Thursday, November 17, has a unique three-game main slate locking at 10:00 p.m. ET on both DraftKings and FanDuel. Let’s look at the player pool to discuss the top NBA DFS building blocks today for DraftKings and FanDuel lineups. Be sure to check out the Stokastic NBA DFS & Fantasy Basketball home page, where you can find fantasy basketball picks and analysis for each slate of games.
NBA DFS Building Blocks Today: Thursday, November 17
Core Play of the Day — De’Aaron Fox: Sacramento Kings-San Antonio Spurs
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 42.72 | FanDuel: 41.64
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings: 33.1% | FanDuel: 38.9%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $9,000 | FanDuel: $9,600
This should be a wild one as the Spurs and Kings each play at a top-three pace with little priority on defense. De’Aaron Fox should thrive at home in this favorable matchup that boasts a 238.0 projected point total. Fox is having his the most efficient season of his career from a fantasy perspective with a 1.35 fantasy points per minute rate.
While his 54.1% success rate from the field is likely to recede somewhat, it is still well above his 46.5% career conversion rate. Fox also is shooting 81.0% from the free throw line which is well above his 72.8% career average. Anything shy of 40 fantasy points tonight is going to be an extreme disappointment. Teammate Domantas Sabonis is also a strong option, particularly on FanDuel where he does have power forward eligibility.
Kevin Durant: Brooklyn Nets-Portland Trail Blazers
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 51.81 | FanDuel: 51.1
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings: 23.9% | FanDuel: 41.5%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $11,600 | FanDuel: $11,500
Naturally Kevin Durant will be a popular option tonight as the only player with a median fantasy projection over 50 fantasy points. Kyrie Irving is suspended for at least one more game which means Durant should continue to see usage in the low-to-mid 30% range with between 15 and 20 field goal attempts. There are only six teams in the player pool tonight, so there is no need to over analyze how tremendous an option Durant is for his raw point production.
Additional NBA DFS Picks Today – Sports Wagering Opportunities
Tonight, Devin Vassell has a 3.5 over/under line on his rebound prop for his matchup against the Kings. The Stokastic NBA player projections have him for 4.6 rebounds and a 65% expected win rate. Vassell does see some volatility for his rebound actuals versus expectations, though this is a good matchup with Sacramento being one of the weaker rebounding teams in the league.
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Detroit Pistons-Los Angeles Clippers
Cade Cunningham (shin) is going to be out for at least another few days and Isaiah Stewart (toe) is going to miss the next couple of weeks. This means Jaden Ivey and Killian Hayes should see plenty of minutes as the main offensive facilitators, with Alec Burks being the main combo-guard in a three-player rotation.
Bojan Bogdanovic should continue to hoist around 15 field goal attempts per game while also chipping in with a few rebounds and assists. Marvin Bagley III has played 17 and 29 minutes since returning from injury and he should remain in the starting lineup while playing around 30 minutes.
Paul George bruised his left (non-shooting) hand on Tuesday in a tight 103-101 loss to the Mavericks in Dallas. Currently the Clippers are favored by nine points tonight against the visiting Pistons, which would seem to indicate he has a strong likelihood of playing. Regardless, we should know his status before his game tips off, though this matchup is the latter of the three tilts on the docket.
George is a core option, in the event he plays. If he is out then Norman Powell and Terance Mann move from neutral tournament options to coveted selections. Ivica Zubac and Marcus Morris Sr. continue to be steady producers and with this being an island game, we should see John Wall off the bench for mid-20s minutes.
Reggie Jackson has started to show signs of improvement with a 52.1% success rate from the field over the last five games. However, on the season Jackson is barely at 0.7 fantasy points per minute, which is not particularly enticing considering he is averaged less than 29 minutes per game.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks Today
It has been ages since there was a main-slate contest lock time of 10:00 p.m. ET. It will be interesting to see if the DFS sites end up with overlay as all eyes will be on Week 11 Thursday Night Football. How many gamers will register for contests throughout the day and then become forgetful with the unique start time?
Keep abreast of late-breaking news by turning on notifications for the Stokastic NBA Twitter handle and let them do the heavy lifting. Plus, if you are a premium member, be sure to check out the Stokastic Discord for all up-to-the-minute analyses.
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