Tuesday brings a festive five-game featured slate, locking at 7 p.m. ET tipoff 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. Tyrese Haliburton and Joel Embiid are good fantasy-point-per-dollar plays, while LeBron James and Anthony Davis present an interesting decision point in the final game of the night. Let’s dig into the NBA DFS picks and core plays.
NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: Tuesday, November 21
Core Play of the Day — Tyrese Haliburton: Indiana Pacers at Atlanta Hawks
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 53.09 | FanDuel: 51.27
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings: 8.1% | FanDuel: 18.6%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings:$10,400 | FanDuel: $10,300
Tyrese Haliburton has definitely reset his baseline expectations, and through 11 games, he has surpassed last season’s All-Star levels. The 23-year-old is leading the league with 11.6 assists per game while also posting career highs of 23.5 points and a 50.8% success rate from the field. This in turn has boosted his salary into the five-figure level for today’s 10-team player pool. The matchup against Atlanta is a favorable one, with the Hawks allowing 116.3 points per 100 possessions, which is the 10th worst defensive efficiency rating during November. Both of these teams push the pace and have top-3 rates.
From the Atlanta side, Trae Young, Dejounte Murray and Clint Capela are all in play with above-average fantasy-point-per-dollar ratios on both DraftKings and FanDuel. This game has a ridiculous 251.5 projected point total, which is the highest we have seen over the last two decades.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Utah Jazz
This is the lone nightcap game, tipping off a full hour after the fourth game. LeBron James (calf) is questionable and the Lakers play again tomorrow, hosting the Dallas Mavericks. James has been crushing over his last three games, averaging 36.5 minutes and 18.7 field goal attempts, with a 64.3% conversion rate. This has culminated in 33.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 9.7 assists, and 3.3 combined blocks and steals. Los Angeles is a 7-point home favorite, and this game has a fantasy-friendly 236.5 projected total.
Anthony Davis (hip) is also questionable, so there is some risk in rostering this duo. The safest route would be to roster one of the duo with Davis as the power forward option on FanDuel, which allows the flexibility of dropping down to James for $300 less. On DraftKings, putting LeBron in the utility slot leaves the option of changing to Davis, who is $200 cheaper.
If either player gets the night off, Rui Hachimura will get the biggest minutes boost, while D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves and Cam Reddish will benefit from additional usage.
Talen Horton-Tucker is one of the best point-per-dollar plays on DraftKings in this matchup against his former team. John Collins receives that honor on FanDuel, with the early projected popularity landing each player in the top 3 for their recommended site.
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To Embiid Or Not To Embiid
While Jarrett Allen is a tough post defender, Joel Embiid has certainly held the upper hand in their last three meetings. In these games he has averaged 36 minutes, 30.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 2.7 combined blocks and steals. This works out to 60.5 FanDuel and 62.4 DraftKings fantasy points. Of course, that is no guarantee of an apex performance tonight, but it is an impressive three-game body of work for the reigning NBA MVP.
Additional NBA Building Blocks Pick — Sports Betting Opportunities
Jalen Johnson stands out in the sports wagering market tonight with a +260 double-double prop. NBA Bet Pro currently has him projected for 30.9 minutes, 14.72 points and 7.69 rebounds. The “True Odds” (how OddsShopper measures the potential expected ROI of a given wager) are +253, so the ROI at 2% makes this a wager worthy of our consideration.
Johnson has four double-doubles this season in his 12 games, and he has two near misses with nine rebounds. As covered above, this game is shaping up to be a wild one with a 251.5-point total, which means there will be plenty of rebounding opportunities. Yes, he will need to battle his teammates, particularly Capela and Onyeka Okongwu as well as Indiana’s Myles Turner, but it is interesting to see that the Pacers have just a 48.1% rebounding rate over the last nine games, which is in the bottom 5 of the league.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today
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