NBA Expert Picks Preview: Friday, March 27th
Glean insight from the best minds in the industry as they list picks they’ll actually be targeting in their tournament games, along with detailed analysis and reasoning.
Author Disclaimer: Please remember, these picks are not necessarily safe for your 50/50-H2H games. They are intended to separate yourself from the herd in an attempt to be contrarian and different. The most logical outcomes don’t always play out on a given NBA slate, so we are looking for the guys that may surprise, that few will roster.
Friday, March 27
Point Guard
Mario Chalmers – There’s certainly no shortage of value at the point guard position, and with guys like Jeremy Lin, Dennis Schroder, Zach LaVine, and Jordan Clarkson likely to be high owned, take a look at Chalmers, who should be in line for heavy minutes with Wade unlikely to suit up. For cash games, the aforementioned players are all better, safer options, and while Chalmers has been very disappointing lately, he does have the ability to put up a big stat line. The Heat are dealing with a bunch of injuries, and if he can get going early, there’s a good chance he can put up a score that rivals, or even exceeds that of the more popular value plays.
Mike Conley – Even at $5800, I don’t trust Conley in cash games. We’ve seen too many disappointing performances from him this season. However, Memphis is going to be playing way up in pace against the Warriors, and if they can keep this game close, we could see some big games from some of the Memphis players. Conley has big-game upside in him, but we just don’t see it very often. Memphis got embarrassed by Cleveland at home on Wednesday, but I expect them to come out better tonight. Conley has the best matchup of any of the Memphis starters, and I like his chances to carry the offense a bit more than usual tonight.
Shooting Guard
James Harden – Sometimes we don’t think of studs as GPP plays, but we should. In all likelihood, the Rockets will probably blow this battered, tanking (shhh, don’t tell Flip Saunders I said that) Timberwolves team out by the middle of the third quarter. However, the Rockets still have to score a ton of points for things to get out of hand, and we’ve seen guys put up monster totals without stepping foot on the court in the fourth quarter.
I’m not sure who will ultimately guard Harden, but considering the options are the likes of Zach LaVine and Lorenzo Brown, it really doesn’t matter. Harden is going to torch this team, and he may go low owned with the blowout being a legitimate concern. Funny things happen, and Minnesota could always get hot shooting the basketball and keep the game relatively close. If that were to happen, Harden has a legitimate shot of 60+ fantasy points, which is nowhere near attainable by any other player at the shooting guard position.
Lou Williams – Williams is always going to make an appearance in the GPP plays when someone ahead of him sits out. Lowry isn’t playing tonight, which means solidified minutes for Williams against a terrible Lakers team. There’s no guarantee he’s going to produce, and I wouldn’t use him in cash games unless I had to. He has a low floor if he’s not hitting his shots, but considering he has well over 30-point upside on good nights, he makes for a fantastic GPP play at his low price.
Small Forward
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