Friday, Nov. 19, closes out the workweek with a nine-game main slate. 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, Friday, Nov. 19
Yahoo Play of the Day — Deandre Ayton: Phoenix Suns vs. Dallas Mavericks
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 35.4 | DraftKings: 36.56
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 27.8% | FanDuel 8.9% | DraftKings 30.6%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $29 | FanDuel $7,800 | DraftKings $6,700
Nikola Jokic tweaked his wrist last night, so keep tabs on his availability. If he is good to go, then he should be in lineups. Deandre Ayton has performed well since missing 11 days with a leg injury. In his two games back, he has averaged 34.5 minutes, 13.5 field goal attempts, 12.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists. Ayton is averaging just 0.6 blocks per game, which is half of his career rate, but that could easily right itself considering he has made only eight appearances. The salary on Yahoo is quite favorable, and Ayton can even go in the utility slot should Jokic be a full-go tonight.
Kristaps Porzingis: Dallas Mavericks vs. Phoenix Suns
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 38.52 | DraftKings: 39.71
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 23.6% | FanDuel 1.7% | DraftKings 21.0%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $34 | FanDuel $9,000 | DraftKings $7,800
The Yahoo salary algorithm has been slow to recognize that Luka Doncic is likely to be out through the weekend recovering from a knee issue. In a fun twist, since the beginning of last season Porzingis is averaging 1.17 Yahoo points per minute. When he is playing alongside Doncic it is 1.16 fantasy points per minute, and without Doncic there is a slight bump to 1.21 fantasy points per minute. While that is not much of an uptick in efficiency, Porzingis generally gets more minutes, field goal attempts and rebounds in games without Doncic. This increases his fantasy floor while also giving him access to 50-fantasy-point upside. If Doncic is out as expected, Jalen Brunson ($25) is very much in play on Yahoo.
Porzingis is showing up in our NBA optimal lineups again with Doncic out. Awesemo NBA expert Zach Brunner breaks down why Porzingis is bordering on must-play status tonight in his Friday NBA DFS Grades & Values article.
Fred VanVleet: Toronto Raptors at Sacramento Kings
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 38.24 | DraftKings: 39.25
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 40.2% | FanDuel 13.4% | DraftKings 18.0%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $30 | FanDuel $8,400 | DraftKings $8,100
Tonight is a back-to-back for Toronto, who lost last night 119-103 in Salt Lake City. Fred VanVleet played just 34 minutes, which bodes well for his availability tonight, as he has been dealing with a sore groin. Pascal Siakam played only 31 minutes, but he reached 39 minutes earlier this week, which is good to see as he regains conditioning after a shoulder injury sidelined him for the first three weeks of the season. O.G. Anunoby is out, and Precious Achiuwa is questionable for tonight. VanVleet has put up a line very similar to last season, and he has a long track record of performance and production over the years when playing without Kyle Lowry. Sacramento is playing at a top-five pace and a bottom-10 defensive efficiency. This is a great matchup tonight for the Raptors in a game with the highest projected point total of the night.
Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies
Brooklyn Nets vs. Orlando Magic
Tonight Brooklyn is favored by a dozen points against Orlando. The Magic somehow have beaten the Knicks twice this season for two of their four victories. Orlando has the second-worst point differential of -9.1 per game, ahead of only the -9.4 of Detroit. There could be significant mop-up duty in the second half, which would bode well for Bruce Brown Jr. and Patty Mills, who are helping fill in for the injured Joe Harris. Blake Griffin is at the Yahoo minimum salary, though it is hard to see him getting much, if any, bonus run. LaMarcus Aldridge has been solid this season, and he has topped 30 Yahoo points in four of his last six games, including a season-high 37.4 fantasy points on Wednesday. The only downside is that he is a center and there are a lot of good options at that position tonight on Yahoo. That will keep his popularity in check, though there will be plenty of differentiation opportunities elsewhere for large-field tournaments.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS picks for the Friday, Nov. 19 Slate
Toronto, Denver, Golden State and the Clippers are on back-to-backs tonight. Charlotte, Boston, Milwaukee, Sacramento, Orlando, Oklahoma City and New Orleans all play Saturday, so watch out for any resting players. 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.
