Monday’s NBA action welcomes a new work week with an eight-game main slate starting 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 Brandon Ingram.
NBA DFS Picks Today: Monday, March 27
Core Play of the Day — Brandon Ingram: New Orleans Pelicans-Portland Trail Blazers
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 44.67 | FanDuel: 42.77
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings 17.0% | FanDuel: 16.4%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $8,900 | FanDuel: $9,000
If “trusting” Kyrie Irving or Luka Doncic to have a strong performance tonight (Doncic’s suspension has been rescinded) feels a little too daunting, Brandon Ingram is the perfect pivot option. In addition to having one of the best nicknames in the league, Slenderman has been in the zone on the court, with back-to-back 50-fantasy-point performances.
Over his last six games, Ingram has averaged 35.6 minutes and 20.3 field goal attempts with a stellar 50.8% conversion rate while also being successful 42.3% of the time on 4.3 3-point attempts during this stretch. This has culminated in 28.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 8.5 assists, and 1.0 combined blocks and steals. Tonight the Pelicans are double-digit road favorites against the depleted Trail Blazers. New Orleans can still climb out of the Play-In Tournament, so this is an “all hands on deck” game. The Pelicans have won their last four games and are on a roll. CJ McCollum, Jonas Valanciunas and Trey Murphy III are all viable tournament options tonight.
Even with 16 teams in the player pool tonight, the Portland Trail Blazers will be dominating our plans, with four of the six most popular options in the early projection runs. Damian Lillard, Jusuf Nurkic, Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant and Justise Winslow are all likely shut down for the season. This is a back-to-back game, and Trendon Watford played just 11 minutes on Sunday before suffering an ankle sprain.
If Watford starts, we should consider him a full go. If he is out, then Nassir Little, Jabari Walker and Kevin Knox II will get a minutes boost filling the void. Little is a strong option tonight, regardless of Watford’s status, though the other two can be skipped if Watford is available.
Shaedon Sharpe, Drew Eubanks and Keon Johnson are the aforementioned discount dandies du jour, with Cam Reddish and Ryan Arcidiacono entering the mix for the late-slate contests.
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Nikola Jokic: Denver Nuggets-Philadelphia 76ers
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 61.37 | FanDuel: 58.46
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings 14.8% | FanDuel: 7.9%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $11,400 | FanDuel: $12,000
There are several question marks at the top of Monday’s player pool. Giannis Antetokounmpo has been getting strategic rest days while also managing a balky knee, so it would not be a shock to see him ruled out for a matchup against the Pistons in Detroit that is certainly winnable without him on the court.
Update: Giannis Antetokounmpo ruled out.
Similarly, this is the third game in four days for Philadelphia, and with James Harden questionable and potentially missing a third consecutive game, coach Glen Rivers could elect to take a “schedule loss” and give Joel Embiid a rest day. Even though, that would give NBA Twitter something to yammer on and on about Embiid ducking the two-time reigning NBA MVP.
Update: Joel Embiid ruled out.
Nikola Jokic has been one of the most frequent topics in this article series, so there is not much left to say about him. On the season, he is averaging 33.9 minutes and 15.0 field goal attempts with a career-best 63.3% conversion rate. This works out to 24.9 points, 11.8 rebounds, 9.9 assists, and 1.9 combined blocks and steals, and Jokic could become the third player in NBA history to average a triple-double for a full season, after Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook.
Additional NBA DFS Building Blocks Pick — Sports Betting Opportunities
Devin Booker is an intriguing option in the sports wagering market tonight, with his assists prop sitting at 5.5. Only twice in his last nine games has he posted more than six assists, though to be fair, he has landed on five each of the last three games. In 47 games on the season, Booker is averaging 5.4 assists per game. Between the easy matchup and both Chris Paul and Cameron Payne being healthy, we can hope that Booker does more scoring than dishing tonight.
NBA Bet Pro has the 26-year-old projected for 34.0 minutes and 4.81 assists. This leads to a 56% likelihood that he will fall below the six assists needed tonight, and the current line of +105 at BetMGM provides an excellent 8% expected ROI.
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Minnesota Timberwolves-Sacramento Kings
This is a back-to-back for the Timberwolves, who squeaked by the Warriors 99-96 in Golden State last night. There is a chance that Karl-Anthony Towns gets a rest day after playing only twice in the last week after a nearly four-month layoff. Rudy Gobert is perpetually carrying a questionable tag, and even Anthony Edwards has been dinged up. Minnesota is just half a game away from escaping the Play-In Tournament, so any players missing time would be due to a legitimate injury or rest concerns. If Towns is out, Gobert and Naz Reid will receive a nice boost in this matchup against a marginal Sacramento frontcourt.
The Kings currently have the third-best record in the Western Conference, and they are about to clinch a postseason berth. Domantas Sabonis continues to be a strong play, even with his increasing salary. De’Aaron Fox missed the last game with a hamstring issue, and there is no need for the Kings to rush him back early, as this will be the first time they have made the postseason since the 2005-06 season, when their roster consisted of such luminaries as Mike Bibby, Kevin Martin, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Metta World Peace and Bonzi Wells.
If Fox is out, Davion Mitchell is likely to draw another start, though his fantasy upside is limited. Most of the production vacated by Fox would be assumed by Malik Monk, Harrison Barnes, rookie Keegan Murray and veteran Trey Lyles.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks Building Blocks Today
Tonight is staggered slate with three games getting under way in the first 30 minutes, to more in the 9 o’clock hour and then the final wave of three tipping off after 10 p.m. ET. Get ready for the slate with all of 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 Bet365.
