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

Happy Thursday, March 20th, we have a five-game NBA DFS main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel. Two of the games tip off at 7:00 PM ET, and then we have a three-hour gap to the final three games in the late window. Thankfully, the Lakers have already given us their injury report and Luka Doncic will rest tonight, so we have avoided a guessing game on his availability during the gap in start times. With Luka joining LeBron James on the Lakers inactive list, Giannis Antetokounmpo is on an island by himself as the only player priced above $10,000 on either site.

Be sure to join us in Discord for any important injury news leading up to roster lock. Let's dive in and discuss some of the top plays and best pivots for this NBA DFS slate. 

UPDATE: The Lakers have also ruled out Austin Reaves and the Bucks downgraded Damian Lillard to questionable. 

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 20th

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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 5:25 PM ET

• Tyrese Haliburton - OUT
  • Bennedict Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard are solid values 

UPDATE 6:05 PM ET

• Moussa Diabate - Available 
• Marcus Garrett - OUT

UPDATE 6:35 PM ET

• Miles McBride - Available 

All status updates after contest roster lock will be made in the Fantasy Alarm Discord: https://discord.gg/2yATJxXe8G

NBA Injuries, News & Updates Today, 3/20

• Cameron Johnson - OUT
• Cam Thomas - OUT
• Tyrese Haliburton - OUT
• Jalen Brunson - OUT
• Miles McBride - Available
• Mitchell Robinson - OUT
• Moussa Diabate - Available
• Marcus Garrett - OUT
• Josh Giddey - Q
• Lonzo Ball - OUT
• Domantas Sabonis - OUT
• Jake LaRavia - Q
• RJ Barrett - OUT
• Gradey Dick - OUT
• Ja'Kobe Walter - OUT
• Gary Payton - Q
• Damian Lillard - Q
• Luka Doncic - OUT
• LeBron James - OUT
• Austin Reaves - OUT
• Rui Hachimura - OUT
• Dorian Finney-Smith - D
• Jarred Vanderbilt - D

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

• Giannis Antetokounmpo, Karl-Anthony Towns 

Mid

• Damian Lillard (if active), DeMar DeRozan, Malik Monk, OG Anunoby, Draymond Green, Mikal Bridges, D'Angelo Russell, Andrew Nembhard, Dalton Knecht, Bennedict Mathurin  

Value

• Jaxson Hayes, Jordan Goodwin, Gabe Vincent, Shake Milton, Markieff Morris (if starting) 

Don't Miss The NBA DFS Playbook Live Show At 5:00 PM ET

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