NBA Fantasy Projections & Optimizer Picks for DraftKings & FanDuel 11/17

Wednesday presents a massive slate of 11 games. With 22 teams competing, NBA fantasy lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel will be flush with high-level talent and value plays. The Awesemo NBA Starting Lineups page will provide breaking news when starters are announced as well as a full injury report on players who might be missing in action. Below are some NBA daily fantasy options that stand out for tonight’s slate using Awesemo’s Boom/Bust Tool and NBA DFS projections.

NBA Fantasy Projections & Optimal Lineup Picks Tonight

Boom: Jalen Brunson: $5,700 DraftKings/$6,500 FanDuel

71.5% DraftKings Boom/51.5% FanDuel Boom

Brunson is a plug-and-play value with Luka Doncic (ankle) sidelined. Take Doncic off the floor this season, and Brunson’s usage and assist rates have skyrocketed 6.6 and 15 percentage points, respectively. Thanks to the expanded role, the Brunson produces 1.24 DraftKings points per minute sans Doncic. Tonight Brunson meets a Suns team that ranks sixth in pace. This game’s total is a solid 214 points, and Awesemo projects Brunson for 36.3 minutes of work. In the 21 games in which he has cracked 30 minutes since the start of last season, he is averaging 29.8 DraftKings points per game.

Also, on BetMGM, Brunson’s O/U props are 17.5 points, 6.5 assists and 5.5 rebounds, which equates to 32.25 DraftKings points before defensive stats and bonuses are credited. By a sizeable gap, Brunson has the highest boom score on the slate for both DraftKings and FanDuel tonight.

Brunson was also one of the main players EMac focused on in his NBA DFS Building Blocks piece today, which further explains what makes Brunson such a strong play on DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo.

Boom: Deandre Ayton: $6,200 DraftKings/$7,800

27.9% DraftKings Boom/7.9% FanDuel Boom

Ayton is a value that needs to be taken advantage of at a season-low $6,200 on DraftKings. He opened the season at $7,000, and he was not limited in anyway in his first start back from a five-game absence on Monday, finishing with a double-double worth 39.25 DraftKings points in 32.5 minutes against the Timberwolves. This season Ayton is scoring 1.14 DraftKings points per minute and posting a 20% usage rate and 20% rebound percentage. Facing the Mavericks tonight, the Suns’ implied team total ranks fourth on the slate (110.5 points). Plus, Dallas has been vulnerable inside, giving up the fifth-most points in the paint. Ayton generated 37.5 DraftKings points per game across three matchups with the Mavericks last season, and he should effortlessly outproduce this low salary.

Zach Brunner has highlighted Ayton as one of the best value options on tonight’s slate and has a full breakdown of his matchup in the NBA DFS Grades & Values article for Wednesday.

Latest NBA DFS Content

Boom: D’Angelo Russell: $7,300 DraftKings/$7,200 FanDuel

28% DraftKings Boom/24.8% FanDuel Boom

The Timberwolves will be hosting the Kings tonight, and this West matchup’s total is the highest on the board (226 points). Additionally, this game is expected to stay tight throughout, with Minnesota only favored by 2 points. Without a doubt, this is one of the top games of the night to target, and Russell is a very appealing way to gain exposure to this projected shootout. After missing two games with an ankle injury, Russell’s role has been consistent, with a 25.8% usage rate and 34.5 minutes per game in his last five. Russell is contributing 39.2 DraftKings points per game over this stretch, and this Kings team he is going against ranks 20th in defensive efficiency and eighth in pace.

Relative to his ceiling which is over 40 fantasy points in Awesemo’s Boom Bust Tool, Russell is very underpriced on both DraftKings and FanDuel tonight.

Boom: Talen Horton-Tucker: $4,800 DraftKings/$5,200 FanDuel

40% DraftKings Boom/29.7% FanDuel Boom

With LeBron James (abdomen) remaining out for at least one more game, Horton-Tucker is a core play on both DraftKings and FanDuel. After posting 27 DraftKings across 27 minutes in his season debut Sunday, Horton-Tucker recorded 42 DraftKings points in 37 minutes Monday against the Bulls. In the 1,012 minutes he has played with James off the floor since the start of last season, Horton-Tucker has provided 1 DraftKings point per minute behind a 23.7% usage rate.

Awesemo projects him for 32.6 minutes tonight, competing in the second-highest total on the slate against the Bucks (221 points). After their title run, Milwaukee has slipped to 21st in defensive efficiency this season, and Tucker is averaging 31 DraftKings points per game in which he has played at least 25 minutes (17 games).

Thanks for reading to the end of this article! If you appreciate this free content and want to see more of it every day, you can help us out by sharing this article on social media!