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NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks for Tuesday, March 30th | Nikola Jokic

The NBA Yahoo Cup Post Up Presented by BetMGM | Round 22
NBA DFS Round 22 Yahoo Cup Picks MGM Nikola Jokic daily fantasy basketball projections, salaries, ownership

NBA DFS action on Tuesday, March 30, locks at 7 p.m. ET with four-game main slate on Yahoo, DraftKings, FanDuel and SuperDraft. Before you lock in your lineups, make sure to check out Awesemo’s daily fantasy basketball picks, rankings and projections. Let’s dig into some NBA DFS and daily fantasy basketball picks, including Nikola Jokic, Russell Westbrook and more.

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NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks, Tuesday, March 30th

Yahoo Play of the Day — Nikola Jokic: Denver Nuggets vs. Philadelphia 76ers

  • Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 51.3 | DraftKings: 53.3

  • Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 13.6% | FanDuel 22.4% | DraftKings 21.8%

  • DFS Salary: Yahoo $56 | FanDuel $11,300 | DraftKings $10,500

Today my hope is that gamers feel Nikola Jokic is too expensive and they focus on Russell Westbrook as their cornerstone. Fear not, both can easily be played and there will still be $15 for each remaining roster slot on Yahoo. Just roll with a couple of cheap Clippers and/or Magic players and then round things out with Hornets, who are in a nice spot against Washington tonight. There will be more on all of that later.

Joel Embiid will be out at least one more game with his hyperextended knee injury. The 76ers have the best defensive efficiency in the league in the last eight games without Embiid, but they have not exactly faced many teams of consequence. The Clippers and Bucks were the only teams to beat them, as they took care of business against the Knicks twice, Kings, Warriors, Lakers and Spurs.

Jokic is performing at an MVP level this season. His 26.9 points per game rank seventh, 11.1 rebounds are eighth and his 8.5 assists are sixth. He leads the league with 40 double-doubles in 46 games and also has a dozen triple-doubles to boot.

Russell Westbrook: Washington Wizards vs. Charlotte Hornets

  • Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 52.39 | DraftKings: 55.83

  • Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 32.4% | FanDuel 33.7% | DraftKings 23.8%

  • DFS Salary: Yahoo $51 | FanDuel $11,000 | DraftKings $10,900

Last night was Russell Westbrook’s 38th game with the Wizards, and he is now the franchise leader with 16 triple-doubles. Last night, without Bradley Beal, Westbrook had the third-best fantasy performance of his career with 88.3 Yahoo fantasy points. In 39 minutes he tallied 35 points, 14 rebounds, 21 assists, two steals and one blocked shot. Beal is dealing with a hip injury, but regardless of his status, Westbrook is a core play tonight.

The only concern is how much Westbrook will play on the back-t0-back after his hefty minutes load. In his last three back-to-backs, he played 39.1 and 37.7 minutes, 32.8 and 39.5, and before the All-Star Break he played 31.7 and 35.9 minutes. As long as he starts tonight, something in the 35- to 37-minute range seems reasonable. After tonight Washington has just two games in the next five days. The Wizards are counting on Westbrook to keep them from sliding out of the play-in tournament scramble.

Good Value

Charlotte Hornets at Washington Wizards

While their salaries vary across the different DFS sites, the focus should be on the Hornets tonight. The No. 1 priority will be to have two or three Charlotte players on each of my rosters. This game has a 229.5 projected point total with the visitors favored by a bucket. In their last 15 games, Washington is scoring 115.4 points while allowing 119.1 in regulation.

LaMelo Ball is out for the remainder of the season with a fracture in his shooting hand. That means extended opportunities are available for the backcourt duo of Terry Rozier and Devonte’ Graham. Both should see 30 to 35 minutes tonight along with Gordon Hayward and P.J. Washington. When the Wizards roll out Alex Len and Robin Lopez, Charlotte will likely counter with Bismack Biyombo and Cody Zeller. This quartet will each be in the mix for around 15 baseline minutes with another 5 to 7 available to each depending on game flow, foul trouble, effectiveness, etc. Miles Bridges and Malik Monk are the wildcards, though both have 30-fantasy-point upside in their achievable outcome range for this matchup.

Los Angeles Clippers vs. Orlando Magic

The Clippers crushed the Bucks 129-105 last night with Paul George a late scratch due to a sore foot. Los Angeles is double-digit favorites against an Orlando squad that does not pose any threat. There is a decent chance some combination of George, Kawhi Leonard and Marcus Morris will sit out tonight.

In this game the target should be the Clippers regulars, with Reggie Jackson and Ivica Zubac being the most likely to get extended playing time. Serge Ibaka, Patrick Beverley and recent acquisition Rajon Rondo all remain out. That should keep the door open for Terance Mann, who has been stellar with at least 28 fantasy points in four of his last five games. Luke Kennard had fallen out of favor but got a spot start last night for George. If that happens again, he is a fine discount dandy as well. Nicolas Batum would also see a boost if any of George, Leonard and Morris are out tonight.

Risky Value

Orlando Magic at Los Angeles Clippers

There certainly will be value from Orlando tonight, but it is hard to know what coach Steve Clifford is going to do as he assesses things after turning the roster over. Terrence Ross may return after missing the last two weeks with a sore knee. It would seem that there is no reason to bring him back unless he is fully healthy, though his status may not be clear until much closer to tip-off. In the two games since the Magic dealt 80% of their starting lineup, it looks like Chuma Okeke and Dwayne Bacon will likely be in line for 28 to 32 minutes. If Ross is back, one of Khem Birch and James Ennis will likely move back to the reserve unit. Neither is particularly inspiring, with their production likely in the range of 0.7 to 0.8 fantasy points per minute.

Michael Carter-Williams is in the midst of an unlucky season where injury and illness have upended any expected consistency. R.J. Hampton, Chasson Randle and Mo Bamba are afterthoughts. This leaves us with Wendell Carter Jr., who played 20.3 minutes in his debut, but keep in mind that he is not much of an offensive threat, with double-digit field-goal attempts in only 17 of 76 games over the last two seasons. Be judicious with the trust placed in the fantasy prospects for these players.

Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies

  1. Reggie Jackson: LAC vs. ORL – $12

  2. Miles Bridges: CHA at WAS – $12

  3. Terance Mann: LAC vs. ORL – $11

SuperDraft Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks

  1. Gordon Hayward: CHA at WAS – 1.45x multiplier

  2. P.J. Washington: CHA at WAS – 1.55x multiplier

  3. Reggie Jackson: LAC vs. ORL – 1.80x multiplier

Final Thoughts on Tuesday, March 30th NBA DFS Slate

Tonight there is only one game in the first two hours, and then the remaining three are backloaded. This could be a challenge, as the Clippers are double-digit home favorites against the Magic and likely to rest some of their players on the back-to-back. Be nimble and keep in mind that salaries and scoring formats differ across the various fantasy sites, and a slam-dunk play on Yahoo may be a below-average NBA DFS pick on DraftKings or FanDuel.

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