Nov. 6 kicks off the workweek with a 12-game featured slate, locking at 7 p.m. ET on DraftKings and FanDuel, and there are several options in the player pool worth analyzing to find the top NBA DFS building blocks and NBA DFS picks for DraftKings and FanDuel lineups. Tyrese Haliburton and Nikola Jokic are two of the best options in tonight’s expansive player pool. Let’s dig into the NBA DFS picks and core plays.
NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: Monday, November 6
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Dallas, Detroit, Golden State and San Antonio are all on the second leg of back-to-backs, which, of course, should create ample value opportunities, with several players dinged up and others looming as load maintenance candidates.
Core Play of the Day — Tyrese Haliburton — Indiana Pacers vs. San Antonio Spurs
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 52.91 | FanDuel: 51.19
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings: 29.4% | FanDuel: 22.8%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $9,400 | FanDuel: $9,800
Tyrese Haliburton is off to a phenomenal start this season, leading the league with 12.4 assists per game, and the 23-year-old is a threat for 50 fantasy points every time he steps on the court. Indiana is playing at the third-fastest pace with 103.3 possessions per 48 minutes, and San Antonio is also in the top 10. The Pacers have the worst defensive efficiency, allowing 119.5 points per 100 possessions, while the Spurs are not too far behind at a 116.1 defensive efficiency rating.
This should lead to a fantasy-rich environment with ample assist opportunities for Haliburton and plenty of scoring chances as well. This is a back-to-back for the Spurs, who lost at home in overtime Sunday afternoon 123-116 to the Raptors. Devin Vassell has been ruled out, and it would not be a surprise for Keldon Johnson (wrist) to join him. That will further weaken the defense and give additional run to Zach Collins, Victor Wembanyama, Tre Jones and Jeremy Sochan.
Myles Turner warrants tournament consideration, though his mercurial results can be infuriating. Bruce Brown Jr. is also on the short list for his fantasy-point-per-dollar ratio on both DraftKings and FanDuel, though other value is likely to appear heading towards lock.
Nikola Jokic — Denver Nuggets vs. New Orleans Pelicans
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 64.27 | FanDuel: 61.61
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings 12.1% | FanDuel: 10.7%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings:$11,600 | FanDuel: $11,800
Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid stand out with the two best fantasy projections on both DraftKings and FanDuel tonight, though the slight edge goes to Jokic. Embiid has a nice matchup against a Washington frontcourt that is just not equipped to handle the reigning NBA MVP, and he should be able to rack up a double-double in the first half. The main question will be how long the Wizards can keep this game competitive.
Denver is also double-digit home favorites against a short-handed New Orleans squad, though the Nuggets will be without Jamal Murray, who has a hamstring injury. That means Jokic will have even more responsibilities on his broad shoulders, and we know he will be live for a triple-double. Reggie Jackson is likely to draw the start, and the basketball nomad is mispriced at just $4,200 on FanDuel. DraftKings is a different story, where he is $5,500, so his backers would need at least 30 fantasy points for him to be a difference maker in tournaments there.
C.J. McCollum is out after suffering a partially collapsed lung, so Dyson Daniels is likely to land the temporary starting gig. He looks great on DraftKings ($4,200), though Jackson is still the preferred option on FanDuel ($4,400), where they have similar salaries. Daniels has been a key contributor off the bench, and he has three consecutive games of mid-20s fantasy point performances.
Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram will also get an uptick in offensive opportunities filling the void left by McCollum. Jordan Hawkins and Kira Lewis Jr. can be skipped on the featured slate unless one of them ends up starting over Daniels. This duo is in play on the late slate given the smaller player pool.
Other Thoughts
The Stokastic NBA Lineup Generator — which is currently available for 50% off the usual $8.95 per week standalone option — often shows some surprising results that are not expected when using the eye test.
The proprietary Lineup Generator incorporates all the tools (Boom/Bust), data (player projections and popularity) and simulations of the slate and how that impacts the potential ROI for your lineups and those of the field.
For example, running a 20-lineup set for FanDuel using no parameters shows that Goga Bitadze should be utilized on 35% of rosters, which is right in line with his 37% projected popularity. The opportunity cost of center-only eligible players is significant tonight, with Jokic, Embiid, Turner, Domantas Sabonis, Alperen Sengun and Anthony Davis all drawing favorable matchups. Bitadze essentially had a ceiling game on Saturday with a double-double and five blocked shots. He received a $800 salary bump, which means he is going to need a similar performance tonight to be a factor in the large-field tournaments.
Turning our attention to DraftKings and running 20 lineups without any other restrictions on the same data set as of 2:10 p.m. ET, things are vastly different.
Instead it is Zach Collins who is getting the love on DraftKings over Bitadze, who doesn’t even make it on the screen shot as the 15th-most utilized player, appearing on 20% of the lineups, which is half of his projected 43.7% popularity for tournaments. Collins is projected to be on only 13.4% of the rosters in large-field tournaments, though we can see that is likely too low for the savvy gamer, utilizing this powerful tool.
It is always important to remember the various nuances of salaries, positional requirements and scoring systems between the various DFS sites. What is a smash play or stone lock could easily be a total fade when looking across the DFS landscape. Don’t let tout speak confuse you; let the Lineup Generator cut through all of the words and provide recommendations using all of the Stokastic tools as the foundation.
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