Friday, March 6 (3/6/20) locks at 7:00 p.m. EST with a ten-game main slate that is quite tricky. Before you lock in your NBA DFS lineups and NBA DFS picks on DraftKings, FanDuel, Yahoo and SuperDraft, make sure to check out Awesemo’s NBA DFS rankings and projections. Let’s dig into some NBA DFS Picks, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shabazz Napier and more.
Podcast fan? Did you know all our daily YouTube shows are on our podcast channel? Click this link to check out our Awesemo podcast stations and get entered into our podcast giveaway, simply: Like, Rate, Review & Subscribe and you’ll be entered to win a FREE monthly Awesemo+ platinum pass! If you’re not on iTunes and can’t leave a comment, just hit us up on Twitter with a screenshot of your rating and we’ll get you entered in!
Prime Time Players
Giannis Antetokounmpo: Milwaukee Bucks at Los Angeles Lakers
DraftKings $11,200, FanDuel $11,100, Yahoo $56; Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 8.8%, FanDuel 10.6% Yahoo 2.4%
If you have been playing DFS NBA for any length of time this season, you are all too aware that one of the biggest lamentations is that it is hard to tell when Giannis Antetokounmpo is going to get unfettered minutes. Well dear reader, tonight very well could be that night.
We have the Bucks in Los Angeles facing the Lakers who are favored by about a bucket. This is an excellent “measuring stick” matchup and we have plenty of value plays to make Antetokounmpo a top priority, even as the most expensive option on every DFS site.
This season the reigning NBA MVP is averaging 1.86 FanDuel/Yahoo fantasy points per minute and 1.95 DraftKings points per minute. That is the highest rate of his career, though his 30.8 minutes per game are the lowest since his 24.6 as a rookie.
Coach Mike Budenholzer does a good job of limiting his star’s minutes in-game so they will be ready to go when the time is right. Tonight it would be a surprise if Giannis sees less than 32 minutes and we could see him in the 35-36 range. When these teams met on December 19th in Milwaukee, Antetokounmpo played 32.3 minutes dropping 64.3 fantasy points leading the Bucks to a 111-104 victory.
Giannis is fourth in the league with 29.6 points and 13.8 rebounds per game and he leads the league with 51 double doubles in 56 games.
Good Value
Aron Baynes and Dario Saric: Phoenix Suns vs. Portland Trailblazers
Baynes: DraftKings $3,000, FanDuel $4,900, Yahoo $10; Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 65.1%, FanDuel 5.9% Yahoo 33.2%
Saric: DraftKings $4,900, FanDuel $5,500, Yahoo $12; Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 31.5%, FanDuel 8.7% Yahoo 59.0%
Kelly Oubre Jr was already out with knee surgery, Cameron Johnson has been ruled out tonight with an illness and now Deandre Ayton is all but ruled out with a sprained ankle. That means heavy minutes for Aron Baynes and Dario Saric in a decent matchup against the Portland Trailblazers.  Over their last fifteen games, the Blazers have been playing at a top-10 pace while allowing 114.9 points per 100 possessions.
Baynes and Saric change by site based on price and position requirements, but both should be considered core options tonight in all formats and they can be played together.
Risky ValueÂ
Indiana Pacers at Chicago Bulls
It sounds like Malcolm Brogdon (hip) will miss this game along with some combination of Victor Oladipo (knee), T.J. Warren (leg), Doug McDermott (toe) and JaKarr Sampson (hip). Aaron Holiday is actually better than just a “risky” value, but he is not a slam dunk. From a fantasy perspective, he has been about a 0.8 fantasy point per minute guy with or without Oladipo, though the minutes should be in the 28-30 range with all the injuries.
More Holidays?
Justin Holiday is more of a 0.7-0.72 fantasy point per minute guy who is heavily scoring dependent and thus riskier. Then we have the mercurial T.J. McConnell who is closer to a fantasy point per minute, but with wildly erratic minutes. This trio is very much in play, but there is a good deal of volatility with all of them. On a high note, the matchup with the Bulls is a good one as they have been battling the Timberwolves for the worst defensive efficiency rating over the last month.
Orlando Magic at Minnesota Timberwolves
Evan Fournier has been ruled out tonight with an elbow injury and Wesley Iwundu will be starting in his place. Iwundu has essentially been out of the rotation and he is barely above 0.6 fantasy points per minute when he does play. Michael Carter-Williams and D.J. Augustin are better options who will also see a minutes boost, but they are both mercurial producers. Fortunately it is a phenomenal matchup against the Timberwolves who have been vying with the Bulls for the worst defensive efficiency rating over the last month.
Yahoo Fantasy NBA DFS Discount Dandies
- Rudy Gay: San Antonio Spurs at Brooklyn Nets – $12
- De’Anthony Melton: Memphis Grizzlies at Dallas Mavericks – $12
- James Ennis: Orlando Magic at Minnesota Timberwolves – $10
NBA DFS Picks: SuperDraft
- Nikola Vucevic: Orlando Magic at Minnesota Timberwolves – 1.25x multiplier
- Devin Booker: Phoenix Suns at Portland Trailblazers – 1.35x multiplier
- Chris Paul: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. New York Knicks – 1.45x multiplier
Our standout SuperDraft recommendations for today include Nikola Vucevic who has a date with the injury decimated front court of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Devin Booker gets a nice matchup with the defensively disinclined Trailblazers without any competition from his own team for field goal attempts and Chris Paul in a solid matchup with a 45% kicker against the Knicks .
Final Thoughts
Once again we have a variety of injury situations to monitor that will continue
Be sure to tune into the Deeper Dive and Live Before Lock shows beginning at 5 p.m. EST for all of your up-to-date information and analysis.
Looking for more NBA DFS picks content? We’ve got loads of articles, data, cheatsheets and more on the Awesemo NBA home page, just click HERE
