FanDuel NBA Picks and DraftKings NBA Picks - Sunday, 3/21/21

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Point Guard

Luka Doncic FD - $10800 DK - $11000
Opponent - POR
Proj Pts FD - 60.45 DK - 64.87

This game has the second-highest total on the slate and for good reason. The Blazers come in with the second-worst defensive efficiency on the season and Luka is leading a top-10 offense. He’s playing major minutes in the short term, running 38 or more in each of the last three games. He’s put up 35 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds in that stretch as well. The numbers are just about as good as you’ll ever see someone in fantasy and he’ll be a tough fade on this main slate if that’s the way you go.

Dennis Schroder FD - $6100 DK - $6900
Opponent - PHO
Proj Pts FD - 34.33 DK - 35.5

The Lakers are now without Lebron James and Anthony Davis for the foreseeable future leaving their team and relative shambles for the time being. Schroder is going to have to pick up a major part of the offensive load now and should play a lot of minutes going forward as the lead ball-handler. It’s only a 230 minutes sample size, but with James and Davis off the court this season he has a 28% usage percentage. Again the minutes could be through the roof here with LA trying to tread water until their superstars come back and Schroder is set to see a big increase on his 15 points, 5 assists season average.

If Ben Simmons is out again then Shake Milton (FD 5500 DK 5300) becomes a strong cash game option on the back-to-back.

Shooting Guard

Bradley Beal FD - $9600 DK - $9300
Opponent - BKN
Proj Pts FD - 53.28 DK - 54.68

Beal has one of the great minute floors in all of basketball this season when the Wizards are able to stay in the game. Heck, overall he’s averaging 36 minutes per game and recently has been pushing towards 40 when the script is going correctly. Even with him and Westbrook sharing the court he’s putting up points and is averaging close to 30 per game over the last month. When Russ is out there Beal’s other numbers do dip slightly which is the only concern at these prices. But Brooklyn will, at times, still struggle defensively and this game has the main slate’s highest total.

Alec Burks FD - $4900 DK - $5800
Opponent - PHI
Proj Pts FD - 31.03 DK - 31.99

The Knicks’ backcourt has been a mess the last couple of games with Derrick Rose and Elfrid Payton both missing the last two contests. Plus, Immanuel Quickley sat out the last game as well. That’s left Burks with a lot of opportunity and he’s played more than 30 minutes in each. He averaged 20 points, eight rebounds, and two assists in that mini stretch and should be up for a lot of minutes again in this game if they are still short bodies at the guard position.

Small Forward

Rui Hachimura FD - $4900 DK - $5800
Opponent - BKN
Proj Pts FD - 31.93 DK - 32.52

Davis Bertans is going to miss some time and Rui was playing a lot of minutes over the last week or so anyway. He’s run 38 or more in each of the last five games with an average of 20 points and 8.5 rebounds in that stretch. With this game’s total through the roof and Rui set to play a lot of minutes with a weakened frontcourt, I think you can easily play him on FanDuel where the price is still sitting under $5K. It’s a little closer on DraftKings, but the minutes' floor is as high as they come right now.

Saddiq Bey FD - $4300 DK - $5600
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 29.65 DK - 31.08

The Pistons can be tough to trust on a game-to-game basis with their minutes right now which can make running these guys in cash a dicey prospect. But Bey should be looking at around 30 minutes regardless which has him in play at these price points. He’s gotten up double-digit shots in five of his last six games and shot 47% from three in that stretch as well. The price is still mostly in check and this is a good matchup against a Chicago team that runs the seventh-fastest pace and plays a below-average defense.

Consider Derrick Jones Jr. (FD 4100 DK 3800) on DraftKings.

Power Forward

Tobias Harris FD - $8300 DK - $8600
Opponent - NY
Proj Pts FD - 47.45 DK - 48.01

Joel Embiid is out for a while now, leaving Harris in an already-great position when it came to increased usage opportunities. And then on Saturday, Ben Simmons sat out as well and that left Tobias the chance to go absolutely nuts. Against the Kings, he finished with a monster line of 29 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds in *just* 30 minutes. Ben Simmons is uncertain for this game but I think you can run Harris out in cash regardless. The price hasn’t caught up with the new opportunity of just Embiid being off the court. The Knicks aren’t an ideal matchup because of the slow pace and actually solid defense, but Harris is just underpriced.

Jerami Grant FD - $7000 DK - $7300
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 38.51 DK - 39.24

Power forward after Harris isn’t an ideal position but I do think paying a middle-tier price for Grant here is acceptable. The minutes haven’t been all that robust over the last few games which is moderately concerning but one has to believe the overall plan for the Pistons is to play him in the 35-36 range. He’s still getting up close to seven three-pointers a game helping him to average more than 23 points on the season. I like the matchup against the Bulls here and the price has dipped a bit on both sites with the recent performance.

Center

Montrezl Harrell FD - $7000 DK - $6500
Opponent - PHO
Proj Pts FD - 39.12 DK - 38.11

Like I said with Schroder, the Lakers are in a pinch here without their two superstars and the offense is really going to need anything it can get. Though I don’t think Harrell starts he should come off the bench and play well over 30 minutes if everything goes right. With Lebron and AD off the court this season, Harrell has a team-best 29% usage percentage and he sees his rebounding rate tick up as well. The price isn’t cheap so this isn’t a punt play. But he stands to see as much opportunity as anyone out there with the state of the Lakers right now.

Jarrett Allen FD - $6300 DK - $7500
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 37.44 DK - 37.9

I prefer Harrell to any other center play out there so there’s quite a drop off getting to Allen here. I don’t think the Cvs are going to crazy push his minutes even without the other big men like Andre Drummond and Javale McGee. So I don’t think you are getting upside there. But he always has double-double potential if running in the low-30s anyway. Toronto doesn’t have a robust interior defense either and has trended small lately running OG at the five. So there’s a chance Allen can dominate the boards in this one.

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Doug Norrie