NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks: Don't Fade Pascal Siakam (March 16)

In typical Thursday fashion, the NBA offers a small five-game slate this evening, beginning at 7 p.m. ET on both DraftKings and FanDuel. Using Stokastic’s NBA DFS projections, let’s take a deeper dive into the player pool to discuss the top NBA DFS building blocks for today. Be sure to check out the Stokastic NBA DFS & Fantasy Basketball home page, where you can find fantasy basketball picks and analysis for each slate of games.

NBA DFS Building Blocks Today: Thursday, March 16

Core Play of the Day — Pascal Siakam: Oklahoma City Thunder-Toronto Raptors

Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 42.62 | FanDuel: 41.45
Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings: 25.00% | FanDuel: 40.30%
DFS Salary: DraftKings: $8,400 | FanDuel: $8,400

Pascal Siakam looks like a clear core building block in all formats tonight. He is matched up with a Thunder team that gives up a ton of fantasy points to opposing big men, and Siakam is expected to be one of highest-owned players on both DraftKings and FanDuel. Siakam comes in averaging 45.2 DraftKings points per game but has seen his production drop recently. However, at a cheap $8,400 price tag on both DraftKings and FanDuel, he has one of the highest ceilings of any player on the slate. With Toronto fighting for its proverbial playoff life, expect the Raptors’ best effort tonight, with Siakam presumably playing his usual 37 to 40 minutes. Siakam is too cheap across both sites, making him hard to get away from on this small five-game slate.

Additional NBA DFS Building Blocks Picks Today – Sports Wagering Opportunities

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Latest NBA DFS Content

Indiana Pacers-Milwaukee Bucks

There is a lot to like on both the Pacers and Bucks this evening. The Pacers have been a top target for value recently due to Myles Turner, Tyrese Haliburton and T.J. McConnell sitting out the past two games. All three of them are again questionable tonight, with Buddy Hield joining the questionable tag party. Chris Duarte and Bennedict Mathurin have already been ruled out, so Indiana could be extremely shorthanded tonight. The Pacers aren’t in a great spot against Milwaukee, but there’s potential for major value here if more players are ruled out.

The story is semi-similar in Milwaukee, where Brook Lopez and Jae Crowder are both questionable and Grayson Allen has been ruled out. There is definitely some blowout concern here, especially if Haliburton and company sit, but Giannis Antetokounmpo should destroy this Pacers frontcourt for however many minutes he plays. Khris Middleton also looks to be regaining his old form, and at $8,200 on DraftKings, he offers real upside. If Lopez is out, Bobby Portis should see a nice bump in minutes and would look great in any format for a dream spot against Indiana.

Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks Today

There are only 10 teams on the main slate tonight, so while there will be news leading up to lock, it should be easy enough to handle. Be sure to check out Stokastic Deeper Dive and Live Before Lock shows to see who is in and who is out on tonight’s slate.

Author

Matthew Belman

Matt Belman graduated from Tulane University with a degree in Consumer Behavior. He has been playing and analyzing DFS full time since 2018. He has qualified for the 2023 DraftKings NBA World Championship (5x), the 2023 DraftKings MLB World Championship (2x), the 2023 FanDuel MLB World Championship (2x) and the 2023 DraftKings NFL World Championship. You can find him on X at @fantasytipsmatt.