Welcome to Underdog Fantasy NBA picks for March 18th! Tonight's slate features eight matchups packed with action. 

 

 

 

Today, our top plays center around Pistons center Jalen Duren; this rising star has been a menace on the glass this season and tonight will take on a Celtics front court that could be down both Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis. Additionally, we are looking at Cleveland Cavaliers forward Georges Niang, whose sharpshooting prowess has been pivotal for the Cavs offense given their injuries over the past weeks.

Let’s get to my Underdog Fantasy NBA picks for today!

NBA Underdog Fantasy Picks Today, 3/18

Jalen Duren DFS Picks: C, Detroit Pistons

We don’t often like to target players going against the Boston Celtics and tonight could certainly be a risk with the Pistons sitting as a 15.5-point road underdog here today. But we also have to take a look at who the Celtics could have on the floor tonight and where the potential weakness to attack is going to be. 

The Celtics are on the second leg of a back-to-back. Al Horford played on Sunday and has not played a back-to-back this season therefore he will almost certainly be ruled out. The Celtics have also been without Kristaps Porzingis who is dealing with a hamstring injury that has cost him the last five games. 

It would seem unlikely he makes a return tonight, against the Pistons, with the Celtics sitting with a 9.5 game lead in the Eastern Conference standings. What this means is that the starting front court for the Celtics will include Luke Kornet at center and Xavier Tillman as the backup. This is a premium spot for Duren to take advantage of.when it comes to rebounding as Kornet is a stretch center and Tillman is undersized. 

In a similar spot against the Raptors and Kelly Olynyk we saw Duren pull down 23 rebounds and he just had a 17-rebound game in a much tougher matchup against Bam Adebayo and the Miami Heat. Duren’s rebounding projection is set at 11.5, a number he’s eclipsed in two of the last three games.

 

 

 

Georges Niang DFS Picks: PF, Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavs are once again without Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley this evening in their matchup against the Pacers. This is a big-time pace up spot for the Cavs in a game that has one of the highest game totals on the board. 

Niang has really stepped up his game in recent weeks with the team needing him to play more minutes due to injuries and in seven games as a starter this season, he is averaging 13.1 points with 5.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 44.7% from three-point range and 50.8% from the floor. 

We are looking at Niang’s point projection here tonight which is set at 11.5 points. As a starter, Niang has finished with more than 11.5 points in five of the seven games this season which includes five of the last six games.