Sunday, Nov. 14 brings us a five-game main slate stretching beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET. 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.
NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks, Sunday, Nov. 14
Yahoo Play of the Day — Nikola Jokic: Denver Nuggets vs. Portland Trail Blazers
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 52.93 | DraftKings: 55.6
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 24.8% | FanDuel 21.8% | DraftKings 25.4%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $53 | FanDuel $11,000 | DraftKings $11,600
This is a lofty salary for Nikola Jokic as he takes on the Portland Trail Blazers. Fortunately, there are already several value options that will facilitate this luxury play. Jokic has 50-plus Yahoo points in his last six games including three outings of 60-plus which is stellar to say the least. For the season he is leading Denver in points, rebounds, assists and steals while he is second in blocks just behind Aaron Gordon. This is all being accomplished in 32.2 minutes per game which is down from his 35 last season. The most impressive thing is that he is averaging 1.70 Yahoo points per minute which is right up there with Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Stephen Curry: Golden State Warriors at Charlotte Hornets
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 49.16 | DraftKings: 51.93
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 13.4% | FanDuel 19.1% | DraftKings 14.3%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $50 | FanDuel $10,300 | DraftKings $11,400
Tonight Stephen Curry and the Warriors are in North Carolina where Curry starred in high school and later in college for Davidson. This season the Hornets have been playing fast with a top three pace along with eschewing defense as they are allowing 109.5 points per 100 possessions which is the fourth worst mark in the league. This season Curry is taking 13.3 three-point attempts per game with an astounding 40.0% success rate. Currently he leads Golden State in points, assists and steals while also posting a career high 6.3 rebounds per game. This has been an amazing season so far for Curry, Draymond Green and coach Steve Kerr as they have the best record in the league at 11-1 and the longest active winning streak at seven games.
LaMelo Ball: Charlotte Hornets vs. Golden State Warriors
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 43.88 | DraftKings: 45.07
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 12.8% | FanDuel 15.0% | DraftKings 6.5%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $40 | FanDuel $9,000 | DraftKings $10,100
Over his last eight games, LaMelo Ball has been phenomenal averaging 34.3 minutes and 16.8 field goal attempts. This has culminated in 20.6 points, 9.1 rebounds, 8.1 assists and 2.5 steals. Gamers are going to look at his salary tonight and feel that they are not getting much of a deal. That means Ball is not going to have a lot of popularity in tournaments and this is an advantage for those with an above average risk tolerance.
C.J. McCollum: Portland Trail Blazers at Denver Nuggets
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 41.25 | DraftKings: 42.03
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 47.8% | FanDuel 43.4% | DraftKings 37.0%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $30 | FanDuel $7,500 | DraftKings $7,600
Tonight Damian Lillard has been ruled out with an abdominal injury that could keep him sidelined for a while. That is going to make C.J. McCollum one of the more popular options tonight and it is a big reason so few gamers are projected to be rostering Ball. Since the beginning of last season when Lillard is off the court, McCollum is averaging 1.14 Yahoo points per minute. Tonight he should see 35-37 minutes which makes him an excellent value.
Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies
Anfernee Simons: Portland Trail Blazers at Denver Nuggets
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 26.13 | DraftKings: 27.99
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 35.8% | FanDuel 34.2% | DraftKings 41.7%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $10 | FanDuel $4,200 | DraftKings $3,500
Tonight with Lillard on the shelf, we should continue so see Anfernee Simons popularity surge and by the time contests lock he will be on over 50% of all rosters. There is not much else to add other than we should be joining The Masses and looking to differentiate our lineups elsewhere.
JaVale McGee: Phoenix Suns at Houston Rockets
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 22.78 | DraftKings: 22.12
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 19.8% | FanDuel 5.6% | DraftKings 10.2%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $10 | FanDuel $4,400 | DraftKings $4,200
If Deandre Ayton remains out, then we can continue looking to JaVale McGee as an intriguing value option. While Frank Kaminsky has outperformed him from a fantasy perspective, this has also led to an increased salary. McGee looks like he is on the shorter end of the center split, though if Kaminsky gets in foul trouble against Christian Wood, we know that McGee should get some extra run.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS picks for the Sunday, Nov. 14 Slate
Outside of Deandre Ayton being officially ruled out, there are not too many moving parts. Of course funny things do happen in the NBA on Sundays, so be sure to monitor the news while most gamers will be distracted by Sunday Night Football. 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.
