NBA DFS Picks, Projections, Lineups, Injuries & More Today: Sunday Playbook

Pistons are 2.5-point road favorites tonight as they take on the Blazers after losing to the Warriors last night. The loss to the Warriors had little to do with Cade however who finished with 31 points, four rebounds, five assists and four blocks+steals. Against the Blazers earlier this year he popped off for 57 fantasy points and he's likely going to rank among the top overall fantasy scorers again here today in this mathchup.

Harden has a 35% usage rate this season when Norman Powell is off of the floor and in two games against the Kings this season he's averaging 45.5 fantasy points. He's two games removed from scoring 50 actual against the Pistons and though he is going to draw the Keon Ellis defense tonight that's not anything we are too concerned about when it comes to Harden tonight. 

With Jaren Jackson Jr. and Santi Aldama off of the floor this season Morant has a 38% usage rate and averages 1.33 fantasy points per minute.  Yes, the Grizzlies are 10.5-point favorites today but this game still has a 239 total and if we can get the 32-to-35 minutes of run from Morant like we've seen of late then he is going to continue to pay off his price tag.

The 76ers continue to be mega chalk and now add in a super favorable matchup against the Utah Jazz and here we are. Grimes is averaging 35 fantasy points over his last five games and we've seen him score 30 and 44 actual points in two of the last four games. Grimes has a 25.5% usage rate with Maxey, Embiid and George off of the floor this season. 

We've seen the Jazz depleted many times this season and today is no difference. The last time we saw this lineup George still came off the bench but played 31 minutes and had a 35% usage rate in that game against the Pelicans. He has the highest ceiling of the active Utah players today.

DDV is still coming off of the bench but playing more minutes and closing over Mike Conley. He's really found his footing in Minnesota after a really slow start and his ability to knock down threes gives him a solid ceiling for when he gets hot.

Currently questionable but Alvarado is set up for big minutes today against the Grizzlies with McCollum out of the lineup. Alvarado played 23 minutes the other night and finished with 17 points, four rebounds and seven assists.

We have Ellis playing big minutes following the Fox trade and subsequent Monk injury and he's paid off the price tag out side the goose egg against the Mavs. He is a great source of blocks and steals which is rare as a guard. He's gone for 30+ fantasy points in three of the last four games. He isn't a high usage player but he hits his shots, can knock down threes and fills up the stat sheet.

This price point for Edwards is pretty solid and while the Timberwolves are 11.5-point home favorites we still typically see Edwards play big minutes in blowouts. He is a volume monster and leads the team in usage rate when on the floor.

Whenever we think we will get full minutes from Donovan Mitchell we want to get him into our tournament lineups and a matchup against the Bucks with a 242 total is a perfect spot for Donny Mitch to give us one of those ceiling games. No doubt he had a down game against the Hornets but before that he had three straight games with at least 45 fantasy points.

Averaging 38 fantasy points over the last five games, LaVine is coming off of a near 50 fantasy point effort against the Spurs. Yes, the Clippers are a tough defensive team but LaVine is going to play a ton of minutes and take a good amount of shots here in this matchup.

Like Ja Morant, Bane has some good numbers with JJJ and Aldama off of the floor this season. Bane with a 26.4% usage rate while averaging 1.31 fantasy points per minute. He's coming off of a 68 fantasy point effort against Dallas the other night, his second 60+ fantasy point game over the last three contests.

Castle is averaging 1.02 FP/Min with Wembanyama off of the floor this season with a 25.6% usage rate.  Since the All-Star break that usage rate has risen to 29.8%. He's averaging nearly 40 fantasy points per game over his last five games.

Stepping up with Norm Powell out of the lineup. Bogdanovic is averaging 24 fantasy points per game over the last six games while going for 23+ fantasy points in four straight. 

With Williamson, McCollum, Ingram and Murray off of the floor this season Hawkins averages .91 fantasy points per minute with a 23% usage rate. He's a volume shooter who showed his ceiling a few games back against the Suns when he finished with 41 fantasy points. That could be the case today with the Pelicans depleted.

More Philly mega chalk. Walker played 27 minutes against the Celtics the other night, scoring 17 points while owning a 25% usage rate in that game. When extended in two of the last three games he's gone for nearly 10x return on his price. That is very much in play today against the Jazz.

In a 252 minute sample size with Murphy on the floor without McCollum, Zion, Murray and Ingram he has a 29.3% usage rate. He is going to lead the team in shot attempts and likely points today even in a game where they are double-digit underdogs.

