Monday brings a new week with a four-game featured slate, tipping off at 7 p.m. ET on 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. Let’s dig into the NBA DFS picks and core plays like Jalen Brunson, Domantas Sabonis and Tyrese Haliburton. Plus, there are injury situations to monitor with the Miami Heat in the final game of the night, which could dramatically impact the player pool. Subscribe today for access to our industry-leading resources, including our lineup generator (available for NFL, NBA, MLB and PGA), our DFS simulation tools (available for NFL, NBA, MLB, PGA, MMA and NASCAR) and our industry-leading projections for every sport.
NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: Monday, February 26
NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks
Jalen Brunson: New York Knicks vs. Detroit Pistons
Stokastic’s Fantasy Point Projections
DraftKings: 48.53 | FanDuel: 46.62
Stokastic’s Rostership Projections
DraftKings: 19.1% | FanDuel: 39.1%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $9,700 | FanDuel: $9,600
Jalen Brunson gets a great matchup tonight as he continues to carry the New York offense while Julius Randle is out. O.G. Anunoby remains out as well, which has led to the Knicks playing at a snail’s pace over the last 10 games, with just 93.2 possessions per 48 minutes. The matchup against Detroit should help them gain a few more possessions, and the Knicks have a solid 117.3 projected team total.
Precious Achiuwa continues to log major minutes with Mitchell Robinson and Randle out, even though Isaiah Hartenstein has returned. He is a secondary option, as are Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart, given that there are only four games on the docket.
From the Pistons, Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, Jaden Ivey and Ausar Thompson are all fringe tournament targets. For those needing a storyline, keep in mind these teams swapped Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks for Quentin Grimes and picks. None of that trio is overly interesting, but it is a shallow player pool, so they are not the worst “last man in” candidates.
Domantas Sabonis: Sacramento Kings vs. Miami Heat
Stokastic’s Fantasy Point Projections
DraftKings: 53.07 | FanDuel: 49.91
Stokastic’s Rostership Projections
DraftKings: 22.8% | FanDuel: 15.1%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $10,200 | FanDuel: $10,800
The Kings are on a back-to-back after dispatching the visiting Los Angeles Clippers 123-107. Domantas Sabonis led the way with his 20th triple-double of the season, which leads the league. He is also the reigning rebound king and could very well win that crown for a second consecutive season given his 13.2 boards per game.
Sabonis (35.8), Keegan Murray (37.1), Harrison Barnes (35.6) and De’Aaron Fox (32.7) played the most minutes in the matchup.
UPDATE: Okay, the deck has been reshuffled with both Herro and Rozier already ruled out. That has Wright projecting to be on 90% of all rosters on both DraftKings and FanDuel. Bam Adebayo will get more offensive touches, putting him at the forefront of the center-only options and Jaquez, Robinson and Martin are all above average fantasy point per dollar plays.
Miami is going to be shorthanded tonight, with Jimmy Butler, Nikola Jovic and Thomas Bryant all serving suspensions for the altercation with the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday. Tyler Herro is questionable after tweaking his knee at the end of that game, and Terry Rozier (knee) may not quite be ready to return to action after missing the better part of two weeks. This will impact the Miami defense, and the Kings have a 116.5 projected team total, which is only a bucket shy of their season average.
If Rozier is a go, his salary has fallen to $6,000 on FanDuel, which has him projecting to be on two-thirds of all rosters. DraftKings has him at $6,700, so he is receiving just one-fourth of the interest when compared to the blue site. If Rozier is out, recent waiver claim Delon Wright should see major minutes in his Miami debut. If Herro is out, Duncan Robinson is likely to draw a start, and he has performed well this season when running with the first five. Robinson, Caleb Martin and rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. were already seeing steady rotational minutes with Josh Richardson on ice, but the absence of Butler ensures they are solid selections and will become key targets if Herro sits. This is the final game of the night, so plan ahead for the different contingencies if the Rozier and Herro news is still pending as the first three games lock.
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NBA DFS Picks: Key Games
Indiana Pacers vs. Toronto Raptors
After trading Anunoby and Pascal Siakam, the Raptors have been a bottom-4 defense over the last 15 games. Indiana has one of the most efficient offenses in the league, and Tyrese Haliburton looks like he is beyond his hamstring issue after playing 34 minutes in three of the last four games. Last year in his breakout campaign, he averaged 33.6 minutes, and he was right around there this season prior to his injury. Currently he leads the league with 11.7 assists per game while also being a nightly threat for 50 fantasy points. The 23-year-old is particularly interesting on FanDuel, where he is seeing half the popularity of Brunson, though they are separated by just $100 salary.
Siakam has been up and down since joining the Pacers, but he did have a stellar showing against his former in Toronto three games ago. Myles Turner also rates out favorably, and he has been right around 40 fantasy points each of his last four games. Bennedict Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard are neutral options on DraftKings, and they are barely on the radar for FanDuel tournaments.
Siakam has helped improve the Indiana defense, but Scottie Barnes is still a strong option across the various NBA DFS sites. RJ Barrett has been managing a knee issue, but he is expected to play tonight and should be in line for 28 to 30 minutes. Jakob Poeltl is yet another center option, with Bruce Brown Jr. and Kelly Olynyk being tournament wild cards.
Today’s Top Sports Betting Pick
Kevin Huerter looks like someone to target against in the sports wagering market with the under on his 3.5 rebounds prop, which is currently available at odds of +100 on Hard Rock.
This is a good example that demonstrates the power of letting OddsShopper do the heavy lifting when researching favorable bets.
The next-best odds at the most popular books are in the -115 to -122 range, which is close to a 3% tax for not doing any legwork.
Per the true odds of -114 (how OddsShopper measures the potential expected ROI of a given wager), this opportunity has a nifty 4.2% positive expected ROI as a function of the inefficient line.
NBA Bet Pro currently has Huerter projected for 25.8 minutes and 3.81 rebounds. That median projection is above the 3.5 target, but keep in mind a range of outcomes is far different than one specific projection.
Minutes are always a wild card with Huerter and the other guards and wings for Sacramento, with Malik Monk recently getting extra run off the bench, while veteran Harrison Barnes and Huerter are getting pinched a little. Over his last nine starts, Huerter has seen his playing tie range from 17.2 minutes to 33.7 minutes, averaging 25.5 and 2.8 rebounds. In this stretch, he has four or more rebounds twice, though they came in the last three games. Even with all of the injuries, Miami is still a top-10 rebounding team and, of course, Sabonis is also going to factor into the opportunities left for Huerter.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today
Check out the Stokastic NBA Live Before Lock Show starting at 6:00 p.m. ET on YouTube, breaking down all of the key elements for today’s slate. Brought to you by PrizePicks – new users, use this link to receive a $100 first deposit match AND – ONE FREE MONTH of OddsShopper Premium! Full details here.
