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

It's Thursday, March 19th, and we have a 6-game NBA DFS main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel. 

There are some big names on the injury report this evening. Cade Cunningham has already been ruled, as have Dejounte Murray and Darius Garland. Furthermore, the Lakers' top three players are all questionable, as are Kawhi Leonard and Donovan Mitchell. 

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 19th

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Pre/Post-Lock Update Section

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.

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

UPDATE 6:45 PM ET

• Luka Doncic - AVAILABLE
• LeBron James - AVAILABLE
• Stephon Castle - Questionable (downgrade) 
• Donovan Mitchell unlikely to play 
• Grayson Allen - OUT
• Haywood Highsmith - OUT
• Kawhi Leonard - OUT 

UPDATE 3:00 PM ET

• Donovan Mitchell - Questionable (downgrade)
• Luka Doncic - Questionable
• LeBron James - Questionable
• Austin Reaves - Questionable
• Isaac Okoro- OUT
• Collin Sexton - Questionable
• Jalen Smith - Questionable
• Wendell Carter - OUT
• Kawhi Leonard - Questionable 
• Darius Garland - OUT
• Dejounte Murray - OUT
• Haywood Highsmith - Questionable (downgrade)
• Royce O'Neale - OUT

NBA Injuries, News & Updates Today, 3/19

• DET:
  Cade Cunningham - Out
  Isaiah Stewart - Out
• WAS:
  Alex Sarr - Available
  Bilal Coulibaly - Out
  Anthony Davis - Out
  Cam Whitmore - Out
  Kyshawn George - Out
  Leaky Black - Out
  Trae Young - Out
• ORL:
  Anthony Black - Out
  Franz Wagner - Out
  Jonathan Isaac - Out
• CHA:
  Tidjane Salaun - Out
• CLE:
  Craig Porter - Out
  Jarrett Allen - Out
• CHI:
  Yet to submit
• LAC:
  Yet to submit
• NOP:
  Yet to submit
• LAL:
  Yet to submit
• MIA:
  Jaime Jaquez. - Out
  Bam Adebayo - Available
  Andrew Wiggins - Out
• PHX:
  Grayson Allen - Out
  Royce O'Neale - Out
  Dillon Brooks - Out
  Mark Williams - Out
• SAS:
  None

h/t @UnderdogNBA 

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

• Luka Doncic, Victor Wembanyama, Josh Giddey, Paolo Banchero, James Harden

Mid

• Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker, Jalen Duren, LaMelo Ball, Evan Mobley, Trey Murphy, Austin Reaves, Zion Williamson, LeBron James, Jalen Green, Norman Powell, Saddiq Bey, Kel'el Ware, Will Riley

Value

• Oso Ighodaro, Daniss Jenkins, Leonard Miller, Jordan Miller, Jeremiah Fears, Yves Missi, Karlo Matkovic, Goga Bitadze, Moritz Wagner, Kobe Sanders, Jordan Poole 

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