Which players are must-starts in daily fantasy contests Thursday and which should stay on the DFS bench? Our experts weigh in with their picks and fades to help you set your lineups for daily fantasy hoops tonight.
Players to build around
Jusuf Nurkic, Portland Trail Blazers
Rudy Gobert went for 60 DFS points against the New York Knicks last night, becoming the latest center to go off against Jeff Hornacek's team. Tonight, it's Nurkic's turn, and he's priced below $8,000 on both DraftKings and FanDuel, so he'll only need to get 38-39 DFS points to reach his salary value. That could happen from his scoring and rebounds alone, and once you factor in his blocks and assists there's a decent chance Nurkic could hit the 50-point mark in DFS. He's a value I can't pass up Thursday. -- Joe Kaiser
It's not a pretty slate tonight, but two games feature reasonably high point totals with faster paced offenses and lax defenses. This is one of them. As Portland hosts the Knicks, who give up the fourth-most fantasy points per game to opposing centers this season, Nurkic has to stand out as a player to build around tonight. He's been wildly consistent outside of one outlier game vs. New Orleans and is always in the mix for a double-double. I don't mind paying for Nurkic in all formats thanks to his combination of a 30-fantasy point floor and 70-fantasy point upside. -- Renee Miller
We all know that Booker can get buckets, something I don't expect to be much of a problem in a game tonight where his Suns own the highest implied point total (113 points) of the slate. In addition to his scoring, fantasy owners should be thrilled about Booker's development in other areas, as the 8.5 rebounds-plus-assists he is averaging in March is the highest rate of his career. Safe usage rates are one thing to invest in, but extend that level of involvement over 36 minutes (his average since the beginning of January) against the third-worst defense that operates at the fastest pace? Booker is my top value for tonight's slate. -- Kyle Soppe
The Nets are first in the NBA in pace this season, while the Suns are second. The Nets ranks 28th in defensive rating (which measures points allowed per 100 possessions), while the Suns rank 25th in this efficiency metric. The matchup metrics look great from the macro view for Lopez as the team's offensive leader, and in getting position-specific, we find Phoenix has ceded the second-most fantasy points to centers over the past 10 games on FanDuel. Lopez has topped 35 fantasy points in seven straight games, suggesting his floor is uniquely stable in a game with the highest implied point total of the slate Thursday. It looks like I'll have shares of Lopez and Miami's Tyler Johnson as bankable building blocks today. -- Jim McCormick
Players to fade
Nerlens Noel, Dallas Mavericks
Noel is being limited to fewer than 25 minutes a game these days, which in itself is a big blow to his DFS value, but tonight's matchup against the LA Clippers and DeAndre Jordan -- one of the game's best rebounders -- will make it doubly difficult for Noel to come through with a strong performance. As you know, much of Noel's DFS value is wrapped up in his ability to pull down boards, and that will be a tall task against the Jordan-Blake Griffin frontcourt. -- Joe Kaiser
Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks
I'm traditionally anti-Melo, and with rumors swirling of his minutes cap, I have no idea how you can justify rostering him tonight. Sure, the reduction was supposed to take place last night and it didn't (36 minutes in a loss to Utah), but why play with fire? Even if Anthony were to play his normal compliment of minutes, are we sure he will return value? The Blazers offer almost no defensive resistance, but for the first month of his Knicks career (minimum 10 games played), Melo is taking fewer than 16 shots per game. Anthony is priced as a top-three small forward on both DraftKings and FanDuel tonight ... no thanks. -- Kyle Soppe
I'm avoiding 'Melo given it's the second game of a back-to-back on the road amid talk the team is planning to curb his minutes down the stretch. Last night in Utah, it wasn't a lack of minutes that caused Anthony's poor fantasy performance, but rather limited usage that saw him loft just 13 shots and compile a combined six rebounds and assists. Outside of Kawhi Leonard, I'm not paying up at the wing tonight, with value options such as Toronto's PJ Tucker proving prominent on this limited slate. -- Jim McCormick
Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns
It's hard to recommend fading anyone from this game! I expect a lot of fantasy points to come out of here, many of which will be had at a much better price than Booker's. Whether it's the ankle soreness or something else bothering Booker, he hasn't been very effective over the past week or so, averaging just 27 fantasy points per game over the last 10 days. His worst games have been the most recent ones, and while the matchups haven't been as good as Brooklyn will be tonight, I need to see him back to 40 fantasy points before I invest... even on this slate where midrange shooting guard value is scarce. -- Renee Miller
