Sunday, Nov. 21, brings a three or four-game main slate depending on your DFS site of choice. 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. 20
Yahoo Play of the Day — Zach LaVine: Chicago Bulls vs. New York Knickerbockers
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 39.12 | DraftKings: 41.97
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 41.2% | FanDuel 40.4% | DraftKings 30.1%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $33 | FanDuel $7,900 | DraftKings $8,700
Over his last four games, Zach LaVine has averaged 36.6 minutes with 23.3 field goal attempts including 11.8 from behind the arc. This has culminated in 30.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 0. combined blocks/steals. With Nikola Vucevic still in the health and safety protocol, there is a tremendous amount of usage and production going to the rest of the starting rotation for Chicago.
Deandre Ayton: Phoenix Suns vs. Denver Nuggets
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 34.52 | DraftKings: 35.16
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 30.6% | FanDuel 20.1% | DraftKings 19.1%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $29 | FanDuel $7,800 | DraftKings $,7500
After missing 10 days with a leg injury, Deandre Ayton returned to action and has looked no worse for the wear in his last three games. In this stretch he his averaging 32.6 minutes with 16.3 points, 14.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.0 combined blocks/steals. Ayton now has double doubles in his last six games which is a solid fantasy baseline. The only real knock against him is that he defers to often on offense getting a lot of his production on putbacks and as the dive man in the pick and roll. In the three games he has taken at least 12 field goal attempts, he is averaging nearly 43 fantasy points per game which is well above his season average of 35 fantasy points.
Stephen Curry: Golden State Warriors vs. Toronto Raptors
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 46.79 | DraftKings: 49.46
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 32% | FanDuel 23.8% | DraftKings 23.5%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $50 | FanDuel $10,800 | DraftKings $11,200
In five of his last six games, Stephen Curry has topped 56+ fantasy points including an amazing performance in Brooklyn where he put up 62.7 Yahoo Fantasy points in just 29 minutes. He has been in the zone with 9 made three-point attempts in four of these six appearances. Though he was dealing with a sore hip, he is not on the injury report and should be a full go tonight against Toronto. Even though Golden State is almost double digit home favorites, we know that Curry will be a major driving force if the contest is decided early.
Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies
New York Knicks at Chicago Bulls
Mitchell Robinson is in the concussion protocol and will not be available for tonight’s game and Taj Gibson is questionable with a sore groin. Nerlens Noel returned to action last night after missing almost two weeks with a sprained knee. If he is playing on this back to back, he is an intriguing discount option. Alec Burks has been in a torrid shooting stretch and he has 30+ Yahoo Fantasy points in three of his last four games. In these games he also has seven steals and a block which have buoyed his fantasy output. If Derrick Rose or Kemba Walker end up sitting, he could have a path to 27-29 minutes, otherwise we are going to need to understand he is likely to play closer to 22-24 minutes, though still have a solid chance for 20+ fantasy points, with attainable upside.
On the Bulls, Derrick Jones Jr. continues to see 16-20 minutes in the rotation and while his upside tends to be capped with his proclivity for fouling, at least he will be on the court which is more than we can say about Alize Johnson. Alex Caruso is not really a discount anymore with four straight games of 34+ minutes allowing hi to compile enough fantasy production to boost his salary. However, he is not overly cost prohibitive and he does have 35+ fantasy points in three of his last six games.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS picks for the Sunday, Nov. 21 Slate
Do not get too distracted by the prime time football game as something funny always seems to break late with NBA news on Sundays. 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.
