Friday’s NBA action takes the form of a frontloaded six-game main slate locking at 7:00 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 Mikal Bridges, who has blossomed in his time with Brooklyn.
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NBA DFS Picks Today: Friday, March 10
Core Play of the Day — Mikal Bridges: Brooklyn Nets-Minnesota Timberwolves
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 38.71 | FanDuel: 38.29
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings 7.4% | FanDuel: 4.8%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $8,200 | FanDuel: $9,000
Mikal Bridges was one of the few regulars that stayed in Brooklyn’s starting lineup last night. Of course, we should have known something was up, and those that were risk averse were rewarded after Bridges logged 12 minutes in the first quarter but sat out the remainder of the game.
Setting aside Thursday’s shenanigans, in his eight preceding starts for the Nets, Bridges has averaged 35.8 minutes and 18.1 field goal attempts with a 55.2% conversion rate. Even more impressive is his 47.8% success rate on 5.8 3-point attempts per game, and while that will, of course, regress, it is clear that Bridges is more than capable of being a top option in an NBA offense. Finishing out his stat line, in this stretch he is averaging 29.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 2.0 combined blocks and steals, with six of the eight performances ending with 44 or more fantasy points.
Cameron Johnson, who was part of the Kevin Durant trade alongside Bridges, also has been performing well for his new team. Foul trouble and an in-game injury have marred two of the last three outings for Johnson, though he has three games with at least 37 fantasy points in his last six starts for the Nets. Johnson is one of the best point-per-dollar options in his salary range, and he also has a reasonable path to 40-fantasy-point upside.
On DraftKings, where the salaries have been looser than FanDuel for the last several weeks, Spencer Dinwiddie, Nicolas Claxton, Royce O’Neale and Day’Ron Sharpe are all in the mix as tournament differentiation options.
Joel Embiid: Philadelphia 76ers-Portland Trail Blazers
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 56.63 | FanDuel: 55.7
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings 8.6% | FanDuel: 5.9%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $11,600 | FanDuel: $12,000
Joel Embiid gets the slight nod over Nikola Jokic tonight, though both centers are among the best options in Friday’s player pool. Philadelphia last played on Tuesday, and Embiid was needed for just 28 minutes in a 117-94 thumping of the Timberwolves in Minnesota. This season, the Cameroonian has tallied less than 40 fantasy points on just four occasions, with only one of those outings occurring after Veteran’s Day, and three of the four efforts still topped 36 fantasy points.
After leading the league last season with 30.6 points per game, Embiid is back on top of the list this season, with a career-best 33.3 points per game. Portland has one of the worst defenses in the league, and even the return of Jusuf Nurkic is not going to be of any concern for Embiid tonight.
Additional NBA DFS Building Blocks Pick – Sports Betting Opportunities
Jaden McDaniels is an off the radar option to target in the betting market, with a points + rebounds + assists (PRA) prop set at 17.5. It all comes down to scoring for the former University of Washington stalwart who is averaging a career best 11.5 points per game. Though he has steadily produced 6-7 combined rebounds and assists per game throughout his career, scoring has never been a priority for the third-year wing during his time with the Timberwolves.
Over the last 11 games, since the trade of D’Angelo Russell and the addition of Mike Conley, McDaniel is averaging 8.9 field goal attempts, 12.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists for an 18.0 PRA in 29.3 minutes per game.
NBA Bet Pro has McDaniels projected for 30.1 minutes and 12.21 points, 4.18 rebounds and 1.72 assists tonight. This gives the 22-year-old a 56% probability of surpassing tonight’s PRA milestone. Currently this wager has a +102 line at BetMGM, which works out to a steady 3% expected ROI.
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Toronto Raptors-Los Angeles Lakers
This should be a fun late-night hammer, as there are multiple players with a path to the 40-fantasy-point plateau. Starting off with the Raptors, they are finally at full health for the first time in what seems like weeks. While that does temper the minutes on the back half of the rotation, the starters are still getting heavy minutes from head coach Nick Nurse.
Recent “reacquisition” Jakob Poeltl has been a tremendous fantasy producer in his second tour with Toronto. Over the last nine games, he is averaging 29.6 minutes, 16.7 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 3.6 combined blocks and steals. In this stretch, he has had three “ceiling” games with 57 or more fantasy points.
Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet are the main offensive facilitators and scorers, with the rest of their teammates filling in the cracks where needed. Scottie Barnes, O.G. Anunoby, Gary Trent Jr. and Chris Boucher are tournament options, though they have all been assigned appropriate salaries across the various DFS sites.
Anthony Davis has crested over the $11,000 salary mark on both DraftKings and FanDuel. Though his salary is $500 higher on the Blue site, he also has been granted power forward eligibility there, which is quite useful. D’Angelo Russell has missed the last two weeks with an ankle injury, but he is expected to make his return tonight after a couple of false starts. The extended absence has allowed ample time for the rest of the Lakers to experience a salary surge, and while that keeps them from popping in models, it also means they are likely to remain in the sub-5% popularity range.
Jarred Vanderbilt does rate out respectably on FanDuel, though keep in mind that is driven by his ability to get 8-plus rebounds and a couple of combined steals and blocks. The main counterpoint again Vanderbilt is that he simply does not look for offense. Though he has a stellar 57.9% conversion rate from the field over his last 200 games, he averages less than five attempts per game, which curbs the frequency with which he can author a slate-breaking performance.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks Building Blocks Today
Tonight is a staggered slate with two games tipping off at lock and three beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET, and then the West Coast night cap does not get underway until 10:30 p.m. ET. It looks like most of the injury news is already out; however, at this point in the season, anything can happen at any time to turn the slate sideways.
Be sure to get all 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 No House Advantage.
