Welcome to the Thursday NBA DFS slate. The playoffs are on the horizon. The NBA is in full focus right now, even with March Madness going on. If you’re going to play NBA DFS, you have to keep in mind lineup announcements and stay tuned for late swapping. That is going to be the easiest way to stay ahead of the field and in the money.
We have an eight-game slate tonight, so you shouldn’t have to go too crazy when differentiating your lineups. In the end, it’s about making the right choices and picking your spots, which is why I’m here. Let’s break down the top plays for this 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
Luka Doncic (PG – LAL)
- DraftKings: $12,100
- FanDuel: $12,600
Playing in the second game of a back-to-back always includes inherent risk with what the Lakers might do, especially with the travel, but I imagine the Lakers are a full go. This is a big pace-up spot with the Heat playing at the fastest rate in basketball. With a total of 242 points, this is a very friendly spot for Luka Doncic.
After coming in clutch against the Rockets last night, it’s easy to see Doncic continue his reign of terror. The Lakers guard is averaging over 70 fantasy points a night in his last seven games, going over that mark in four of them, including a 90-point effort. You can understand why he might be the highest rostered player on the slate, but he’s well worth it in GPP and cash lineups.
Evan Mobley (PF, C – CLE)
- DraftKings: $8,700
- FanDuel: $9,100
I’m going to be hammering home Cleveland against Chicago a lot today, so I apologize if I sound like a broken record. Since the All-Star break, the Bulls are allowing the seventh-most fantasy points across the board with a bottom-half league defense. Their top three pace of play boosts this total to 241 and opens up a lot of opportunities for Evan Mobley.
The Cavaliers’ offense has been excellent since the break, and I don’t expect Chicago to stop them down low. Mobley is averaging a near 28% usage rate in his last two weeks of play. Combined with an expected 30 minutes of play, he projects quite well, capable of eclipsing 50 fantasy points.
NBA DFS Cash Game Targets
Tobias Harris (PF, SF – DET)
- DraftKings: $6,000
- FanDuel: $5,500
Tobias Harris and Jalen Duren are solid cash choices tonight as Detroit travels to Washington to take on the Wizards. No Cade Cunningham hurts the Pistons, but they’re still comfortably double-digit favorites against one of the most fantasy-friendly teams in the league.
No team has allowed more fantasy points to opposing power forwards or centers over the last 15 games than Washington. Over the course of the entire season, the numbers are even friendlier. Harris has scored 30 fantasy points in consecutive games, and I expect him to do it for a third straight time tonight. He’ll see a bump in usage and perhaps minutes. The matchup is too good to pass up.
LeBron James (PF, SF – LAL)
- DraftKings: $7,700
- FanDuel: $8,300
It feels a little cheap to say that Luka Doncic and LeBron James are good DFS plays, but… Luka Doncic and LeBron James are good DFS plays. Again, monitor any ‘load management’ nonsense with the back-to-back, but it appears all Lakers star players will play tonight.
James has been averaging 40+ fantasy points this season and has gone over 35 in seven of his last eight outings. With the pace up spot and high total, there will be plenty of chances for the future Hall of Famer to ball out tonight, and his rostership reflects that.
James will likely be rostered by about 20% of the field. We’ve seen a high floor but no real ceiling performances in recent history, so I’d stick to cash lineups with the Lakers superstar.
NBA DFS GPP Targets
Trey Murphy III (PG, SG, SF – NOP)
- DraftKings: $8,100
- FanDuel: $8,200
Don’t look now, but the Pelicans have been pretty decent of late. They’re 9-5 since the All-Star break with a top-10 offense. Their pace of play is quicker, and to go with it, the Clippers’ defense ranks in the bottom 10 in that same time frame. Los Angeles is also dealing with a few injuries.
The Pelicans are actually favored tonight, and Murphy gets a bit of a bump when playing at home. He’s only about 6-7% rostered, but he’s gone over 48 fantasy points in two of his last five outings with a usage rate that’s promising for more. He’s a nice leverage play, and we’ve already seen him get to 70 this season before.
Devin Booker (PG, SG – PHX)
- DraftKings: $8,900
- FanDuel: $8,900
With the Spurs favored at home tonight, very little rostership is coming into Phoenix tonight. Booker is projected at 43 fantasy points despite a tougher opponent matchup. His usage rate has been a whopping 38% in his last eight games, so the Suns are leaning more on their guard to make plays.
We’ve seen with Memphis beating Denver last night that anything can happen on any given night in the NBA. He’s an easy pivot off other guard options and still has a safe floor despite the tougher matchup, where he likely won’t burn your lineups.
NBA DFS Value Plays
Isaiah Jackson (C – LAC)
- DraftKings: $4,200
- FanDuel: $4,400
Early on the slate, it’s looking like Isaiah Jackson might come in as the best value on the slate. He’s been seeing additional minutes and a decent usage rate as well. The Pelicans’ defense has been decent of late, but they’ve been allowing fantasy points to centers at the seventh-highest clip on the season.
It’s always scary to be overweight on a player who won’t start, but projecting Jackson for around 25 fantasy points almost feels safe here with a floor of 20, a mark he’s reached in five of his last seven games. He’s capable of scoring over 29 points, which he did twice in that same time frame, and is a comfortable punt option if you’re trying to spend down at center.
Nick Richards of the Bulls is also looking to be in that same category if you want to diversify your center exposure even more. Kobe Sanders is looking like a solid value spot as well, given the injuries the Clippers currently face.
Dean Wade (SF, PF – CLE)
- DraftKings: $3,500
- FanDuel: $3,700
With Cleveland going up against Chicago, generally speaking, there’s a lot of expected value to be had for the Cleveland players across the board. There’s no bigger value for Cleveland than Dean Wade. He will start and should see the floor for about 25 minutes against the Bulls in one of the biggest pace-up spots you can ask for.
Wade’s usage rate is low, but his opportunity should be high with the given possession rate. At such a low price, even getting to 20 fantasy points should set your lineups up well. Wade has gone over 30 fantasy points in a quarter of his last eight games, so there’s ceiling potential as well, which I believe is more likely given the matchup.