Sunday has a robust seven-game featured slate tipping off at 7 p.m. ET on DraftKings and FanDuel. There are several options in the player pool worth analyzing to find the top NBA DFS building blocks and NBA DFS picks. Kevin Durant and Jordan Hawkins are intriguing options for Sunday’s shallow player pool. Let’s dig into the NBA DFS picks and core plays.
NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: Sunday, November 12
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Get ready for some Sunday shenanigans! Golden State and Miami are on the second leg of their respective back-to-back games, so it would not be a complete shock to see someone get the night off.
The Lakers are about to embark on a three-games in-four-days sprint and with LeBron James and Anthony Davis listed as questionable, we could see one get a rest day, even though their next game is not until Tuesday. Even if both play, they may not need full minutes to dispatch an extremely short-handed Portland squad, but this game is the nightcap and will not tip off until 90 minutes after the sixth game begins.
Core Play of the Day — Kevin Durant — Phoenix Suns vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 50.91 | FanDuel: 50.17
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings: 7.5% | FanDuel: 16.2%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $10.300 | FanDuel: $10.300
Core Play of the Day may be a little bit strong, but there are plenty of other players that can be placed around Kevin Durant on both sites, which makes him a phenomenal tournament option. Most gamers will be inclined to roster both Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic, which is a sound strategy, however, that duo is likely to be far more prevalent in tournaments, than rostering one with Durant.
Bradley Beal (back) is probable and after missing the first seven games of the season, he has played 23.5 and 31.5 minutes after returning to action. This helps Durant by having another capable scorer on the court to command attention, which will help his efficiency. Devin Booker (ankle) is doubtful, so there will be plenty off offensive opportunities for this Phoenix pair.
Jokic is deserving of Core Play of the Day status, but that is true most days and especially with Jamal Murray (hamstring) out. The two-time NBA MVP has four consecutive 60 fantasy point performances and is likely to extend that streak tonight against the Rockets in Houston.
Doncic has back-to-back 60 fantasy point efforts, including on Friday, when he played just 31.6 minutes as the Mavericks topped the visiting Los Angeles Clippers by 18 points. There are several discounted guard options available tonight, so that is why Doncic gets the slight downgrade, even though he is a clear top-three option. We are really splitting hairs at this level.
Jordan Hawkins — New Orleans Pelicans vs. Dallas Mavericks
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 29.97 | FanDuel: 28.99
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings 8.6% | FanDuel: 31.3%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $5,900 | FanDuel: $5,300
New Orleans is without C.J. McCollum and Jose Alvarado, plus Herb Jones and Naji Marshall are dinged up. That means plenty of minutes for rookie Jordan Hawkins and while he will have mercurial results on any given night, he still has a favorable salary and can fill out the shooting guard slot.
Over the last three games, the 14th overall selection in the 2023 NBA Draft has averaged 36.5 minutes with 19.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists and a steal. Brandon Ingram will help out as a secondary offensive facilitator, as will Dyson Daniels. But it is really the scoring upside that Hawkins needs to bring as the team replaces the void left by McCollum. Hawkins averaged 16.2 points per game for the UConn Huskies in his sophomore campaign, prior to declaring for the draft. He is still raw, but he has the ability to score from all three levels on the court, which is key.
Dallas has the eighth-worst defensive efficiency, allowing 115.7 points per 100 possessions, and the normally plodding Mavericks are playing at the 10th fastest pace this season. If Jones is out, even more opportunities will be available for the aforementioned Pelicans, and of course Zion Williamson is always a viable tournament option.
Portland Trail Blazers at Los Angeles Lakers
Portland will be without Anfernee Simons, Malcolm Brogdon, Scoot Henderson, and Robert Williams III is done for the season. That means major opportunities and minutes for the remaining ambulatory players. Jerami Grant, Shaedon Sharpe, Deandre Ayton and Skylar Mays are all secondary options that should be well-represented in our tournament portfolios tonight. Matisse Thybulle, Toumani Camara and Jabari Walker can be ignored on the featured slate, but they are adequate value options for the sickos playing the two-game late slate.
This is the first game of a three-game set for Los Angeles, with the next two games coming on Tuesday and Wednesday. Who knows if Anthony Davis or LeBron James is going to get a break tonight, so it makes sense to have a contingency plan for that news, which is unlikely to be available before the rest of the slate has locked. The easiest way to handle things on DraftKings is to just play Davis in the utility slot, which gives the option of changing him out for LeBron who is $100 less. FanDuel is a different story as they both share power forward eligibility, though Davis is $1,400 more expensive. Having a second player from this game will be key to making sure you can maximize any leftover salary if things get squirrely.
In the absence of any news, or if both players are a go – then D’Angelo Russell is the third-best option from Los Angeles at his current salary. Otherwise, the rest of the Lakers really need one of the superstars to sit or a full quarter of mop-up duty.
Additional NBA Building Blocks Pick — Sports Betting Opportunities
Jonas Valanciunas is one of the most enigmatic options in the DFS world and he is capable of dropping a 50 fantasy point masterpiece and also can disappear for a week at a time. While rooting for unders is never particularly fun, there is value in doing so with his 24.5 points + rebounds + assists (PRA) prop. NBA Bet Pro currently has the venerable veteran projected for 25.2 minutes, 13.32 points, 9.05 rebounds and 2.23 assists for a 24.6 PRA
This wager is currently available at -115, with the”True Odds” of -127, which is how OddsShopper measures the potential expected ROI of a given wager, implying that this wager has an expected ROI of almost 5%.
In his nine games, Valanciunas has posted a 25 PRA or better four times, including games of 25, 26, 30 and 41, with an average of 28.1 minutes of court time. In his five misses, he has averaged 22.1 minutes with a 15.6 PRA. This wager is likely to go down to the wire, but considering that Valanciunas is far from a lock to be in the closing lineup, particularly against the Mavericks who run small – there are many paths for the 31-year-old pivot to fall under this threshold tonight.
