Tuesday, Nov. 23, brings a four-game main slate that has a 2 1/2-hour gap between the first two and the final two games. 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, Tuesday, Nov. 23
Yahoo Play of the Day — Julius Randle: New York Knicks vs. Los Angeles Lakers
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 42.13 | DraftKings: 44.87
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 42.4% | FanDuel 49% | DraftKings 21.4%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $35 | FanDuel $8,400 | DraftKings $10,000
Currently the Lakers are playing at the fastest pace in the league. Tonight they will be without LeBron James, who is serving a one-game suspension, and Anthony Davis is questionable with a non-COVID illness. After a strong 5-1 start to the season, New York hit the doldrums and has barely been breakeven. In November they are just 4-7 and have all but squandered their good fortune. Tonight they will be without Mitchell Robinson, who is in the concussion protocol; Taj Gibson is doubtful with a groin injury, and Derrick Rose is questionable. The Yahoo salary algorithm is offering a pre-Holiday gift with tonight’s salary in a game with the highest projected point total (213.5) of the slate.
Russell Westbrook: Los Angeles Lakers at New York Knicks
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 39.78 | DraftKings: 42.57
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 22% | FanDuel 13.2% | DraftKings 14%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $41 | FanDuel $9,900 | DraftKings $10,500
The one nice thing about Russell Westbrook is that he is going to play hard. Anthony Davis would be the preferred option, but he is questionable tonight, and while he is worth the risk in tournaments, he has already left a game due to illness earlier this season. Westbrook averages 1.30 Yahoo points per minute when James is off the court, compared to 0.93 when they are together. That is enough to make Westbrook a priority option on tonight’s slate. The Yahoo salary is at a 10% discount compared to the last stretch when James missed the bulk of his games.
Kristaps Porzingis: Dallas Mavericks at Los Angeles Clippers
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 36.8 | DraftKings: 37.42
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 21.6% | FanDuel 17.3% | DraftKings 16.5%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $36 | FanDuel $8,800 | DraftKings $8,500
Regardless of Luka Doncic’s status for tonight, Kristaps Porzingis is a solid play on all DFS platforms. In his last 10 games he has tallied 40-plus fantasy points seven times, four of which were in games playing alongside Doncic. Porzingis gets a lot of unfair criticism from the fantasy world. Since Joining the Mavericks he is averaging just over 20 points, nearly nine rebounds, two assists and two combined blocks/steals in 30 minutes per game. That is solid production and supports his salary for tonight’s matchup.
Fellow NBA expert Zach Brunner loves another player from this Mavericks – Clippers game. Check out his NBA DFS Picks, Grades & Values article to find out who that is.
Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies
Detroit Pistons vs. Miami Heat
Though this is not an easy matchup, the Pistons will be without Isaiah Stewart, Killian Hayes and Kelly Olynyk tonight. That is going to shift minutes towards the starters, which should lead to Cade Cunningham, Jerami Grant, Saddiq Bey and Cory Joseph all seeing 32 to 34. After that it gets a little dicey, as Detroit coach Dwane Casey tends to spread things out to anyone in a uniform, regardless of their talent level. Hamidou Diallo, Trey Lyles and Josh Jackson are the most fantasy friendly of the understudies, though it is a fool’s errand to predict anyone among this motley crew seeing more than 22 minutes with any level of certainty.
New York Knicks vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Nerlens Noel is a solid discount dandy with Robinson out and Gibson unlikely to play. If Derrick Rose is out, then Alec Burks becomes a very intriguing option across the board. To a lesser extent Immanuel Quickley is also an option, as he has a chance to see 25 to 27 minutes as the secondary facilitator to Kemba Walker. For Los Angeles, Talen Horton-Tucker is an excellent option without James, and he should move back into the starting lineup. Malik Monk and Rajon Rondo are tournament wild cards, though if Davis ends up out or limited, they will see enough minutes and opportunities to secure their value potential.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS picks for the Tuesday, Nov. 23 Slate
There are likely to be a lot of questions that are unanswered when contests lock regarding the status of Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic, who play in the final two games of the night. Fortunately, the two games are only a half hour apart, so reasonable plays should be available if one or both remain out. 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.
