We are back to our first “normal” sized slate in a while, with six games to breakdown tonight. However, this slate is looking anything but normal. As of now we have a ton of potential injury news across six games, so there are a lot of plays that could be priorities if certain guys are ruled out. Steph Curry, Jarret Allen, OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa, and Terance Mann are among the key names who are currently listed as questionable for tonight. In our core plays we will get to two priorities and one fade with all the information we know for sure right now. Our premium content will focus on breaking down all the potential value, and how our strategy will pivot if some guys are ruled out.
Here’s Two Core Plays For DFS Basketball 11/18/21 (using DraftKings Values)
| Point Guard | P. Beverly | $4,200 | |
| Shooting Guard | |||
| Small Forward | |||
| Power Forward | |||
| Center | N. Jokic | $12,000 | |
| Guard | |||
| Forward | |||
| Utility |
One guy who we really like for value tonight is Patrick Beverly, who has been playing a ton of minutes for the Timberwolves lately. Beverly has played 34 minutes in each of his last two games, and we saw him explode for 38.5 FPTS last time out. If Beverly is going to keep playing over 30 minutes here, he is too cheap at $4,200. Beverly has nice upside from steals and blocks, and he has even been showing decent usage lately. The Timberwolves play the Spurs tonight, who are one of the best matchups in the NBA right now.
Regardless of who gets ruled in or out tonight, one thing we know is that we are going to have a lot of strong budget plays. That means we are going to have the salary to pay $12,000 for Nikola Jokic here. Jokic is the most expensive player on the slate, but he still looks better then the other stars tonight regardless of price. Jokic is doing everything for Denver right now, as he is managing to will them to wins without Jamal Murray or Michael Porter Jr. Jokic went for 69 FPTS last time out and we have seen home go for 70 FPTS in his last four games. With this kind of upside, Jokic has a clear path to being a great play at this price.
Here’s a Fade DFS Basketball 11/17/21 (using DraftKings Values)
This slate is thin at the top, so we expect a decent amount of people get to Paul George tonight. George has been having a fantastic season carrying the Clippers so far and he is averaging 50 FPTS on the season. However, Geroge is too expensive at $11,000 tonight. George went for over 60 FPTS a bunch of times in his first six games of the season but has not done it in the last eight. At this price, 60 FPTS is the kind of production we want from him, but it seems like he will only be hitting that on huge nights this year.
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
• A breakdown of how we are handling all the questionable tags
• Some more plays that look great with the news we have now
Point Guard`
Darius Garland – PG ($6,800 DK) We are waiting on some big news from the Cavaliers, as Jarrett Allen is questionable, and Kevin Love could sit on a back to back. Regardless, the Cavaliers are going to be missing two high usage options in
Collin Sexton and Evan Mobley. Garland is one of the few creators left for Cleveland, as we saw him put up 26 shot attempts in 40 minutes last night. Garland exploded for over 45 FPTS last game, and we expect another huge opportunity tonight. Garland is more of a priority for us if Allen and Love sit, but we like him a lot either way.
Shooting Guard
Gary Trent Jr – ($5,900 DK) We just got the news that both OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa are both out for tonight, so there is going to be a lot of opportunity on Toronto. We have seen a nice season so far from Trent, as he has had quite a few opportunities to show what he can do with some key guys off the floor. Trent has scored over 30 FPTS in three straight games, and we are confident his minutes and usage will be great tonight.
Scottie Barnes – ($6,700 DK) It has been a fantastic season so far for Barnes, as he is an early favorite for rookie of the year. Barnes is averaging 33.3 FPTS per game on the season so far, so he is priced here. However, we expect Barnes to play a ton of minutes with all the injuries tonight, and he should see high usage with the absence of Anunoby.
Pascal Siakam – ($7,900 DK) We would not play more then two or three Raptors for tournaments tonight, but all these guys look good enough that they need to be mentioned. Siakam missed the first handful of games with injury this year, and he was clearly limited until a few games ago. Siakam played 35 minutes two games ago and he played 39 minutes last time out. Siakam is going to have to do a lot here without Anunoby, and he is pretty cheap for when he is not dealing with injury issues.
Khem Birch – ($3,000 DK) Birch has been dealing with some injuries lately, but he bas been back for two games and we saw him play 21.2 minutes last time out. With Anunoby out it is likely Siakam does not play as much center, and with Achiuwa out that leave a lot of opportunity for Birch. Birch could start here, but we expect him to see a ton of floor time regardless. At this price Birch looks like one of the best value options on the slate, regardless of who is ruled out.
General strategy
We have already gotten a lot of news for tonight’s slate, but we still have a lot that we are waiting on. The biggest piece we want to know here is what is going to happen with the Miami Heat. Adebayo is likely to play tonight, but we just got the news that Tyler Herro is questionable. All of Butler, Herro and Kyle Lowry look good if they are in and one of the others are out. If one of the big perimeter studs is active from the Heat and the other two sit, they will be the best play on the slate. We are also waiting on some big news in Terance Mann, as the Clippers will be very thin if he sits. If he ends up out we are happy getting to Amir Coffey and Brandon Boston Jr.
Go win your lineup and tell us how you did. Twitter (@FantasyDFSX) is a good place for that.
