NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks: Kristaps Porzingis Final Hope (March 31)

Friday’s NBA action is MEGA 13-game main slate tipping off 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 Kristaps Porzingis.

NBA DFS Picks Today: Friday, March 31

Tonight is going to be a wild one, with one of the rare 13-game featured slates. Yesterday the Association had just two games on the docket, with it being Opening Day for the MLB, and on Saturday there are only two games due to the Final Four holding court. So many things are in flux that today this article is going to take a higher-level approach than what has typically been provided throughout the season.

Core Play of the Day — Kristaps Porzingis: Washington Wizards-Orlando Magic

Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 49.61 | FanDuel: 48.69
Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings 12.4% | FanDuel: 20.8%
DFS Salary: DraftKings: $9,500 | FanDuel: $9,600

The only knock against Kristaps Porzingis today is that he plays in one of the four games that tips off at the same time as the main contests lock. There are likely to be other players that reveal themselves as better options, but sometimes a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Porzingis has been stellar over his last seven games, recording 31.2 minutes and 17.0 field goal attempts with a 54.6% conversion rate. This has worked out to 24.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 3.0 combined blocks and steals. Bradley Beal and Kyle Kuzma remain out, which should give Porzingis enough usage and opportunities to make a foray toward the 50-fantasy-point plateau. Daniel Gafford is questionable with a foot injury, which would land even more responsibilities onto the Unicorn if he were to sit. Washington is in must-win territory, and we should expect to see heavy minutes for Porzingis until the Wizards are finally eliminated from the Play-In Tournament.

Chicago Bulls-Charlotte Hornets

Chicago is hanging on to the final spot in the Play-In Tournament, with a two-game lead over Washington. The Bulls will be facing a shorthanded Hornets squad in the Queen City in what should be a winnable game, with Charlotte missing nearly every regular starter and a couple of key reserves.

Nikola Vucevic is a strong option against what was already a weak Charlotte frontcourt, and anything less than a 20-10 double-double is going to be a major disappointment. Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan are excellent point-per-dollar options in the mid-range on DraftKings, and LaVine is also a good play on FanDuel. There is no need to go beyond this trio, with such a large player pool.

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LaMelo Ball, Kelly Oubre Jr., Terry Rozier, Gordon Hayward and Cody Martin are all out, with Dennis Smith Jr. (toe) a game-time decision. If Smith is out, Theo Maledon and Bryce McGowens are discount dandies that will provide tournament differentiation.

PJ Washington is a solid power forward option on Yahoo tonight, while Mark Williams and Nick Richards are on the long list of intriguing centers. Similar to the Porzingis caveat, it may be a stretch going to the Hornets if other value becomes available in the later games.

Additional NBA DFS Building Blocks Pick — Sports Betting Opportunities

Domantas Sabonis is an intriguing option, and his 5.5 assists prop is definitely one to consider tonight. Even with the Kings projected to win handily in Portland, Sabonis tends to be the main offensive facilitator in most games. Currently he is averaging a career-best 7.2 helpers, and he has recorded six or more dimes in 53 of 74 (71.6%) games.

NBA Bet Pro has the 26-year-old projected for 32.5 minutes and 6.86 assists. This gives him a 64% likelihood that he will surpass the 5.5 milestone tonight, and the current line of -105 at BetMGM provides a solid 5% expected ROI.

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Latest NBA DFS Content

Sacramento Kings-Portland Trail Blazers

Domantas Sabonis was in consideration as the Core Play of the Day, though with a loaded center position and the Kings being 14 — yes FOURTEEN — point road favorites in Portland, he may not get enough playing time to reach his full upside. Something in the mid-40-fantasy-point range with a decent chance at 50 fantasy points if the Trail Blazers are even remotely pesky is still possible. Plus, using him in lineups also keeps flexibility available for mid-slate adjustments. De’Aaron Fox and Kevin Huerter are also good options, as they are the main backcourt facilitators in what should be a cakewalk matchup.

Damian Lillard, Jusuf Nurkic, Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant, Keon Johnson, Cam Reddish, Ryan Arcidiacono and Justise Winslow are all out. Trendon Watford is questionable, and if he sits, the Blazers may fail to crack 90 points for a third consecutive game.

Shaedon Sharp, Drew Eubanks, Nassir Little and Kevin Knox all still have some upside, even with their salaries increasing with their new baseline workloads. Sacramento is one of the worst defenses in the league, but at this point Portland would likely be underdogs to half of the teams in the G-League.

Denver Nuggets-Phoenix Suns

Nikola Jokic was held out last night with a sore calf, and Jamal Murray (rest) is confirmed out. It will make sense if Jokic gets another day off, though we may not have answers about his availability until much later tonight, with this game having the latest start time of 10:30 p.m. ET. Denver still has a three-game cushion over Memphis and five games on Phoenix for the best record in the league, so the prudent move would be to rest Jokic. Of course, that could impact how MVP voters think, which makes this an interesting thought exercise.

If Jokic plays, that will make the Suns core options of Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton and Kevin Durant look much better, as at least the Nuggets will be a competitive opponent. If Joker is out, then the Suns are not particularly interesting since we will still likely see the aforementioned quartet play three quarters as they get used to Durant in the mix, which in turn will keep the blowout run to a minimum for the understudies.

Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks Building Blocks Today

Tonight is going to be a chaotic free-for-all, with 26 teams in action and a bolus of questionable players. Adding to the degree of difficulty is a trio of West Coast nightcaps teeming with fantastic options and uncertain injury situations.

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 4:45 p.m. ET on YouTube, brought to you by No House Advantage.

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].