It feels like every NBA slate this season has either been three games or eleven so far, as we are back with another eleven gamer to breakdown tonight. We have a ton going on for this slate, and there is a lot that looks very good for DFS. We already have a ton of injury news here, as we know that Luka Doncic, Evan Mobley, Jarret Allen, Jaylen Brown, and LeBron James are among the stars sidelines tonight. The two teams we are prioritizing for value as of now are going to be the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Dallas Mavericks, as they are the teams that have the biggest holes to fill here. We are also waiting on a lot of big news, as Jimmy Bulter, Bam Adebayo, and Damian Lillard top our list of questionable tags to watch. For our core plays tonight we will talk about one value we really like from the Cavaliers as well as a stud from the Mavericks. Our fade for today is one guy who we are clearing out a big player pool at the top end. In our premium content we will get to the rest of our favorite plays with the value we have now, as well as a breakdown of who we like if certain players sit.
Here’s Two Core Plays For DFS Basketball 11/17/21 (using DraftKings Values)
| Point Guard | |||
| Shooting Guard | C. Osman | $4,000 | |
| Small Forward | . | ||
| Power Forward | K. Porzingis | $7,400 | |
| Center | |||
| Guard | |||
| Forward | |||
| Utility |
The Cleveland Cavaliers are absolutely gutted for tonight’s slate. The cavaliers were already thin with Collin Sexton injured, and then their whole frontcourt went down with Mobley and Allen. The cavaliers do not have a lot of players healthy here, so we have a few budget options that we expect to see massive minutes. Cedi Osman is a priority for us tonight at $4,000, as we expect he must play a massive role. Osman had already been consistently playing around 30 minutes with a few injuries to the Cavaliers, and he has scored over 20 FPTS in four straight games. Osman had to take on a big role last time out with Allen out and Mobley playing hurt, and we saw him explode for 43 FPTS. Osman should be way more expensive than he is tonight, and with the news that Mobley is sidelined he is one of the best value options on the slate.
Doncic typically does just about everything for the Dallas Mavericks, so there is a massive opportunity for everyone else when he sits. Kristaps Porzingis has been fantastic over the past two games, as he has been aggressive offensively. Porzingis put up 22 and 20 field goal attempts in his last two outings, in which he scored 46.75 and 56.25 FPTS respectively. We really like getting to Porzingis at $7,400 here, as Doncic’s absence makes it very likely he takes another high usage night. Porzingis has great upside, and it is much better when Doncic is off the floor. We don’t mind Porzingis in Cash tonight, but his upside is key for GPP’s.
Here’s a Fade DFS Basketball 11/17/21 (using DraftKings Values)
Our fade tonight is a guy who we never expect to find his way into this part of the article. There is no doubting how great a producer Kevin Durant is, but we are not going to be using him at all tonight. Durant had a disappointing outing last night with only 29.75 FPTS, and he has not hit 60 FPTS once in the past ten games. Durant has not shown upside very often relative to his production this year, which makes his $11,500 price tag tough to swallow. Durant is too expensive considering all the high upside plays like Porzingis in the midrange tonight. At this price, we need over 60 FPTS from Durant to do anything for us, which he has not shown in a while.
Now what do you get if you sign up now for $99?
• Priorities at every position
• Some general strategy for the night, with potential injury news
• More priorities from Cleveland and Dallas
• Our favorite superstar to pay up for
Point Guard
Jalen Brunson – PG ($5,700 DK) Whenever Doncic is out we typically see Brunson as an absolute priority. Brunson plays a completely different role for this team without Doncic, as he has a ton of opportunity as the primary ball handler. Brunson has already showed nice upside this season and is averaging 29.3 FPTS. We expect him to play close to 40 minutes and put up a ton of shots without Doncic, so he is way too cheap for his upside.
Shooting Guard
Marcus Smart – ($5,300 DK) Smart is too cheap for how productive he has been in the games without Brown. Smart has played between 34 and 42 minutes in the games without Brown, and he has been averaging over 30 FPTS in that time. Brown’s price has barely moved over the past four games, even though he has smashed in all of them. The Celtics have an easy matchup against the Hawks tonight and we are happy getting back to Smart.
Dean Wade – ($3,200 DK) With all the injuries to the Cavaliers, we really like using Wade as a budget option for this one. We expect Wade to see a ton of minutes at the four and five tonight, and at this price he could hit value easily. Wade played 35 minutes last night, and we expect that number to be even higher tonight without Mobley. Wade is not a good per minute fantasy producer, but we are still interested in high 30’s in minutes at $3,200.
Tim Hardaway Jr. – ($5,300 DK) Hardaway is one of our favorite plays tonight, as he has crazy upside with Doncic out of the mix. Hardaway already takes a ton of shots for the Mavericks, as we saw him put up 14 attempts last time out. Hardaway is cheap here, and we know if Doncic was out for an extended period he would be well over $6,000.
Chimezie Metu – ($3,800 DK) Metu has seen an increasing role for the Kings lately, and it is surprising he is not more expensive given how good he has been. Metu has played 19, 21, 24, and 32 minutes in his last four games trending upwards. He was great last time out, exploding for 36.5 FPTS. Metu is too cheap for the starting role he is playing, and we are happy getting to him if we need another value.
DeAndre Ayton – ($6,200 DK) Ayton was sidelined for a few games, but he came back last time out and did not miss a beat. Ayton scored 39 FPTS in 33 minutes last game, while averaging 34.9 FPTS on the season. Ayton is too cheap tonight considering how healthy he looked last time out, and his upside is fantastic. We are looking at more of a balanced build tonight, as there are a ton of cheaper studs like Ayton that can go off here.
General strategy
We have a lot of potential injuries to go over here, but one thing we know is no matter what breaks we like the value from Dallas and Cleveland. The Miami Heat guys have been priced up, but they still look good if Butler and Adebayo sit. Dwayne Dedmon is a priority for value if he starts in place of Adebayo again, Kyle Lowry and Tyler Herro look like good spend up options if Butler remains out. The other big piece of questionable news for this one is Damian Lillard. The big priority if Lillard sits is Anfernee Simons, especially if he starts.
Go win your lineup and tell us how you did. Twitter (@FantasyDFSX) is a good place for that.
