NBA DraftKings Picks 2/26: Best NBA DFS lineup advice for Sunday’s daily fantasy basketball tournaments

Sunday night wraps up a furious weekend of post-All-Star hoops in the NBA, with some of the better games of the entire season since play resumed Thursday. With six games lined up for the evening including Raptors-Cavaliers and Clippers-Nuggets, we’ll once again be putting together a DraftKings Classic lineup and going for some DFS cash.

With nearly 75 percent of the regular season complete, the cream rises to the top in the NBA around this time. We know which stars can turn our fantasy teams on their backs and which rookies and sleepers can make big strides in cheap matchups. So of course we picked an elite all-star point guard to anchor our DraftKings roster and seven under-the-radar value plays that we believe will propel our team to the top in our tournaments will bring.

Before we break down all of our picks, here are the most notable scoring rules for DraftKings competitions: Three-point shot made (+0.5 points), recoil (+1.25 points), supports (+1.5 points), steals and blocks (+2 points), double-double (+1.5 points – maximum one per player) and triple-double (+3 points – maximum one player).

MORE NBA DFS: FanDuel lineup for Sunday night

NBA DraftKings Picks 2/26: DFS lineup for Sunday’s GPP tournaments

Sunday Night Main Edition – Budget $50,000

PG Damian Lillard, Blazers vs. Rockets ($11,400)

Arguably the hottest player in the pro basket since the calendar change to 2023, Lillard has scored 49.2 percent of his 489 shot attempts in January and February. In February alone, Big Game Checkers averaged a staggering 36.1 points, 7.1 assists, and 6.0 rebounds while maintaining a 68.0 true shooting percentage. Oh, and he just won the 3-point contest and had to sit out Thursday’s Portland-Sacramento game due to travel delays related to the West Coast storms. That means it’s been 12 days since Dame has played a meaningful game – and we all know how dangerous the fresh-legged six-time All-NBA selection can be. Combine all of that with the fact that the Blazers are at home — and facing the association’s worst young defense in Houston — and we’re very confident with that pick. Take a look at Lillard’s home/road splits this season:

splits	PPG	FG%	3PT%	FT%
Home	32.5	47.8	37.7	94.7
Street	29.9	45.1	36.5	87.4

No wonder Dame has decided to stay in Portland for the long haul—he’s turning out the lights at the Moda Center! And he should continue to see high usage as Anfernee Simons and Jusuf Nurkic are out and several other Blazers are either busted or inconsistent. And since the Rockets cede most fantasy points in the NBA to opposing point guards, Lillard is as reliable a draft pick as you can make tonight.

SG Malik Monk, Kings at Thunder ($5,000)

Monk has been a beaming smile for Sacramento lately, playing the best ball of his six years in the NBA. He averages his career bests in points (14.0), assists (3.9), free throws made (2.4), and free throw percentage (90.1%). The shooting guard clearly loves being reunited with former Kentucky teammate and All-Star point guard De’Aaron Fox, as evidenced by the guard duo’s takeover of Friday’s historic Kings win over the Clippers. Fox had 42/12/5/5, but Monk poured in a career-high 45 points on 63 percent shooting to go with six assists. Overall, he shot 6-of-12 from long range and 9-of-10 from the free throw line. We don’t expect the sixth Man of the Year nominee to come anywhere near that stunning line again tonight, but he should at least be worth his $5,000 asking price. The Thunder gave up the third most fantasy points to enemy guards this season. Ride the Lightning!

SF KJ Martin, Rockets at Blazers ($5,500)

Speaking of teams struggling defensively, the Blazers have been abysmal at locking baseline and perimeter since selling Josh Hart. That’s good news for Martin, who has taken on an elevated role since Houston sidelined Eric Gordon and Garrison Matthews. If young Kenyon gets 32+ minutes, he’s almost a suspension to score 30 fantasy points – but he reminded the NBA world of his massive advantage in losing 41 to defending champion Warriors on Friday. He scored 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds in that game, added two assists, two blocks and a steal. He also shot 7-of-12 from the floor and 9-of-10 from the stripe. You can’t find a higher cap for $5,500.

PF Jalen Williams, Thunder vs. Kings ($6,100)

Williams continues to be one of my favorite rookies in the 2022 draft class because he can do just about anything. He is the rookie leader in steals and has more steals than everyone in the NBA in calendar year 2023. For a skinny 21-year-old, he has unique vision and rebounds and an inside-out scoring ability that many vets wish they possessed. J-Dub is averaging 34.6 DK points per game over OKC’s last six tilts, and he seems to be getting better and better over time. We love him against a Sacramento defense that just dropped the fourth most points in NBA history on Friday night.

C Jakob Poeltl, Raptors at Cavaliers ($6,200)

Poeltl has renewed the confidence of the Raptors Nation since returning from San Antonio via a deadline trade. He may not be an all-star talent, but the experienced big man can certainly be an X-factor in Toronto’s playoff push in the remaining 25 percent of the regular season. Check out Poeltl’s fantasy point totals in Toronto’s last three games: 57.3, 56, 38.5. He scored with ease (30 points against Orlando and then 21 against the Pels), toppled the boards with reckless abandon (32 combined boards in the Raps’ last two contests), and hit shots like a madman (8 blocks above Toronto’s). after three). Poeltl also has eight assists and six steals in his last three games, so it’s safe to say the man is motivated. Nick Nurse will need that motivation against a rowdy Cavs team that has one of the tougher frontcourts in the association.

G. Russell Westbrook, Clippers at Nuggets ($7,100)

One of the highlights of the buyout market, Westbook transitioned from one LA roster to another when the Clippers acquired him after a Utah buyout. We didn’t know exactly what to expect from Clips trainer Ty Lue, but we soon got our answer. The former MVP replaced Terance Mann as starting point guard and promptly put up 17 points (7-13 FG, 1-4 3pts, 2-2 FT), 14 assists, five rebounds and a steal in 39 minutes. He stank it defensively – and fouled it before the Clippers lost the heartbreaker of double overtime – but his offensive impact was unmistakable. Expect more of the same explosiveness tonight from the nine-time All-Star against the Nuggets, who yielded the sixth-highest fantasy points to opposing guards this season.

F.Keegan Murray, Kings at Thunder ($4,700)

Murray had a rough start to his rookie campaign, unable to repeat the success he had in the Summer League and NBA preseason. But he’s come alive a bit lately, averaging 26.4 fantasy points since February 6th. He’s a double-digit scorer who can also contribute 4-6 rebounds, a few assists, and some stocks night after night. We take that from a rookie with a $4,700 advantage over an inconsistent veteran every day. OKC has awarded the fourth most fantasy points to opposing forwards this season.

UTIL Isaiah Joe, Thunder Against Kings ($3,900)

Joe is the best player that literally nobody talks about in the NBA. He is shooting 45.1 percent from three-point country and led the league until recently when he was passed by Malcolm Brogdon, the sixth man of the year leader, from the Celtics (46.5%). But Joe seems to be more than just a spot-up shooter – he’s also recently started creating open shots from dribbling and also driving to the basket for some easy two-pointers. Anything else we get out of him – like the seven boards he picked up against Phoenix on Friday – is the icing on the cake of our already sweet DFS lineup.