Josh Engleman here to break down everything you need to know about tonight’s NBA DFS slate, including a nugget on Mikal Bridges heading into this evening. Let’s dive right into my NBA DFS advice for today, Wednesday, March 13.
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NBA DFS Advice Today: Time To Ride Mikal Bridges
TOR (+3.5) @ DET (232.0) | NBA DFS Advice Today
The Toronto Raptors are three and a half point underdogs in Detroit, taking on the Pistons with a 232 point total.
We’re still waiting on news regarding Immanuel Quickley and Gary Trent Jr., who are both questionable and missed the most recent game. If they’re in, both Quickley and Trent stand out as the best options from Toronto. Another option from the Raptors would be point guard/small forward eligible ($5100) Bruce Brown, assuming he maintains his spot in the starting lineup.
For the Pistons, Ausar Thompson should be back today, with Detroit having quite a few plays that look better than the Raptors side. That starts with $6700 center Jalen Duren, standing out as the best option from the Pistons, 1.17 DraftKings points per minute over the last 30 days. After that, Ausar Thompson, Cade Cunningham, and Isaiah Stewart all look better than the Toronto options. Whereas Jaden Ivey, a $6100 point guard/shooting guard, looks very similar to Quickley and Trent.
Ultimately, my favorite play in this game is Jalen Duren.
BKN (+7.0) @ ORL (205.5) | NBA DFS Advice Today
The Brooklyn Nets are 7 point underdogs in Orlando, taking on the Magic with a 205 point total.
Brooklyn looks to get Cam Thomas and Cameron Johnson back after some absences. Unfortunately, with those guys coming back, we don’t really have a lot of value on the Nets side. Mikal Bridges stands out as your best option. He is at $6900 as shooting guard/small forward eligible. Still just a mild play, having been at .89 DraftKings points per minute over the past 30 days. I only have him projected for .91, which is still good enough to show up in lineups but not a priority.
The only other guy I would entertain would be $6900 center Nic Claxton.
The Orlando side seems similar. We should be seeing Jalen Suggs back for this game, having missed the previous two. It’s possible the best option for the Magic is $4700 point guard/shooting guard eligible Cole Anthony, but I think that’s more of a testament to what this game looks like. This is ultimately an unappealing matchup.
CHI (+4.0) @ IND (231.5) | NBA DFS Advice Today
The Chicago Bulls are four-point underdogs in Indiana, with a 231.5 total, taking on the Pacers.
For the Bulls, they’re looking like the same team they normally are, having had a very similar rotation since Zach LaVine went down. Coby White, DeMar DeRozan, and Ayo Dosunmu are all playing around 38 minutes a night, but the prices have stabilized. DeRozan at $8200, small forward/power forward eligible, Coby White at $7800, point guard eligible, and Nikola Vucevic at $8300, center only, are your three best plays, as they normally are.
This is a fantastic spot for the Bulls. The Bulls are 26th in pace, the Pacers are first. This is also a back-to-back for the Pacers, and the Pacers defense ranks 25th in defensive rating. An incredible spot for Chicago, it’s just unfortunate they have relatively stable pricing. Ayo Dosunmu and Alex Caruso are also fine to roster, but neither guy will be a priority.
The Pacers enter after their back-to-back and do have a couple of options, even in this bad matchup. Myles Turner leads the charge, he’s a $6200 center, 1.26 DraftKings points per minute over the past 30 days. Pascal Siakam, a $7200 small forward/power forward, 1.15 DraftKings points per minute over the past 30 days, and Aaron Nesmith has seen his minutes increase back to the range he was at prior to his injury, making him more appealing than normal.
Tyrese Haliburton is still there at $9400, point guard only. His play has dropped off a bit since his original injury, but he is still at 1.2 DraftKings points per minute over the past 30 days. Jalen Smith gets the backup center run to Myles Turner and is simply just injury or foul trouble away from picking up a couple of extra minutes. His power forward eligibility helps out tremendously. The best play in this game, however, is Myles Turner.
DEN (-4.5) @ MIA (214.5)
The Denver Nuggets are 4.5 point favorites in Miami, taking on The Heat with a 214 point total.
This is a very tough spot to want to roster anyone from The Nuggets. The Heat are a top 10 defense, and 27th in pace, while Denver is 22nd in pace. This is going to be a slow defensive matchup, and with everyone being healthy for Denver, all of the starter prices have stabilized. I don’t really have a single recommendation from The Denver Nuggets.
