It’s Friday. The National Basketball Association (NBA) has a total of 10 games on the schedule on Friday, including three offerings on NBA TV. At 7:30 p.m. ET, the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers meet on NBA TV, while the Chicago Bulls and Oklahoma City Thunder meet at 8:00 p.m. ET, also on NBA TV. And, at 10:00 p.m. ET, the Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers square off in the final NBA TV outing. We’re going to preview the seven-game slate on DraftKings and FanDuel, with tip times in the 7:00-9:00 p.m. ET window. Here are our top NBA DFS picks and advice for tonight’s slate.
View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our NBA Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
NBA DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Primer
NBA DFS Core Plays
- DraftKings: $10,200
- FanDuel: $10,000
The Clippers travel to meet the hapless Indiana Pacers. Kawhi Leonard has managed an impressive 46.2 fantasy points per game this season, and he is facing an Indiana defense with an opponent rank of 25.
Leonard has been nicked up at times, but when he is on the floor, he is a DFS stud. His 28.3 points per game are impressive enough, but he is working on a streak of 23 consecutive games with at least 23 points scored.
In the first meeting with the Pacers on March 4th at Intuit Dome, Leonard went 10-of-18 from the floor with 29 points, eight rebounds, two assists and a steal while hitting three three-pointers.
- DraftKings: $9,200
- FanDuel: $9,500
The 36-year-old James Harden can still bring it and contribute in many areas. He went for 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in 43 minutes on Wednesday against the Miami Heat in the front-end of a back-to-back situation.
Harden has managed 18+ points in five consecutive games, and at least six assists in eight in a row. He has also posted one block in four straight contests. He’ll again be facing a Miami team with an opponent rank of 29. He is averaging 45.7 fantasy points per game, which is a tick more than his teammate Donovan Mitchell, who is also a decent play if you want an all-Cleveland backcourt.
- DraftKings: $9,100
- FanDuel: $9,600
If you’re not quite feeling James Harden, let’s look to Jamal Murray against the Utah Jazz on Friday. He is slightly less productive from a fantasy perspective, averaging 43.9 fantasy points per game, but he is facing a Utah defense with an opponent rank of 31.
Murray is coming off a banger, dropping 53 points on Dallas on Wednesday night — 19-of-28 from the field and 9-of-14 from behind the three-point line. He has knocked down at least two triples in five consecutive outings, while hitting at least one successful three-pointer in nine in a row and 14 of the past 15 contests. Murray is working on a four-game streak with 21+ points, too.
NBA DFS Cash Game Targets
- DraftKings: $8,900
- FanDuel: $9,200
Scottie Barnes is a borderline high-end DFS option. He is averaging 41.2 fantasy points per game and is facing a leaky New Orleans Pelicans defense. The Pelicans are allowing 119.2 points per game while posting a 47.6% defensive field-goal rate, 19th in The Association.
Barnes went just 4-of-11 from the field against the Los Angeles Clippers as a five-game road trip concluded on Wednesday, although he still had nine points, 12 assists and eight rebounds.
Barnes has six or more boards in seven of the past eight games and at least eight assists in four of the past six games, including 11 assists in the previous two outings. He has 14+ points in six of the past seven contests.
- DraftKings: $7,800
- FanDuel: $7,500
Chet Holmgren is a solid play if you need to save a little bit of salary and can’t quite squeeze ScottienBarnes under the cap. He is coming off a stinker, going for just 10 points and five rebounds on 3-of-7 shooting at Boston on Wednesday. However, that was against a championship contender. On Wednesday, Holmgren is up against the very giving Chicago Bulls.
The Bulls have an opponent rank of 29, so Holmgren and the interior options should have a field day. He is averaging 17 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.3 three-pointers in 10 games this month. That includes 12 points and 11 rebounds in Chicago on March 3rd in the first matchup, while also adding two blocks.
- DraftKings: $7,500
- FanDuel: $6,300
Jalen Williams is a good play if you want a one-two punch in the frontcourt against the defensively-challenged Bulls. He is an especially good value on FanDuel.
Williams went just 2-of-9 from the field and 0-for-3 from behind the three-point line, ending up with seven points, three rebounds and three assists in Boston on Wednesday.
While that’s the loss of DFS players who rolled the dice on him then, his salary dropped significantly, and he is a huge value against Chicago.
NBA DFS GPP Targets
- DraftKings: $6,800
- FanDuel: $6,700
Brice Sensabaugh is seeing plenty of regular playing time for the struggling Jazz, and he is making the most of his opportunities. He has averaged just 22.3 fantasy points per game, which is significantly less than many players with a similar salary. However, his averages are a bit skewed, as he has only recently started to see an uptick in usage with Lauri Markkanen (hip) sidelined.
The former Ohio State Buckeyes standout averaged just 7.5 points in the first two meetings this season, shooting only 5-of-22 from the field. He has picked up the pace, scoring 14+ points in eight straight outings, including 41 points in a game on March 18th in Minnesota, where he went 17-of-31 from the field.
- DraftKings: $6,400
- FanDuel: $5,900
Aaron Gordon is a fabulous mid-tier DFS option in GPPs. At this price point, he is a must-roster. Gordon is averaging 30 fantasy points per game this season, and he is facing a Utah defense that is 30th in opponent rank.
Gordon has posted 12+ points in five in a row since a scoreless egg-laying performance against Houston on March 11th. He also has five or more rebounds in four of the past five outings, while hitting 50% or better from the field in each of those five contests.
- DraftKings: $6,300
- FanDuel: $5,600
The former UCLA standout hit blackjack against the Dallas Mavericks last time out, posting 21 points on an efficient 7-of-10 from the field, including 2-of-3 from behind the three-point line. Peyton Watson isn’t going to give you a ton of points, but he’ll chip in with occasional assists, blocks and steals.
In the first meeting with Utah, Watson scored 20 points on 7-of-9 from the field and 3-of-4 from both behind the three-point line and the free-throw stripe. He also had a block and a steal.
NBA DFS Value Plays
- DraftKings: $4,900
- FanDuel: $5,300
The veteran Brook Lopez has really picked up the scoring pace lately, averaging 14.3 points in the past three games, while also averaging 5.7 rebounds.
Even better, Lopez has a total of nine blocks in the past three games, including five swats against the visiting Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.
- DraftKings: $5,800
- FanDuel: $6,200
With both Isaiah Collier and Keyonte George laid up due to hamstring injuries, Elijah Harkless and Bez Mbeng are getting some extra run.
Harkless is your best bet for fantasy production. In the past four games, he has been good for 14.3 points, 6.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game, including a double-double last Thursday against the Milwaukee Bucks.
- DraftKings: $3,800
- FanDuel: $4,000
Let’s take a shot on the journeyman Dennis Schroder against the Heat. While he had just four points against Miami on Wednesday, he did add six rebounds and six assists.
Schroder will hit an occasional three-pointer while adding a handful of points. If you’re punting the spot and loading up on other positions, this is the way to go.
