DraftKings & Fanduel NBA Daily Fantasy Picks: DFS Lineups 3/18/19

Happy Monday, let's start this week off on the winning side! We have an awesome 9 game slate, with 5 teams on their second night of a back to back. All the games are projected to be tightly contested except the New York Knicks vs the Toronto Raptors game which has a 13.5 point spread. But do not let that spread scare you off the game, both teams are dealing with injuries. The Raptors are dealing with injuries to their star players. Keep an eye on the injury news, because this game could have some of the best value on the slate.

DK Salary: $6,800 / FD Salary: $8,300

If the injury report for the Toronto Raptors comes out the way I expect it to, I will have a lot of exposure to the Raptors in their game against the New York Knicks. Anytime time Kawhi Leonard or Kyle Lowry are out, the first player I put on my team is Raptors power forward Pascal Siakam. The Raptors will also be without suspended power forward Serge Ibaka. Due to this, Siakam will get all the minutes he can handle with an increase in usage rate. We are projecting him to play 32 minutes and score 32.92 fantasy points. That is more than a fantasy point a minute. Siakam also has an ideal matchup, as the Knicks rank 30th vs the power forward position in terms of DVP. I am expecting both Lowry and Leonard to sit, so Siakam will be the focal point of the offense and could end up scoring 50+. That would be enough to 6x his $8,300 price tag.

DK Salary: $4,000 / FD Salary: $4,600

Staying with the Raptors, another great play is point guard Fred VanVleet. Kyle Lowry is considered questionable tonight and as I said above I am expecting him to sit out against the Knicks. Fred VanVleet got the start on Sunday after missing 12 games due to a thumb injury and played 31 minutes and scored 22.2 fantasy points. When a player misses extended time, I usually am weary of playing them on a back to back, but because VanVleet's injury was a thumb injury, he was able to stay in shape and he probably won't have his minutes restricted. We are projecting VanVleet to play 24 minutes and score 23.32 fantasy points. I expect him to play more like 30 to 33 like he did on Sunday. VanVleet should be in all your cash lineups if he gets the start because he will have a solid floor, but he also has the upside to score 40+ and being a key contributor to your tournament winning lineup!

DK Salary: $5,100 / FD Salary: $6,000

The Oklahoma City Thunder will be hosting the Miami Heat tonight. We currently do not have an over/under for this game, but it is projected to be a close game with a 4.5 point spread. The Thunder will be without their superstar point guard Russell Westbrook. He is suspended after he picked up his 16^th technical vs the Golden State Warriors on Saturday. Everyone will flock to roster Paul George who will be an awesome play, but FanDuel priced him up to $11,200. I will have plenty of exposure to George, but my favorite play on the Thunder is shooting guard Dennis Schroder. Coming off the bench, Schroder already plays 30+ minutes a night and now he may get the start and we can see him play 35 minutes. Westbrook has a massive 32.38 percent usage rate, and Schroder will absorb a large chunk of that. There are two reason why he won't be extremely high owned, one is that he doesn't have the greatest matchup as the Miami Heat rank 3rd against the shooting guard position, and Like George, Schroder's FanDuel price also saw an increase. This will not scare me off of Schroder. He is my favorite point per dollar play and will be in all my lineups!

DK Salary: $5,200 / FD Salary: $5,200

We want to get exposure to the game with the game with the highest over/under. That game is the New Orleans Pelicans vs the Dallas Mavericks. The New Orleans Pelicans point guard Elfrid Payton has been on a tear as he has recorded a triple-double in 4 straight game but FanDuel gave him a huge price increase. Mavericks shooting guard Luka Doncic also has an awesome matchup as the Pelicans are one of the worst teams in terms of defensive rating. Those two players will be highly owned, I will pivot off of them and roster Mavs shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. His matchup in terms of DVP couldn't get any better, as the Pelicans rank 30^th vs the shooting guard position. Hardaway has a solid minutes floor as he seen 36 and 37 minutes his last two games. But his point floor is extremely high because of the pace of this game, we are projecting him to score 27.90 fantasy points. In this awesome matchup he could end up scoring 40+ and be one of the top values on the slate!

DK Salary: $9,000 / FD Salary: $10,000

I saved my favorite play for last! The Portland Trailblazer will be hosting the Indiana Pacers on Monday, this game has the lowest over/under on the slate at 213.5. Portland Trailblazer Damian Lillard is my favorite play on the entire slate. He should be highly owned but people will be scared off of this game because of the low over/under. Trailblazer shooting guard CJ McCollum was injured on Saturday and has been ruled out for Monday's game. Lillard has a high usage rate at 27.65 percent but when McCollum sits out Lillard usage rate goes up 10 percent. Another reason Lillard will go under owned is because he has an awful matchup against the Indiana Pacers who rank 1^st against the point guard position. Lillard will have a huge increase in usage rate, will carry more of the scoring load, and be lower owned due to his matchup. Those are the reasons why he is my favorite play on the slate. We are projecting him to score 42.45 fantasy points, but if he gets hot from the field, I can see him score 35 NBA points and score us 60+ fantasy points and be the top scorer on the slate!

Days like today are days you need to be around your phone at lock because the injury news could change the whole slate. I gave you some of my favorite plays, who have tougher matchups, who may be lower owned. Pascal Siakam, Dennis Schroder, and Damian Lillard will be in most if not all of my lineups. They will take me to the winnings on Monday! Who are your favorite plays on Monday? Let's win big…together!