Fantasy basketball tips and NBA betting picks for Friday

ESPN's fantasy basketball and basketball betting tips cheat sheet is your pregame destination for basketball betting predictions and our best intel and data, featuring ESPN's proprietary Basketball Power Index (BPI) to help you make smart fantasy and wagering decisions. NBA game odds for March 3 are provided by Caesars Sportsbook, and fantasy advice is based on ESPN 10-team leagues.

Timing is so crucial in fantasy hoops; knowing when to cut bait on a disappointing draft pick or injured star can prove difficult. In a league built on the impact of star power, it's tough to move on even when the math might suggest it is time.

Holding onto LeBron James amid a foot issue that seems both serious and somewhat vague with what we currently know can be challenging in fantasy formats with shallow benches. Managers of Karl-Anthony Towns and Zion Williamson have navigated this quandary for much of the season.

There's no perfect solution to such decisions, but you are going to face even more such scenarios in the coming weeks as we head into the fantasy playoffs and the final month of the regular season. Scheduled rest, injuries, playoff and lottery positioning all become influential to player availability.

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The lasting solution over the years might sound like a motivational poster, but it's simply time to grind. It's time to find the surging statistical stars down the stretch to make up for the fact that foundational fantasy forces like James and Towns and other names to come will miss critical stretches of the coming weeks.

Such players are already surfacing. Rookie Jalen Williams is a free agent in