We have a three-game NBA DFS main slate on Saturday, March 2nd, on DraftKings and FanDuel. We have plenty of stars with Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic, Anthony Davis, and LeBron James taking the floor. Things are getting interesting around the league as the playoff push continues for plenty of teams. We only have two teams on the main slate on back-to-backs and they're both on the front end.
NBA DFS Tools to dominate tonight's NBA DFS slate!
Make sure to check out today's NBA DFS projections and NBA DFS ownership projections before finalizing your lineups today. We also have the NBA Consistency Report to help identify players that have exceeded value based on their current price tag this season and of course our NBA DFS Lineup Generator!
Notable NBA Injury Updates
QUESTIONABLE
- LeBron James
- Jamal Murray – GTD – IN
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – OUT
- Luke Kennard – IN
- Eric Gordon – OUT
- John Konchar – OUT
OUT
DOUBTFUL
- Deandre Ayton – OUT
- Nassir Little – OUT
PROBABLE
Back-to-Backs
Pace
Pace definition: Pace is the total number of possessions a team uses in a game.
*key* Green is elite pace of play, Blue is decent pace of play, & Red is slow pace of play.
Green = Fast Paced team
Blue = Neutral Paced team
Red = Slow Paced team
- Los Angeles Lakers - 6th (101.3)
- Houston Rockets - 14th (99.5)
- Phoenix Suns - 15th (99.4)
- Memphis Grizzlies - 18th (98.9)
- Portland Trail Blazers - 25th (98.1)
- Denver Nuggets - 27th (97.6)
Defensive Ratings
- Portland Trail Blazers - 21st
- Los Angeles Lakers - 17th
- Phoenix Suns - 13th
- Memphis Grizzlies - 11th
- Denver Nuggets - 9th
- Houston Rockets - 8th
NBA Game Totals
- Houston Rockets @ Phoenix Suns - 233.5 (PHO -9.5)
- Denver Nuggets @ Los Angeles Lakers - 228.5 (DEN -1.5)
- Portland Trail Blazers @ Memphis Grizzlies - 208 (MEM -2.5)
Top Tier Core Plays
Jokic kind of coasted through the last two games on a fantasy level and yet, Denver's won both games. Both Jamal Murray and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are questionable, and he could turn it back up against the Lakers here. He's nearly at 2 FP/min without Murray this year. He's averaged 65 DKP/game vs. LAL this year.
Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers
Davis has been the better of the two from a fantasy perspective this season between he and LeBron James and I have no issues getting to either. Davis is 2nd in USG at 27% and 1st in FP/min, 1.5. AD can get his against Jokic.
With Bradley Beal back, it's been clear that Devin Booker is the number one option amongst their big three. Booker has a 28.7% USG and 1.28 FP/min, which leads the team. Kevin Durant's at 22% USG and Beal's at 19.5%.
Mid-Tier Core Plays
Anfernee Simons & Jerami Grant, Portland Trail Blazers
Both guys had really bad games on Friday, but let's look past that considering the blowout nature of it. The Blazers are still short-handed. Both players are at 1.04 FP/min with everyone out that's out and Simons has a 31.4% USG and Grant's is 28.5%.
The last time Murray was this cheap was the Christmas Day slate so if he suits up. He's questionable, so we'll see if he plays, but Murray has averaged 1.23 FP/min and a 28% USG this year. It's a great spot for Murray.
D'Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers
Russell's been a good fantasy producer lately. He's put up 37+ DKP in five of six and seven of nine overall. Russell on the year has been third fiddle, but he spaces the floor extremely well for the Lakers. He has a 23% USG and averages 1.07 FP/min on the year.
Fred VanVleet & Jabari Smith Jr., Houston Rockets
Houston is an awful team on the road so playing either of these guys can be risky, but if the game stays close it's because of both. Both guys are playing monster minutes as FVV's been at 36+ in four straight and Smith's been at 35+ over that span. Smith's put up 37+ DKP in each of those four games too with 4 double-doubles. FVV's gone for 30+ DKP in three of four games.
Value Tier Core Plays
I want them to have a designated breakdown. With Luke Kennard & John Konchar potentially available, they'd have 12 going into the game.
Tier 1 options: Vince Williams Jr., Jordan Goodwin, Ziaire Williams
Tier 2 options: Luke Kennard, Santi Aldama, Lamar Stevens, Trey Jemison, Jake LaRavia
Duop Reath, Portland Trailblazers
Reath smashed in his 23 minutes last night, which is no surprise given what Memphis has in their front court right now. He's in line to start again with Ayton out and missed the final 16 minutes because of the blowout.
Toumani Camara, Portland Trailblazers
Camara is seemingly going to play high 20's, low 30's minutes in a competitive game but with the game well in hand last night, he checked out in the third quarter and never returned. He's a good rebounder and Memphis struggles mightily on that end of the floor. I like Camara in tournaments.
Dalano Banton, Portland Trailblazers
What's interesting about Banton's rotations from last night is that he played 10 minutes in each half, but no garbage time. Makes you wonder if he can play as well as he did yesterday, will he close? There's a chance. His 21% USG with everyone out is very respectable and he's a great rebounder
Late-News Core Play & News Section
*Section for players we are considering “core plays” based on late-breaking news & research
- Lamar Stevens is starting for the Grizzlies. Love him sub-5K.
