DraftKings Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Thursday 3/18/21

With six games to choose from on Thursday's slate -- which locks at 7:00 p.m. EST -- let's look at the top options across all five positions for NBA DFS.

Be sure to check out our projections, which are updated throughout the day as news breaks, and our other DFS tools such as advanced stats and a matchup heat map.

Here are some of the top plays on today's DraftKings slate. As always, good luck.

Point Guard

Damian Lillard ($11,000) - Lillard is on fire, en fuego, scorching hot. Whatever you want to call it, he's on one. And last game his streak came to a head with a 50-burger against these same New Orleans Pelicans, who he torched for 75 DraftKings points in a one-point win when all was said and done. Now over a two-game sample, Dame has averaged 46.5 points and 77.0 DK points in this head-to-head. How can't he be the top priority of the night?

Lonzo Ball ($6,900) - While it's true that Lillard was the talk of the league on Tuesday night, don't forget about what Ball is doing for the Pels. He struggled in his first two games out of the break, shooting just 4-for-19 from the floor, but since then he's averaged 15.5 points on 61% shooting (53% from three), all the while adding 11.0 assists and totaling 43.4 DK points per game with helping stats. The upside is just as high again here, as this game carries a massive 241 over/under, per NBA Finals odds.

Shooting Guard

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($9,000) - SGA is doing all he can to show that there's at least one bright spot in Oklahoma City. Even with the team headed toward a tank job of sorts, he's continued to play well, scoring 30-plus in three of his last four showings for the Thunder. He has taken advantage of some cupcake matchups, but the Atlanta Hawks are no threat to his fantasy production. Not only could they be without Clint Capela, but according to NBA.com, they come into tonight ranked 22nd in defensive efficiency.

Donovan Mitchell ($8,700) - More than likely, you'll have to limit yourself to one of these two budding stars. The question is whether Mitchell is worth the $300 salary relief. Because, while SGA might have the higher upside and more tournament appeal, Mitchell is almost assured a solid game. He and the Jazz draw a cake matchup with the Wizards, who are 27th in defensive rating and 1st in the league in pace, averaging more than five additional possessions on a per-game basis. You can lock in Mitchell, but just know that he will be a highly-rostered player across all formats.

Small Forward

RJ Barrett ($6,400) - A large chunk of NBA DFS can be attributed to opportunity, something Barrett has gotten a lot of these days. After being limited to only 29 minutes in the New York Knicks' first game of the second half, he proceeded to log 36, 35, and 41 minutes, converting that time into 41.4 DK points a game and 1.11 per minute. He's scored at least 22 real-life points in three of the last four, shooting an improved 48.1% from the floor and 40% from three. The Orlando Magic are a middling defense and -- per FantasyPros -- allow the sixth-most DK points to small forwards, meaning Barrett should enjoy a nice game tonight.

Talen Horton-Tucker ($3,900) - In a night with fairly tight pricing, it's hard to find obvious value below $4,500. If you're in need of it, though, Horton-Tucker is the guy to target in order to roster Lillard in hopes of a 70-point night. The highly-regarded rookie has played well all year, but in the last two, he's logged 28 and 26 minutes. With that, he's been able to score 16 and 18 real-life points en route to 30.75 and 40.5 DK points, respectively. With the Lakers missing at least two rotational players, he should be in for a similar workload at home against the Hornets.

Power Forward

Zion Williamson ($8,900) - Just like Ball, it would be easy to dismiss overlook Zion's potential against Portland. Plain and simple -- don't. Two days ago, Williamson tallied at least 23 points for the fourth straight contest coming out of the All-Star break, hitting 11-of-17 shots, adding 8 assists and 5 rebounds, and totaling 47.25 DK points at his $8,700 salary. His salary is but a touch higher despite the same matchup -- the matchup that's allowed him to average 32.0 points and 50.4 DK points per game this season.

Aleksej Pokusevski ($4,700) - Again, OKC is in a state of flux as they continue their rebuild around younger players. Among them is Pokusevski, the 19-year-old Serbian who has seen more and more floor time all year. Now that the Thunder are dealing with injuries, he's seen his minutes grow to 32 per game in the last four. In two of those, he was held to 15 or fewer fantasy points, but in the other two, his shot was falling, resulting in 32.5 and 48.0 DK points. It's a bit of a dice roll, but he's a cost-efficient way to access this matchup with Atlanta.

Center

Montrezl Harrell ($6,400) - Harrell has been tearing it up of late in the absence of Marc Gasol. Gasol is due back from the health and safety protocol list any time now, but it's hard to see Harrell fading away entirely. All he's done over the last four games is post 23.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 40.4 DK points across 29.8 minutes a night. He should and likely will be a factor off the bench, and could thrive with Charlotte allowing 112.7 points per game and an eight-point line in the home team's favor.

Deandre Ayton ($6,200) - Despite two straight rebound games, Ayton's salary remains low. He rates 13th in salary among center-eligible players, but he's just 8th in DK points per game, averaging 33.8 on the year. In the last two alone he's averaged 36.1 with a double-double and a handful of blocks. Tonight, he'll match up with Karl-Anthony Towns, but as it turns out, the Timberwolves are the second-worst squad at defending opposing centers. They allow 58.8 DK points per game to the position.

Brett Oswalt is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Brett Oswalt also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username BRO14THEKID. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.