NBA DFS Building Blocks for Thursday, November 4 | Today, 11/4/21

Thursday, Nov. 4, brings a five-game main slate replete with plenty of shifting roles and injury concerns. Let’s look at the player pool and discuss the top NBA DFS picks for DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo lineups. Do not forget to head over to the Awesemo NBA DFS home page for more great written daily fantasy basketball content.

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NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks, Thursday, Nov. 4

Yahoo Play of the Day — Chris Paul: Phoenix Suns vs. Houston Rockets

  • Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 38.27 | DraftKings: 38.54
    Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 40.2% | FanDuel 35.8% | DraftKings 20.3%
    DFS Salary: Yahoo $32 | FanDuel $7,800 | DraftKings $8,500

It is always good to know the upcoming schedule for Phoenix, as they will be looking to rest 36-year-old Chris Paul. Their next game will be Saturday when they host Atlanta, and then on Monday they will be in Sacramento before coming back home to host Portland. These games are nicely spaced out with recovery time between each. Tonight the Suns are double-digit favorites against the Rockets. While Houston has only one victory on the season, it has been playing hard and is coming off a pair of games in Los Angeles where it lost by 10 points and 2 points to the Lakers.

Paul is averaging just over 40 Yahoo points per game this season. That is his highest figure since the 2017-18 season when he averaged 40.4 with Houston. While there is always a chance Paul will be the first guard to the bench if the game is well in hand in the final frame, he likely will have had a hand in getting the Suns to that spot in the first place. Devin Booker is well positioned to be a direct pivot from Paul, and both are fine in the same lineup on this five-game slate. Deandre Ayton is questionable with a leg injury and missed the last game. If he is out, it will increase the fantasy opportunities for both Paul and Booker while keeping JaVale McGee in the mix as a discount dandy.

Jimmy Butler: Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics

  • Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 44.62 | DraftKings: 44.03
  • Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 24.6% | FanDuel 20.2% | DraftKings 18.7%
  • DFS Salary: Yahoo $43 | FanDuel $10,300 | DraftKings $9,600

On Tuesday Jimmy Butler logged his fifth straight 50-Yahoo-point game. Tonight he will be squaring off against the Celtics, who have had some locker room tensions boiling over and culminating in a players-only meeting to clear the air. Boston has a 3-5 record this season and has been horrible on defense, allowing 108.9 points per 100 possessions, which is fifth worst in the league. This lines up well for Butler, Bam Adebayo and the rest of the Heat, who are second in the league in points per 100 possessions with 112.3. There will be enough value options that Butler is also in play at an elevated salary on DraftKings and FanDuel.

Rudy Gobert: Utah Jazz at Atlanta Hawks

  • Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 42.84 | DraftKings: 42.86
  • Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 25.0% | FanDuel 25.1% | DraftKings 18.6%
  • DFS Salary: Yahoo $36 | FanDuel $8,200 | DraftKings $8,600

Last year in two meetings against Clint Capela, Rudy Gobert averaged nearly 1.4 Yahoo points per minute. Gobert is leading the league in rebounds per game with 17.6, and he has 11 blocks in his last three appearances. Do not worry about the questionable tag next to Gobert’s name; he is fully healthy. Teammate Rudy Gay is dealing with a heel injury, and the two were conflated on the overnight injury report, which has since been corrected. Ideally, this sows some doubt with the masses and causes them to look elsewhere rather than doing any legwork to understand the kerfuffle.

Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies

Philadelphia 76ers at Detroit Pistons

Danny Green tweaked his hamstring last night and will miss a game or two. Tobias Harris is out for the next week in the health and safety protocol, and Ben Simmons is not going to be seeing the court anytime soon. The big question is whether or not Joel Embiid will play on a back-to-back while managing a sore knee. If he is out, then Andre Drummond once again becomes a priority play in a matchup against the team that drafted him. Matisse Thybulle drew the start with Furkan Korkmaz last night, and he had 29.3 Yahoo points. While he does not take many field goal attempts, with only two double-digit efforts in 136 career games, he does rack up the steals and blocks, which are worth 3 points each on Yahoo. He was not a strong play last night since there were 22 teams in action, but on a five-game slate he moves up the ranks. If he starts, he is a viable option against a shaky Pistons squad.

Georges Niang continues to nail his long-range shots, and while the 44.4% success rate is likely to dip, he has a 40.7% career mark. Korkmaz is safer as the more proven Philadelphia player, but there is no issue playing both him and Niang in the same lineup. If Embiid is out for rest, then Seth Curry and Tyrese Maxey become more appealing, as they will see increased offensive opportunities. Finally, Shake Milton is off his minute’s restriction, though he may still only see 20 to 22 minutes off the bench on the back-to-back. Limiting to just two 76ers — excluding Embiid/Drummond — is the most prudent way to go in all formats tonight. Reserve Isaiah Joe has been placed in the health and safety protocol, so keep an eye out for any more Philadelphia players who may be close contact casualties.

Injury Situations

Donovan Mitchell is dealing with an ankle issue. If he is out tonight, Mike Conley becomes an excellent mid-tier option and there will be more offensive opportunities for Bojan Bogdanovic and Jordan Clarkson. Ayton’s injury will unlock McGee as a value option if he misses a second game. LeBron James was ruled out, and Anthony Davis’ status still has not been released, but James being inactive should boost Russell Westbrook and whichever superstar is still taking the court.

Final Thoughts on NBA DFS picks for the Thursday, Nov. 4 Slate

There is a split slate tonight, with three games tipping off in the first 30 minutes and then a lengthy gap until the final two West Coast games start at 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. ET. Keep in mind that salaries and scoring formats differ across the various fantasy sites, and a slam-dunk play on Yahoo may be a below-average NBA DFS pick on DraftKings or FanDuel.

Eric "EMac" MacPherson won the 2007 Fantasy Baseball grand prize (trip for two to the MLB All-Star game) in the Roto format on ESPN. He won again in 2008, this time in the H2H format. As one of the early adopters of daily fantasy sports, EMac has been providing content for baseball and basketball as well as both professional and college football since 2012 for a variety of websites including DraftKings Playbook, FanVice, RotoWorld, Daily Fantasy Bootcamp, and RotoGrinders. He is well into his third decade of fantasy sports and has a wealth of knowledge and experience. Follow him on Twitter @EMacDFS or contact EMac by emailing [email protected].

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