NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Rolling (March 21)

Tuesday’s NBA action keeps things hopping with a six-game main slate beginning 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 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is on the cusp of being a top-10 player in the league.

NBA DFS Picks Today: Tuesday, March 21

Core Play of the Day — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Oklahoma City Thunder-Los Angeles Clippers

Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 47.29 | FanDuel: 47.72
Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings 10.7% | FanDuel: 12.0%
DFS Salary: DraftKings: $9,800 | FanDuel: $10,600

The Thunder are making a run for the postseason, and while they have declared that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will not be playing on consecutive days, In the games he is playing, Gilgeous-Alexander is seeing 35-plus minutes. Looking at his last six games, he has averaged 36.1 minutes and 21.8 field goals with a 54.2% conversion rate. This has resulted in 35.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.5 combined blocks and steals.

This season, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging just over 50 fantasy points per game. In his two prior meetings against the Clippers, he averaged 28.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 7.0 assists, and 4.5 combined blocks and steals for a robust 1.5 fantasy points per minute. This has Gilgeous-Alexander squarely aligned as the core play of the day.

Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Russell Westbrook and Ivica Zubac are all excellent options in this matchup for some added in-game synergy from the Clippers side of this tilt.

Kristaps Porzingis: Washington Wizards-Orlando Magic

Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 45.57 | FanDuel: 44.75
Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings 15.3% | FanDuel: 23.9%
DFS Salary: DraftKings: $8,900 | FanDuel: $9,000

This is the front end of a back-to-back for the Wizards, who will be back in Washington on Wednesday, hosting the Denver Nuggets. Their postseason dreams are beginning to evaporate, so this is basically a must-win game in Orlando tonight. Kyle Kuzma is out with an ankle injury, so the heavy lifting will fall to Kristaps Porzingis and Bradley Beal.

On the season, Porzingis is averaging a healthy 1.3 fantasy points per minute. When Kuzma is off the court, he sees his per-minute production increase by 8%, with an increase in rebounding and offensive opportunities. In two prior meetings with the Magic, Porzingis averaged 29.1 minutes, 23.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 3.0 combined blocks and steals. Kuzma also played in these games and had a similar level of production, while Beal was in just one of these tilts.

Additional NBA DFS Building Blocks Pick — Sports Betting Opportunities

Luguentz Dort is worthy of our consideration in the sports wagering market, with his 1.5 made 3-pointers prop. This season he is averaging 1.9 made 3-pointers on 5.5 attempts per game. This is also nearly identical to his four-year career rate.

This season, Dort has recorded two or more made 3-pointers in 31 of 64 games (48.4%), and he has failed to convert a long-distance shot only eight times. In these games, he is still averaging 3.8 attempts from beyond the arc, so volume should not be a problem.

NBA Bet Pro has the 23-year-old projected for 30.6 minutes and 2.1 made 3-pointers. There is a 59% probability that Dort splashes a pair from downtown, and the -118 line at BetMGM leads to a respectable 3% expected ROI.

Did you know that you can get two free months of Stokastic+ Platinum for signing up and making your first bet at BetMGM? Claim here today!

Latest NBA DFS Content

San Antonio Spurs-New Orleans Pelicans

Tonight is the first game of a back-to-back set for the Spurs, who play in New Orleans and then head to Milwaukee to face the Bucks on Wednesday. Rookie Jeremy Sochan (knee) is out for a second consecutive game after playing just eight minutes before leaving the contest on Friday. Devin Vassell and Zach Collins have already been granted a rest day, while Tre Jones (hamstring) is doubtful, and Devonte’ Graham (quad) and Doug McDermott (hip) are questionable. It is also important to remember that second-year center Charles Bassey is out for the remainder of the year with a knee cap injury.

Keldon Johnson stands out as one of the best fantasy options in today’s 12-team player pool. Over his last four games, he has averaged mid-40s fantasy points, and that is a reasonable expectation for him tonight against the Pelicans. Rookie Malaki Branham should approach 30 minutes tonight, and he has produced around 0.8 fantasy points per minute this season without various combinations of Vassell, Jones and Sochan on the court.

Sandro Mamukelashvili has 20-plus fantasy points in five of the last six games, and there is a decent chance he will draw the start tonight in place of Collins. Veteran Gorgui Dieng will be lurking and ready to absorb minutes if the second-year center falters or runs into foul trouble.

The rest of the Spurs recommendations will be contingent on the starting lineup and the availability of Jones and Graham. If Jones is out and Graham starts, he joins Johnson as one of the primary fantasy targets on Tuesday. McDermott and Keita Bates-Diop are roster fillers if they are in the starting lineup, and Dieng is a wild card for tournaments, where he is a direct leverage option against Mamukelashvili for those feeling bold.

The Spurs’ defensive efficiency has been all over the place, though considering they seem to be sitting multiple key players each game, that does make sense. Two of the last four games have gone to overtime; however, San Antonio is still allowing 115.5 points to the opposition in regulation during this stretch.

Zion Williamson and Jose Alvarado remain out for New Orleans, though the rest of the core rotation should be available. The Pelicans are one game out of the Play-In Tournament yet only two games away from the sixth-best record in the Western Conference. Things are so tightly packed in the standings that they are live for a myriad of postseason scenarios.

CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram are both solid-upside, high-floor building blocks, and Jonas Valanciunas is coming off back-to-back double-doubles, averaging 33.5 minutes, 21.5 points, 14.5 rebounds, and 3.5 combined blocks and steals. If he can remain in favor with head coach Willie Green, the Lithuanian is a strong tournament target.

Now that most everyone is healthy, the wings are mix-and-match options, depending on your DFS site of choice. Let position eligibility and salary cap constraints guide your decisions with Trey Murphy III, Herbert Jones, Josh Richardson, Naji Marshall and Larry Nance Jr.

Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks Building Blocks Today

Tonight is a frontloaded slate with four games tipping off within 60 minutes, then there is a two-hour respite before a pair of West Coast nightcaps at 10 p.m. and 10:30 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 Underdog Fantasy.

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].