Monday, November 21, gets the holiday week started with an eight-game slate beginning at 7:00 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: Monday, November 21
Core Play of the Day — Stephen Curry: Golden State Warriors-New Orleans Pelicans
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 53.2 | FanDuel: 50.45
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings: 13.1% | FanDuel: 14.1%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $10,600 | FanDuel: $10,400
Tonight, is a back-to-back for the Golden State after a wild 127-120 victory over the Rockets in Houston. Klay Thompson was sublime with 41 points, though he is likely to sit out this game for injury management purposes. Stephen Curry was phenomenal as well last night with 33 points, six rebounds, 15 assists and five combined blocks and steals.
Curry is averaging a career best 55.7 fantasy points per game along with personal highs of 32.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and his 7.1 assists per outing are the most since his 2014-2015 season. This matchup has a lofty 233.5 projected point total and there should be plenty of fantasy goodness on both sides of the ball. Jordan Poole should see an uptick in minutes and responsibilities if Thompson is out and he is a player to target as a core building block as well.
UPDATE: Naturally just after this article was posted, Curry and Draymond Green were rule out along with Thompson for rest. Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney are now questionable, so who knows what will transpire between now and lock.
However, once the dust settles, there should be some excellent options to target once we find out who is available. Poole leads the way, with Wiggins and Looney if they are starting. Then understudies such as Jonathan Kuminga, Donte DiVincenzo, Moses Moody, Anthony Lamb and Ty Jerome will be potential value plays.
Giannis Antetokounmpo now becomes a top spend option with Curry out of contention.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Oklahoma City Thunder-New York Knicks
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 51.58 | FanDuel: 51.7
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings: 20.5% | FanDuel: 25.7%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $10,000 | FanDuel: $10,500
Tonight, the Thunder are hosting the Knicks in Oklahoma City. This is a rematch of the track meeting that took place in the Big Apple eight days ago when the Thunder won 145-135 in regulation. Aleksej Pokusevski (ankle) has been ruled out along with Tre Mann (back) and both Isaiah Joe (knee) and Darius Bazley (ankle).
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been amazing this season and in his 15 starts he has logged 31 or more minutes on 14 occasions. Even more impressive is that he has produced at least 45 fantasy points in 11 of his appearances. This has resulted in a career best 51 fantasy points per game on the strength of 21.3 field goal attempts with a 53.4% conversion rate. Wingman Josh Giddey is also a core option as the second-year player will see plenty of minutes and extra opportunities with two and potentially three key rotation players in street clothes tonight.
Additional NBA DFS Building Blocks Picks Today – Sports Wagering Opportunities
Tonight, Rudy Gobert is an intriguing option with a 10.5 over/under line on his rebound prop for his matchup at home against the Heat who are on a back-t0-back. The Stokastic NBA player projections have him for 14.3 rebounds and a 70% likelihood that he surpasses this threshold. This wager also has a reasonable -127 cost for a 25% expected return on investment (xROI) per OddsShopper.
In six of his last nine games, Gobert has corralled at least 11 rebounds, while also leading the league with 12.6 per game. Keep in mind that this is nothing new for Gobert who has averaged 11.7 rebounds per game for his career and led the league last season with 14.7 caroms per game. Though he plays alongside Karl-Anthony Towns, this has not had too dramatic of an impact on his rates through 14 games.
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Orlando Magic-Indiana Pacers
Both teams in this matchup are looking somewhat thin, particularly the Magic. Cole Anthony (oblique) is going to miss another week and rookie Paolo Bancharo (ankle) may not return until after Thanksgiving. Wendell Carter Jr. is dealing with plantar fasciitis, and he is currently questionable having missed two of the last three games.
Franz Wagner is likely to continue his role as the main facilitator, while also pouring in the points. Jalen Suggs has been a pleasant surprise while averaging nearly 40 fantasy points per game over the last three tilts for the shorthanded Magic and while his salary is ticking up, there is still room for “profit” in this matchup against the Pacers.
Bol Bol has double-doubles in four of his last five games and at least two blocks in four as well. If Carter plays, he is a strong option and if he sits, then Mohamed Bamba and Chuma Okeke can be considered as differentiation options.
Indiana and Orlando both play at a top 10 pace and bottom 10 defensive efficiency ratings. That bodes well for Tyrese Haliburton who thrives in up tempo games, and he becomes yet another point guard option we can target tonight. When everyone is healthy in the frontcourt, it means Isaiah Jackson, Myles Turner and Jalen Smith are all neutral options, but each has tournament upside.
Rookie guard Andrew Nembhard (knee) is a game time decision and if he is out tonight rookie Bennedict Mathurin and veteran T.J. McConnell will both be direct beneficiaries as his replacements.
 Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks Today
There is still a lot of pending news in the late game that is unlikely to be announced prior to the main slate lock. Paul George is questionable with a sore knee and if he is ruled out, then Norman Powell and Tre Mann would become interesting options. If George is a go, then this is a nice matchup, and he will likely be underrepresented in tournaments with the red questionable tag next to his name all day.
The savvy move is to pair George with at least one other player from this game. If he is out that will provide the flexibility to take advantage of adjusting two roster slots. If he is in, then the benefit will be in his suppressed popularity. This game tips off two and half hours after the rest of the slate, so there is a good chance people will be caught up in Monday Night Football and not reacting appropriately to this uncertain situation.
Check out EMac’s F-R-E-E NFL single-game breakdown of Monday Night Football with analysis for each team by position as well as a full player pool ranking.
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