- Christian Braun starting tonight. Not a bad value.
Player Pool
| $ Tier | PG | SG | SF | PF | C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Devin Booker  $9,500 |  LeBron James $10,200 |  Anthony Davis $11,400 |  Nikola Jokić $12,300 | |
| Kevin Durant $9,700 | |||||
| Medium | Jamal Murray $8,000 |  Anfernee Simons $7,700 | Jerami Grant $7,600 |  Jabari Smith $7,400 | Alperen Şengün $8,200 |
 D'Angelo Russell $7,800 | Jalen Green $6,500 |  Jusuf Nurkić $7,500 | |||
| Fred VanVleet $7,700 |  Vince Williams $6,900 | ||||
| Low | Jordan Goodwin $5,800 | Luke Kennard $4,500 | Ziaire Williams $4,900 | Rui Hachimura $5,300 | Duop Reath $5,000 |
| Dalano Banton $3,600 | Grayson Allen $5,600 | Cam Whitmore $4,800 | Santi Aldama $5,900 | ||
| Kris Murray $4,700 | Lamar Stevens $4,900 | ||||
| Toumani Camara $4,600 |  Jake LaRavia $3,800 |
Player News
Kristaps Porzingis (illness) said after Wednesday’s Game 2 loss to the Knicks that his current stamina issues may be related to the problem that sidelined him for eight games late in the regular season.
After an illness limited him to 13 first-half minutes in Boston’s series-opening defeat on Monday, Porzingis came off the bench in Game 2. Unfortunately, he could only give the Celtics 14 minutes. Following the game, Porzingis said his current problem may be related to the upper respiratory ailment that sidelined him for eight games late in the regular season. “Probably, probably,” Porzingis said. “I’ve had like ups and downs throughout until this point. Just now, had a big crash. Now, my energy, my everything, hasn’t been good, but who cares? Have to move forward and it will get better from this point.” While Boston’s shot selection was the focus following its two home defeats, Porzingis’ limited availability has also been a factor. He’ll hope to return to full health in time for Game 3 on Saturday afternoon.
Nikola Jokic finished with 17 points (6-of-16 FGs), eight rebounds, six assists, one steal, one block, two three-pointers and six turnovers in Game 2 against the Thunder on Wednesday.
This was Jokic’s worst performance of the postseason, and it came to an end in the third quarter. He fouled out with 1:17 left in the third, which brought his night to a close after he played 32 minutes. OKC was up 41 points when Jokic fouled out, so his night may have been close to over anyway. Jokic dominated Game 1, and the Thunder adjusted. Denver will need other players to step up if they want to have a chance of winning this series, but Jokic will also need to be better than he was in this game.
Michael Porter Jr. struggled on Wednesday and finished with just eight points (2-of-10 FGs), five rebounds, one steal and two three-pointers in Game 2 against the Thunder.
MPJ was slightly better in the second half, as all eight of his points came in the third quarter. However, the game was already out of hand at that point after a terrible first half for both Porter Jr. and the Nuggets. MPJ shot 1-of-8 in Game 1, and they’ll need him to be much better moving forward. The series will now shift back to Denver, and MPJ will look to get back on track during the two home games before the series heads back to Oklahoma City.
Russell Westbrook provided a boost off the bench with 19 points (5-of-11 FGs, 8-of-10 FTs), one rebound, five assists and one three-pointer in a 149-106 loss to the Thunder in Game 2 on Wednesday.
Despite an ugly first half for Denver, Westbrook was productive and entered the break with 15 points. He didn’t add much in the second half, though he sat the entire fourth quarter, still it was enough to lead the Nuggets in scoring. Russ has been awesome over Denver’s last five games, and his continued success will be key to the Nuggets winning this series. Though this game was ugly, they still have homecourt advantage in this series. They’ll look to keep it in Game 3 on Friday.
Chet Holmgren recorded a double-double on Wednesday with 15 points (3-of-8 FGs, 7-of-7 FTs), 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals, two blocks and two three-pointers in Game 2 against the Nuggets.
After struggling in Game 1, Holmgren bounced back and recorded the fourth postseason triple-double of his career, with three of those coming this season. Aside from Game 3 against Memphis, Holmgren has swatted at least two shots in every game during these playoffs, which was a trend that continued in this game despite him only playing 26 minutes. Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein (14/8/5/1/1) will look to continue to limit Nikola Jokic (17 points) in Game 3 on Friday.
Jalen Williams bounced back on Wednesday with 17 points (6-of-11 FGs), four rebounds, seven assists and two blocks in Game 2 against the Nuggets.
Williams was criticized for his poor performance in the Thunder’s Game 1 loss, but he responded well in OKC’s blowout victory. He was on pace for a bigger night, but he only played 26 minutes and sat the entire fourth quarter due to the lopsided score. He shot the ball much better after shooting 5-of-20 in Game 1, and he’ll need that success to carry over into Game 3 in Denver on Friday.