Obviously, playing someone like Jamal Murray or Nikola Jokic is totally fine in terms of hitting a ceiling; however, neither guy has a projection that creates immense value based on his salary.
The Miami Heat look incrementally better than Denver, but this is still not a great spot. Bam Adebayo leads the charge, $8500 center only, probably not my favorite center option due to the price, but still likely the best option from The Heat. Caleb Martin, a $4800 power forward only option who scores roughly 0.8 DraftKings points per minute, and Jimmy Butler, $8600 small forward only who’s been playing a bit better as of late, 1.24 DraftKings points per minute, are the other two options that I have my eye on for Miami, but ultimately this slow defensive matchup is not a high priority for me.
CHA (-1.5) @ MEM (205.5)
The Charlotte Hornets are one and a half point favorites in Memphis, taking on the Grizzlies with a 205 point total, which is tied for the lowest total on today’s slate, tipping off at 8 pm.
For the Hornets, Tre Mann is questionable; he’s missed the past few with this injury. If he comes back, it does have a negative effect on a few other Hornets options. Nick Richards looks like a solid enough value as a $5700 center, but the position is relatively loaded with similar plays today. If Mann is back, I don’t see anyone for the Hornets that stands out here.
On the Grizzlies’ side, they’re playing back-to-backs. They had multiple people either out or questionable that were able to play yesterday, and we have no real concept of who is going to be available for today. What I can say is that if $8600 power forward/center eligible Jaren Jackson Jr. is back for this game, he stands out as the clear best option for Memphis, 1.23 DraftKings points per minute over the past 30 days, but he unquestionably projects better than that in a matchup against the Hornets.
If he is out, that will really change the entire scope of the team as Jackson carries a 34% usage rate, which will need to be redistributed to the other members who are still active for the Grizzlies. This one needs more information.
CLE (+7.0) @ NOP (214.5)
The Cleveland Cavaliers are 7-point underdogs in New Orleans, taking on the Pelicans with a 214-point total.
Donovan Mitchell is listed as questionable for this game. Mitchell has missed the previous seven games but is looking to make his return today. If Mitchell is back, it really makes the rest of Cleveland look unappealing. The prices for most of Cleveland have risen since Mitchell’s absence, and that makes it difficult to want to use them if Mitchell is back.
Mitchell is $9200, point guard/shooting guard eligible, and does look like the best option from Cleveland, although he wasn’t playing exceptionally well prior to the injury, 1.13 DraftKings points per minute in the run-up to missing those seven games.
The Pelicans, on the other hand, may be the most confusing team of any team on the slate, assuming everyone is in. We have a $3600 center-only Larry Nance providing the best value from the Pelicans. But after that, I have a very hard time separating the following list of players: C.J. McCollum, Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, Herb Jones, Jonas Valanciunas, and Jose Alvarado.
They all look fine; they all look like lineup filler, but there is not a single priority coming from the New Orleans Pelicans today. The Pelicans also have to deal with a slow-paced Cleveland team that has a relatively highly ranked defense even without Evan Mobley.
GSW (+7.5) @ DAL (236.5)
The Golden State Warriors are 7.5-point underdogs in Dallas with a 236-point total.
The Warriors will be without Steph Curry once again, although he is slowly making his way back to the team. Assuming the Warriors keep the same starting lineup that they had in the previous game, with Trayce Jackson-Davis coming off of the bench, Jonathan Kuminga looks like the best option from the Warriors, $7000, power forward only, 1.1 DraftKings points per minute over the past 30 days but does see a nice bump due to the matchup.
Dallas’ defense, bottom 10 in the league, plays at a fast enough pace that Golden State picks up an extra possession over their average. The other guy that I have my eye on would be Andrew Wiggins, who finally made his return back into the starting lineup, playing around 30 minutes last game . He’s $5100, small forward/power forward only, and roughly a 0.9 fantasy point per minute player, particularly when Steph Curry is off the floor.
For the Mavericks, this seems like business as usual. Luka Doncic is $12,800, point guard only, but does look like the best pay-up option on today’s slate. He’s averaging 1.9 DraftKings points per minute over the past 30 days, and 1.8 is the projection for this matchup. You can also get to $8600 point guard/shooting guard Kyrie Irving, who had a rough game last time out but could easily rebound here.
If you’re looking for more of a flyer, $5300 power forward/center option, PJ Washington would be my third best option from the Mavericks, but if we’re looking at Dallas, the priority for this game and for the entire slate, even at a lofty salary, is Luka Doncic.
Hopefully you found our NBA DFS Advice Today column helpful, including our nugget on Mikal Bridges.