DDR is averaging close to 40 fantasy points per game over the last five games and he's coming off of a 43 and 50 FP games over his last two contests. This matchup against the Clippers isn't easy but he and LaVine are going to be the leading shot takers for the Kings.

Back in the lineup for the Clippers, Leonard is averaging 40 fantasy points per game over the last five games with a high of 47 fantasy points in that stretch. He's the clear second option behind James Harden with Norman Powell out of the lineup but offers solid value at this price tag.

We will monitor the injury situations for the Blazers but if Deni Avdija gets ruled out again then we should see Sharpe on the floor a lot today against the Pistons and he's flashed some really good fantasy upside when extended this season.

Aye, more Philly chalk, Oubre is coming off of a 48 fantasy point game the other night and he's averaging close to 40 fantasy points over the last four. Oubre has everything working for him right now as he plays a ton of minutes and gets a nice usage bump with Maxey, Embiid and George all out of the lineup.

Brown is expected to get some extended run today with Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum out of the lineup here today. He's capable of filling up the stat sheet and more than capable of paying off his price tag at slightly above $4,000.

Edwards should be locked into another 30+ minutes tonight for the 76ers in a much more favorable matchup than the one he just had against the Celtics. That said, the last two games where he played at least 30 minutes he went for 26 an 24 fantasy points which more than pays off the price tag.

With the Grizzlies shorthanded right now we are seeing Vince Williams play mid-20s minutes, averaging 25 minutes over the last three games. He's gone for 20+ fantasy points in each of the last four games.  Good matchup for him against the Pelicans.

LaRavia has been getting extended run over the last few games and he's paid off the playing time with some solid production. He is very cheap on DraftKings, near min-price, and has gone for 6+x in each of the last two games.

In two games against the Cavs this season Giannis is averaging 33.5 points, 15.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 2.0 steals.  If this game stays competitive it's because Giannis is having another huge output and as the highest priced player on the slate, he's not too difficult to get to with all the value on the slate.

Safe play. He popped a few games ago but he's rather been good not great when it comes to tournament upside.  I like him, he probably gets us 5x today but we likely need more outside of cash games.

Back after missing two games and played 36 minutes last night for the Pistons, finishing with 34 fantasy points. Safe play in a good matchup.

Honestly, this is a spot where Kelly Olynyk could be a slate breaker. Remember, he did pop for 46 fantasy points against the Jazz not too long ago and he's always someone who fills up the stat sheet.  Sure, hes coming off a game where he didn't score a single point and yet he still finished with 20 fantasy points. I'd expect a better output today.

Another guy benefiting from Sabonis and Monk being out of the lineup. Murray is averaging 30 FP over the last five games and is coming off a 37 fantasy point outing against the Spurs.

Popular value play tonight. With Jaren Jackson Jr. and Santi Aldama out of the lineup we should get mid-20s minutes from Clarke whose gone for 38 and 33 fantasy points over the last two games.

Tournament dart but Matkovic should be good for 20-to-25 minutes tonight with Zion out of the lineup and we've seen him be a strong fantasy point per minute producer this season when getting extended run.

The career year continues as Zubac is averaging 42 fantasy points per game over the last six games. He had 41 fantasy points the other night while playing 39 minutes. This isn't a tough matchup against Jonas Valanciunas either and another double-double should be a lock.

Speaking of JVal, boy, he's exploded with the extended playing time following the Domantas Sabonis injury, averaging 40 fantasy points over the last 5 games. He just went for 45 and 48 fantasy points over the last two games which included a game against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.

Just a really good price tag here for Allen in a matchup where the Cavaliers will need his size against a Bucks team that plays big with Giannis and Brook Lopez in the starting lineup. In three games against the Bucks this season he is averaging nearly 37 fantasy points.

Filipowski is averaging 1.11 fantasy points per minute this season with the core Jazz out of the lineup. Since the start of the new year he also has a 20% usage rate. He's averaging 32 fantasy points over the last six games and could approach 30 minutes again tonight against the 76ers.

If Drummond sits out then Yabusele has a big ceiling tonight with double-double upside.  If Drummond plays then I'm probably pivoting there over Yabu tonight.  All depends on the starting lineup so stay tuned for updates.

The last time we saw this type of lineup by the Jazz we saw Tshiebwe come off the bench, play 19 minutes and finish with six points and 13 rebounds for 22 fantasy points. In the two games of late where he's been extended to about 20 minutes hes gone for 13 rebounds in both with a high of 37 fantasy points coming against the Pelicans.  I'd expect something closer to 20 fantasy points than 37 fantasy points but he is a good per minute player.