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Daily Fantasy Basketball: Building blocks, sleepers for March 30

Suns shooting guard Devin Booker has posted four 30-point games in March. Jason Miller/Getty Images

As part of ESPN Fantasy's efforts to provide daily fantasy gamers intel on whom to target in DFS, our fantasy basketball experts are here to show you which players they are building their teams around and which sleepers they are taking fliers on. Today's panel features picks from Renee Miller, Malik Smith, Cynthia Frelund and Dailyfantasybootcamp.com's Al Zeidenfeld.


Building block

Renee Miller: Ricky Rubio, PG, Minnesota Timberwolves

Perhaps a bit of a sleeper pick, too, Rubio has been producing very similar numbers to the much higher priced (and likely higher owned) Chris Paul over the past few weeks. I'd rather take the discount in what should be a high-scoring, fairly competitive game tonight at the point. Though the Clippers are a good defensive team overall, they've been far more generous over the past five games to the point guard position. Look for Rubio to continue his solid play as an affordable cornerstone of any lineup tonight.

Malik Smith: Hassan Whiteside, C, Miami Heat

Whiteside has posted monster numbers in the month of March: 18.4 PPG, 12.5 RPG, 3.0 BPG. In his 14 games played this month, Whiteside has posted 11 double-doubles and tonight faces a Lakers team that gives up the most points in the paint in the NBA. Los Angeles also get out-rebounded by 3.5 boards per game this season, which ranks 27th in the league. I expect Whiteside to have a strong night.

Cynthia Frelund: Jerryd Bayless, PG, Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks host the Suns at home as 6.5-point favorites in a game where 211.5 points are projected. This low-cost pick is primarily driven by the fact Suns defense is last or close-to-last at defending opposing point guards over the course of the season and in the month of March, especially on DraftKings, where Bayless is under $4,000 is in a good spot to return value and leave you flexibility for more expensive options elsewhere. In his last 10 games, Bayless has averaged 32.2 MPG, 9.4 PPG, 2.4 RPG and 2.4 APG.

Dailyfantasybootcamp.com's Al Zeidenfeld: Karl-Anthony Towns, C, Minnesota Timberwolves

Consistency, reliability, high floor and upside are all included in a price that hasn't really gone up since the middle of March despite nine straight double-doubles. Towns has been absolutely outstanding down the stretch, and with every night near the end of the regular season turning into a stars-and-scrubs approach to roster construction with so many players resting for the playoffs or shut down for teams out of the hunt, KAT is the perfect player who still allows for another high-priced player to pair with him.


Sleeper pick

Renee Miller: Alex Len, C, Phoenix Suns

While Len is no longer the revelation he was a month ago, his price has come down accordingly. If you want to differentiate your lineup from the Hassan Whiteside/Karl-Anthony Towns chalk, and save some money at the same time, Len faces a Milwaukee team that has been a top five center matchup all season long. He played 37 minutes Monday night with a 14-point, 13-rebound double-double and three steals. The Suns are a more competitive team when he gets those kind of minutes, and I think we could see one more run of good games from Len down the stretch.

Malik Smith: Devin Booker, SG, Phoenix Suns

Booker may not have been the best rookie all season, but he has come on strong in March. He's posted four 30-point games in March and has five for the entire season, most among all rookies. Phoenix’s fast-paced offense should give Booker an advantage against the Bucks, who rank 26th in the league in defending transition plays, according to Synergy Sports. Booker ranks 14th, according to Synergy, in points per play on transition plays.

Cynthia Frelund: Stephen Curry, PG, Golden State Warriors

There are a number of point guards in a great spot tonight in every price range, one of which is John Wall, who is the second-most expensive on both sites and in the game that favors the home team by only two points and has the most total points projected (Wizards face the No. 1 team in pace, the Kings, at home). I am trying to tell you that Wall will be a popular pick, and for good reason. Curry and the Warriors head to Utah to face the stingy Jazz defense, which is allowing the second-fewest points on the season. This game only has about 202 points projected, and the Warriors are only favored by five points. This could mean extended minutes for Curry, which drives his ceiling, the highest on the night for me.

Dailyfantasybootcamp.com's Al Zeidenfeld: Derrick Favors, PF, Utah Jazz

This is a deep, deep, deep undercover sleeper. There are massive tournaments to be won tonight, and if you think you're going to win them with a lineup full of players who are in the best possible matchups across the board, you're kidding yourself. Favors is going to be contrarian in a few ways. First, the Jazz-Warriors game has a somewhat low total, but the disguise there is that Utah is playing way up in pace against Golden State. Secondly, people fear the Warriors and tend to avoid players going up against them which will keep his percent-owned low. Third, at the price Favors sits at, he fits neither into the stars or scrubs category but has shown the ability to have a ceiling of 45-60 fantasy points, reaching those high heights three times in March alone.