It’s Tuesday, March 24th. The National Basketball Association (NBA) has just four total games on the schedule. We have a doubleheader on NBC and Peacock featuring the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic at 8:00 p.m. ET, while the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns tip it off at 11:00 p.m. ET. Below are our top NBA DFS picks for today.
View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our NBA Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
NBA DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Primer
NBA DFS Core Plays
Karl-Anthony Towns (PF, C – NYK)
- DraftKings: $9,400
- FanDuel: $8,800
Karl-Anthony Towns faces a New Orleans Pelicans defense that has been extremely giving, coughing up 119.2 points per game (points), ranking 25th in the NBA. They are also allowing teams to hit 47.4% from the field, ranking 19th. The Pelicans are pretty decent against the three, so that’s why we’ll use the New York bigs as part of our stack, but not so much any players from the backcourt.
Towns steams in with four consecutive double-doubles, including 26 points and 16 rebounds with three assists, a steal and a three-pointer on 9-of-13 shooting in Sunday’s 32-point win over the Washington Wizards. Towns faces a similar team with shoddy defense, so expect another productive double-double with plenty of counting stats.
James Harden (PG – CLE)
- DraftKings: $9,000
- FanDuel: $9,200
James Harden is our top play in the DFS backcourt with the short slate. He has been a tremendous fantasy option for years, posting 40.1+ fantasy points per game on DraftKings in each of the past 14 seasons.
Harden is coming off 20 points, 10 assists, six rebounds, a block, a steal and four three-pointers in a 111-106 victory in New Orleans on Saturday. He has pulled down five or more boards in seven in a row, while posting six or more assists in six in a row, with at least one steal in five consecutive outings. Consistency is key in DFS, and as long as Harden is healthy, he is always a strong play, especially against shabby teams.
LaMelo Ball (PG – CHA)
- DraftKings: $8,600
- FanDuel: $8,600
LaMelo Ball is a decent play, either in tandem with James Harden in the DFS backcourt or as a preferred standalone option. He is facing a Sacramento defense with an opponent rank of 25, while averaging 39.9 fantasy points per game.
The Hornets just topped the Kings in Sacramento on March 11th, and Ball hit 10-of-22 from the field, including 6-of-13 from behind the arc, finishing with 30 points, six rebounds, five assists, a steal and six three-pointers.
NBA DFS Cash Game Targets
OG Anunoby (PF – NYK)
- DraftKings: $6,800
- FanDuel: $6,900
OG Anunoby is coming off a stinker against the Wizards last time out, going 3-of-7 from the field with just nine points and four turnovers in 29 minutes on Sunday. That snapped a 12-game streak with double-digit point totals.
As such, Anunoby’s DFS salary has slid a little bit. Anunoby should bounce back nicely against the Pelicans, who are 23rd in opponent rank. Despite the poor game against the Wizards, he is averaging 18.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.6 three-pointers per game in 12 games in March.
Josh Hart (SG, SF – NYK)
- DraftKings: $6,600
- FanDuel: $6,700
Part of your Knicks stack needs to include swingman Josh Hart. He is having a strong season for the Knicks, posting 10.2 rebounds per 40 minutes, which would be the second-best mark of his career, and his 16.3 points per 40 minutes would be the third-best mark of his career. His usage rate of 18.7% is the second-highest of his career.
Hart is averaging 32.3 fantasy points per game, and he is facing a Pelicans defense with an opponent rank of 26. He is averaging 24.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists with two steals and four three-pointers in the past two games. He should shine against the Pelicans, a team he played for from 2019 to 2022 for parts of three seasons.
Miles Bridges (PF – CHA)
- DraftKings: $6,100
- FanDuel: $6,100
Miles Bridges has averaged 32.1 fantasy points per game, and he is facing a so-so defense, which has an opponent rank of 15. He is working on an eight-game streak with 11+ points. Bridges is averaging 14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.4 three-pointers in 10 games in March.
Bridges’ highest score of the month was when he dropped 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting in a 117-109 win in Sacramento. He also added five assists, two rebounds and three triples on four attempts.
NBA DFS GPP Targets
Mikal Bridges (SF – NYK)
- DraftKings: $5,700
- FanDuel: $5,900
We went with Miles Bridges in cash games above, and we’ll play Mikal Bridges as a GPP target against the Pelicans. He was good for 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting in Sunday’s blowout of the Wizards, and he should be able to replicate that kind of production and then some against the Pelicans.
Bridges has had some shaky showings in March, including a scoreless performance against the Lakers. He is still averaging 10.3 points in March, and 11 points, 4.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 three-pointers in the past three outings.
Moussa Diabate (C – CHA)
- DraftKings: $5,500
- FanDuel: $5,600
Moussa Diabate is a strong play at a mid-tier price. The Kings are 29th in opponent rank, so Diabate and the Charlotte frontcourt should be able to put up some healthy points on Tuesday night.
Diabate went for 11 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal on 5-of-6 shooting in 33 minutes against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday. The last time he faced the Kings in Sacramento, he did score just two points. However, he also gathered 10 rebounds with a pair of assists in 34 minutes.
Diabate isn’t really known for his point production, but he’ll notch a handful of blocks and an occasional steal. He’ll flirt with double-digit rebound totals.
Coby White (PG, SG – CHA)
- DraftKings: $4,700
- FanDuel: $5,400
Coby White has really enjoyed his time since coming over to the Queen City from Chitown. He is working on an impressive four-game streak with 12+ points, averaging 20.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists and a total of 11 three-pointers in the past four games.
White is averaging 30 fantasy points per game this season, and he is facing a Kings team that has an opponent rank of 25. He is working on a nine-game streak with at least one three-pointer. As long as he keeps the turnovers down, he’ll be a solid value at this low price.
NBA DFS Value Plays
Thomas Bryant (C – CLE)
- DraftKings: $3,000
- FanDuel: $3,900
Thomas Bryant is having some success lately with Jarrett Allen (knee) sidelined due to knee tendinitis. The journeyman pivot posted 11 points with eight rebounds last time out against the Pelicans in New Orleans on Saturday, hitting 5-of-7 from the field in 15 minutes.
Bryant has hit double digits in points in four of the past six games.
Ryan Dunn (PF – PHX)
- DraftKings: $3,400
- FanDuel: $4,000
Ryan Dunn has been seeing regular time with Dillon Brooks (hand) out. He has scored 12 points in each of his past two games, averaging 12 points while shooting 58.9% (10-of-17) from the field in the past two games. During that span, Dunn has also averaged 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, two steals, one block and two three-pointers. At this price, that’s huge production for your DFS dollar.
Tristan da Silva (SF, PF – ORL)
- DraftKings: $4,800
- FanDuel: $5,000
A strong low-cost option is Tristan da Silva, who continues to see plenty of minutes with Franz Wagner (ankle) out. Da Silva scored 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting against Indiana on Monday night, hitting three triples. At this price, he is a steal if he comes close to that kind of production.
