NBA DFS Playbook - March 31

In two of the last three games, James Harden has had a couple of his better games in a 76ers uniform, especially offensively where he’s scored 29 and 32 points. When he’s scoring at that high of a clip, it’s hard not to love him, especially when he’s this close to 10K.

It’s a back-to-back for both of these teams, but man has Garland been spectacular this year and lately. He has two straight 20-point double-doubles and has double-doubles in six of his last seven games. He’s topped 50 FP in two straight and in three of five and the upside against the Hawks is through the roof. Atlanta is 21st in DRtg in the month of March, so look for Garland to exploit them.

With LeVert off his minutes restriction, we’re really beginning to see what he’s capable of, as he’s notched 33+ minutes in three straight games and scored 32 actual points on Wednesday. LeVert’s price really stands out under 6K here against the 21st ranked defense this month.

We saw what Monk was capable of last game when LeBron James and Anthony Davis are off the floor. Both are out for this game, which should put Monk in line for another 30+ games, especially considering this is a must win game for the Lakers. He hit six three’s and scored 28 points last game and without LBJ & AD on the floor, Monk averages .98 FP/min and a 23.7% USG.

Look, the inconsistencies are there, but their slowly getting better. Over Hayes’ last five games, he’s averaged 31 minutes and 28.8 DKP/game, with four of those contests topping 29 DKP. He’s actually topped 27 DKP in six of eight overall. He’s averaged 24.1 DKP/game against PHI this year, which is solid at his price point. Hayes has averaged .9 FP/min without Jerami Grant on the floor since March 1st.

Some minutes limit, huh? 30 minutes into his first game since December, PG13 was ALL the way back, scoring 34 actual points and had 57.5 DKP. Will he once again play 30+ minutes? One has to assume that’s the case and the Bulls are 20th in DRtg this month. George is in a good spot to repeat his return performance.

The Lakers are an absolute mess on both ends of the floor right now, but especially defensively. During the month of March, the Lakers are 28th in DRtg and are 4-11 as a team. Mitchell should easily exploit that as he’s averaged 25 points and 46 DKP/game against them this season. Mitchell has scored 30+ points in five of his last seven games.

The Cavaliers have been a step behind defensively this month as they’re 24th in DRtg, which we should look to attack with Bogdanovic. Without John Collins in the lineup, Bogdanovic has really thrived offensively and the Hawks have also been without Danilo Gallinari lately, so if he’s ruled out again that could help Bogdanovic even more. Without Collins and Gallo in March, BB has a 25.7% USG and averages 1.12 FP/min.

It’s very hard to predict which Clipper will get extended run, but based off Tyrann Lou’s comments about how good Luke Kennard’s defense was last game, he’ll get a long look in this one. Especially if he’s knocking down shots like he’s capable of doing.

Durant is coming off an absolute monster performance on Tuesday, notching 41 points, 11 rebounds, and 72 DKP. He’s loved playing the Bucks this season as well, averaging 30.5 points, 10 rebounds, and 5.5 assists, as well as 56.3 DKP. Durant’s ability to score on ANYBODY puts him firmly in play here.

I like the price on Middleton and the recent upside has been shown on multiple occasions. He’s put up 48 and 62 DKP in two of his last four games, which he’s capable of here. He’s averaged 39 DKP/game against Brooklyn across three meetings this season. 

This dude has been so, so good lately. It helps that the Hawks second option in John Collins is off the floor and definitely helps even more than Danilo Gallinari has missed a couple of games as well. Gallo hasn’t been ruled out just yet, but Huerter’s value will skyrocket if he doesn’t play. Huerter has put up 31+ DKP in three straight and four of five.

Third Cleveland player in two positions is a lot, but right now, the Cavs are down a lot of players and giving Stevens a big role. He’s played 24 minutes or more in five straight games and has topped 20 DKP in four of those games as well. ATL, as previously mentioned, is a very exploitable defense.

We just saw what Giannis is capable of doing last game and I’m not sure anyone on this slate has a higher ceiling/floor combination.

DeRozan had been going through the worst stretch of his campaign and then boom, he scored 32 and 37 points in each of his last two games and topped 50 DKP in each. DeRozan has been incredible all year long and we should expect more of these two games than that horrid stretch he was on for two weeks.

The price is awfully enticing here and so is the match-up. Harris used to play for the Pistons and is coming off a monster game against the Bucks, notching a 22-point double-double that ended up with 53.25 DKP. Over the last two weeks, Harris has averaged .85 DKP/min and in three of five games he’s put up 34+ DKP.

It’s tough to really love Love here on a back-to-back, but if he does end up playing 30+ minutes here, or get close to it, ATL doesn’t really have an answer for him. They’re without John Collins, Jalen Johnson and potentially Danilo Gallinari, so everyone will be undersized trying to guard Love. Without Mobley, Allen, and Wade this year, Love has a 25.2% USG rate and averages 1.39 FP/min.

I REALLY don’t want to play Stanley Johnson. I reaaaaaaally don’t. He’s put up 23+ DKP in four of five games and the Lakers have used Johnson a lot lately, notching 30+ minutes in two of three and 23+ minutes in four of five.

NOBODY on the Pistons will be able to stop Embiid. Nobody. If you’re not labeling Giannis as your top play, Embiid is just that.

Cleveland sent out Moses Brown as their starting center on Wednesday and that’s the likely scenario again on Thursday. Capela only had to play 20 minutes thanks to a route on Wednesday and was still able to grab 11 rebounds and put up 20 DKP. Capela has dominated CLE this year and has averaged 38.8 DKP/game against them in three meetings.

Drummond has been quite dominant lately and he has been great with Irving and Durant on the floor. Drummond has a 21.8% USG and averages 1.32 DKP/min with both of them on the floor. Drummond has put up 33+ DKP in three straight games and 28+ in five of six.

He’s been better between him and Zubac lately as he’s put up 30+ DKP in four straight games while playing 24+ minutes in five straight. Hartenstein averages 1.18 FP/min in the month of March. He’s a GPP play only, however.

Lopez’s minutes are on the rise as he’s played 28 and 29 in two of the last three games. He’s put up 20+ DKP in four of his last five games. This is a revenge spot and Lopez has scored double-figures in every game since returning from injury.

Brown started and played 21 minutes on Wednesday falling just one rebound shy of a double-double. He is only 3.2K on DK and should likely start on Thursday once again. Brown’s a solid FP/min guy.