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

Welcome to Wednesday’s NBA DFS Playbook for March 5th, 2025! Tonight’s slate on DraftKings and FanDuel is brimming with potential, featuring a mix of high-paced matchups and defensive vulnerabilities ripe for the picking. Recent roster shakeups and injury reports have shifted the landscape, opening doors for both premium options and under-the-radar values to shine. Success will hinge on navigating the latest news and identifying the right spots to exploit, whether it’s a team leaning on its stars or a depth chart forced to adapt.

Before actually diving into the meat and potatoes, welcome to the NBA DFS season. If this is your first time reading our column on NBA DFS picks, I just want to welcome you and give you a few tips and tricks on what you should be looking for each night.

• News outlets: reliable sources that give us injury news & starting lineups
• Pace of play: who's playing fast vs. who's playing slow. Which teams get a pace-up spot (more possessions) vs. pace-down (fewer possessions)
• Usage rates: is a percentage of how many plays that player is being used in
• NBA DFS Projections
• Lineup Generator
• NBA Ownership

NBA DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, March 5th

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Pre/Post-Lock Update

This section will be used for anything that changes from the morning until right up to roster lock. 

Injury updates, players we’re higher on than we were in the morning and so much more.

UPDATE 5:45 PM ET

Jayson Tatum - OUT

Kristaps Porzingis - OUT

Tyler Herro - OUT

Jerami Grant - OUT

UPDATE 6:30 PM ET

Julius Randle - ACTIVE

Kevin Love Starting 

Davion Mitchell Starting

Alec Burks Starting 

Update 6:42 PM ET

Kai Jones OUT

Caleb Martin OUT

Update 7:54 PM ET

Santi Aldama OUT

NBA Injuries, News & Updates Today, 3/5

• Nikola Jokic - Q
• Giannis Antetokounmpo - P
• Kawhi Leonard - Out
• Norman Powell - Out
• Jayson Tatum - Out
• Damian Lillard - P
• Domantas Sabonis - Out
• Tyler Herro - Out
• Ja Morant - Q
• Jaylen Brown - IN
• Jaren Jackson - Out
• Malik Monk - Out
• Kristaps Porzingis - Out
• Chet Holmgren - Out
• P.J. Washington - Out
• Jordan Poole - Out
• Daniel Gafford - Out
• Derrick White - Q
• Lauri Markkanen - Out
• Andrew Wiggins - Out
• Walker Kessler - Out
• John Collins - Out
• Julius Randle - Q
• Keyonte George - Q
• Santi Aldama - Q
• Rudy Gobert - Out
• Kyle Kuzma - P
• Jordan Clarkson - Out
• Collin Sexton - Out
• Deandre Ayton - Out
• Kel'el Ware - Out
• Jerami Grant - Q
• Payton Pritchard - P
• Aaron Wiggins - Q
• Kyshawn George - Q
• Kai Jones - Q
• Dante Exum - Out
• Nikola Jovic - Out
• Richaun Holmes - Q
• Scottie Pippen Jr. Q
• Jaden Hardy - Out
• Mike Conley - Out
• Jaime Jaquez - Out
• Alex Caruso - Out
• Caleb Martin - Q
• Gary Trent Jr - Out

NBA DFS Slate & Game Overviews

In the section below, I’m listing the most notable things we need to look at in Las Vegas, including notable O/U and spreads. Not every game is listed, but every game listed has the pace and defensive numbers listed.

NBA DFS Core Player Pool & Lineup Picks

Here are the core players I’m looking at for my NBA DFS picks tonight. You can see the full analysis of tonight’s NBA DFS projections and player pool below or skip ahead to building the best lineups possible by locking these into the aforementioned lineup generator now.

High

• Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cade Cunningham (FD), James Harden (FD)

Mid

• Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Ja Morant, Evan Mobley, Jalen Williams, Zach LaVine, Naz Reid, Mark Williams, DeMar DeRozan, Jonas Valanciunas, Santi Aldama, Isaiah Collier, Naji Marshall, Donte DiVincenzo, Khris Middleton, Ausar Thompson, Malik Beasley

Value

• Carlton Carrington,  Alex Sarr, Max Christie, Spencer Dinwiddie, Zach Edey, Terry Rozier, Al Horford, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Brice Sensabaugh, Kyle Filipowski, Vince Williams, Keon Ellis, Markelle Fultz, 

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Stacks

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