Friday, Nov. 15 (11/15) has an eight-game main slate on all the big daily fantasy sites. Before you lock in your NBA DFS lineups and NBA DFS picks on DraftKings, FanDuel, Yahoo and FantasyDraft, make sure to check out check out Awesemo’s DFS basketball NBA rankings and projections. Let’s dig into some NBA DFS Picks, including Karl-Anthony Towns, James Harden and Isaiah Thomas.
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Don’t forget to check out the NBA DFS Strategy Show with Josh Engleman and Loughy as they break down the NBA DFS slate and give out their thoughts on the potential absence of Russell Westbrook, the Boston injuries and more.
Also, be sure to check out the Switch and Hedge with Chris Spags for more NBA DFS picks and analysis!
NBA DFS Picks: Prime Time Players
Waiting on news updates to pick anoint a top play from this section.
Okay Gamers, we have several key pieces of news that can dramatically change things at the top of the pricing sheet. As such I am going to focus on the lower priced options with the uncertainty as of this writing. James Harden is amazing, but favorably priced—but we know that Russell Westbrook is going to sit either tonight or tomorrow. If he is out, then Harden is probably the best luxury option.
Karl-Anthony Towns gets a great matchup against the Wizards, but there are several mid-tier and discount dandies that are are at the center position today. Plus, most of the Timberwolves are back to full health, so there will be a dip in assist opportunities for Towns.
Domatas Sabonis has been outstanding with Myles Turner out. He could easily be lost in the shuffle tonight.
If you are looking for more of an off-board option, then D’Angelo Russell again Boston could be intriguing. We know Kemba Walker is not the best defender and Russell has the green light inside of the half court line.
Walker and Jayson Tatum are also in play from the Celtics and should thrive against the Warriors.
Be sure to tune into the Awesemo YouTube channel for the DeeperDive at 5pm ET with Adam and Alex “Awesemo” Baker. followed by Live Before Lock at 6 p.m. EST with Josh Engleman and Chris Spags taking you down the home stretch.
NBA DFS Picks: Good ValueÂ
Isaiah Thomas: Washington Wizards at Minnesota Timberwolves
DraftKings $5,300, FanDuel $6,300, Yahoo $14 Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 23.6%, FanDuel 5.7% Yahoo Fantasy 43.0%
This game has quite a few tremendous options and is actually worthy of a game stack tonight. In the prior meeting two weeks ago these teams combined for 240 points which is in line with tonight’s projected total. Unfortunately, The Wolves crushed their hosts who ran out the second unit for the last quarter and a half. Let’s hope it stays closer on Friday.
The Wizards next play on Sunday and this is important as Isaiah Thomas is working his way back from nearly two seasons of injuries. He played 28.8 minutes against Cleveland and then on Wednesday he topped that with 32.6 minutes in Boston. Even projecting him for 30 minutes has him as an outstanding play on all sites not named FanDuel. Plus, there is the chance he could go up to the 32-34 range if the game is close.
If you are considering a game stack, then Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Jeff Teague and Robert Covington are the intriguing players to choose from on the Minnesota side. From Washington it would be Bradley Beal, Rui Hachimura and Thomas Bryant leading the way.
NBA DFS Picks: Risky ValueÂ
Tyson Chandler: Houston Rockets vs. Indiana Pacers
DraftKings $4,000, FanDuel $3,800, Yahoo $10 Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 4.0%, FanDuel 11.3% Yahoo Fantasy 3.2%
With Clint Capela in the concussion protocol and potentially out for tonight and tomorrow, Tyson Chandler should be wildly popular. The risk here is two-fold. First, there are a plethora of interesting options at the pivot tonight and by going with Chandler, we could be capping our upside. Secondly, it is all about minutes for Chandler. We do not have a great indication of how much he will play. Keep in mind that he is 37-years-old and this is his 19th season in the league.
The Pacers will be without Myles Turner for the eighth straight game. This season, they have been a bottom-five team against opposing centers from a fantasy perspective. Chandler should be in the mix for a double-double, so let’s call that one fantasy point per minute. The question we will need to answer is how many minutes can he get before he is a must-play tonight.
My guess is that he is likely to be in the 20-24 minute range. If the Rockets had tomorrow off, I would have been more aggressive with 24-26. Last season in 55 games for the Suns/Lakers, he averaged 15.6 minutes per game topping 20 minutes in 15 of those appearances.
FantasyCruncher NBA DFS Tip of the Day
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With the incredibly user-friendly and flexible rules creation feature on FantasyCruncher, we can take our lineup construction to the next level.
Today’s highlighted feature is the ability to import data in our own customizable fields. These can also be utilized with rules for our NBA DFS Crunches.
By using the “Add/Remove” Column feature, we can bring in different data elements to help inform our Crunches with just a little pre-planning in Excel or Google Sheets.
In the example below, Awesemo Projections and Player Ownership have been added as new columns in the upload template and Awesemo Value Grades are being added.
Final Thoughts
Tonight should once again be a wild one with regards to high scores. Do not be afraid to make a stand against popular plays if you feel they have too much downside. This is where the wheat is separated from the chaff.
As always, you can reach out to me in Awesemo.com Premium Slack or on Twitter @EMacDFS if you have any NBA DFS questions about DraftKings, FanDuel, Yahoo or FantasyDraft.
Good Luck NBA DFS Gamers! ~ EMac
