing the last game with a thigh bruise, so that will likely cut into the upside of Jalen Green. Super-utility player Jae’Sean Tate is an above-average option on DraftKings, as is Green. Any of the starters make sense for tournaments, but as mentioned, it isn’t certain that any player will see major minutes.

Additional NBA DFS Building Blocks Pick — Sports Betting Opportunities

Josh Okogie is definitely someone to target in the betting market. His points, rebounds and assists (PRA) prop is set at 18.5. In his last seven games without Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson — but before the four games Kevin Durant played — Okogie has tallied 18 or more PRA six times. During these games, the 24-year-old is averaging 33.3 minutes with 17 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists for a sweet, sweet 23.9 PRA. That level or higher is certainly attainable in this cherry matchup against Sacramento’s woeful defense.

NBA Bet Pro has Okogie projected for 32.1 minutes, 13.09 points, 5.89 rebounds and 1.86 assists tonight for a 20.8 PRA. This gives Okogie a 61% probability of surpassing tonight’s PRA milestone. Currently, this wager has a price of -110 at BetMGM, which works out to a stellar 11% expected ROI.

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Dallas Mavericks-Memphis Grizzlies

Luka Doncic is out with a thigh injury and JaVale McGee (ankle) is also unlikely to play. Kyrie Irving’s status is a mystery as he is questionable with a sore foot, while also seemingly ready to miss a game or two for what has become his standard behavior. If Irving plays, he is a phenomenal fantasy option, if he does not… well, the rest of the available Mavericks will see an increase in minutes and opportunities to fill in for their two highest-usage teammates.

Christian Wood becomes an interesting tournament option. Jason Kidd may need to look beyond his defensive shortcomings and give Wood 25-28 minutes as an offensive stopgap. Tim Hardaway Jr. should be in line for upwards of 15 field goal attempts. Low-usage Josh Green will be a discount dandy du jour on tonight’s slate.

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Memphis is also shorthanded with Brandon Clarke lost for the season, Steven Adams likely to be out until the postseason with a knee issue and Ja Morant away from the team for another four games. Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones have all seen their salaries increase as a result of their teammates being on the shelf, but they still have room for “upside profit potential” in this matchup.

Xavier Tillman, Santi Aldama and Dillon Brooks are viable tournament plays on the evening sub-slate, though they are not particularly appealing on the main slate with the 18-team player pool.

Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks Building Blocks Today

Tonight is a relatively condensed slate with all of the games getting underway in a two-hour window. This should lead to a wild night on the tournament leaderboards and keep things hopping in the sports wagering market. We all know that Saturdays in the NBA tend to bring unexpected news regarding player availability, so keep tabs on the headlines.

You can also get all of the latest analysis and information by tuning in to the Stokastic Live Before Lock show at 6:00 p.m. ET on YouTube, brought to you by PrizePicks.

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].