NBA DFS Advice for November 5, 2021

We have nine games to breakdown for tonight’s NBA DFS slate, as we are talking about a lot of guys who we have not gotten to yet this season. A lot of price tags have moved around significantly for tonight’s slate, as guys are beginning to be priced where they should be. For tonight, we have quite a bit of injury news to work with, as a few key players being out gives us a ton of strong budget plays. Like last night, we have a lot of cheap guys who look fantastic tonight, so it won’t be hard finding salary to pay for our stars. Highlighting our core plays today include the two budget guys we are building around, as well as our favorite superstar to get to for tonight. We do not have too much lingering injury news today, so our premium content will focus on different options that look good right now. 

Here’s a balanced core For DFS Basketball 11/5/21 (using DraftKings Values)

We were interested in the value from the Minnesota Timberwolves last time with D’Angelo Russellout, and we are looking at the exact same situation today. The guy we saw as the primary recipient of Russell’s minutes was Patrick Beverly last game, as he played 31 minutes. Beverly went for 36.5 FPTS last time out with the increased floor time, so we are really interested in rostering him here at $4,000. Beverly might not show quite as much upside as he did last game, but to roster a guy we expect to play 30 minutes at $4,000 is a fantastic opportunity.

Our big lock for last night’s slate was Cade Cunningham who started playing after dealing with injuries at a near minimum price tag. Cunningham proved why he was the lock yesterday, as he went for 39 FPTS at his $4,000 price tag. Cunningham has been priced up to $4,600 for tonight, but he is still an absolute priority for us. We saw Cunningham play 32 minutes last time out, and he put up a whopping 17 attempts from the field. The Pistons are on a back to back here, so there could be a chance we see Cunningham sit or be on a minutes limit. However, we would likely find that out before lock so just keep an eye out. If Cunningham starts with no restriction here, he is one of our favorite plays once again.

There was a little bit of shock when Paul George came into the season priced around $11,000, but he has proven to be one of the most productive players in the league carrying the Clippers without Kawhi Leonard. George is averaging 53.2 FPTS per game on the season so far, and he has showed more huge games then anyone else in the league. George has gone for 60 or more three times already, and he has the chance to show his upside with an easy matchup against Minnesota tonight. George is $10,400 here, which is significantly cheaper than other top end stars we are looking at like Giannis Antetokounmpo or Steph Curry. George is not as flashy a play as those guys, but his production has been similar with Leonard off the floor.

One piece of injury news we must work with tonight is that PJ Washington is doubtful here against the Sacramento Kings. We saw Washington sit for two games on October 25^th and 27^th, both of which led to massive opportunities for Mason Plumlee. Plumlee played 37 and 32 minutes in the games without Washington, and he scored 37.75 and 36.5 FPTS respectively. Plumlee is a good FPT per minute producer, which is why we often see him go on big runs at one point in the season when he is getting a lot of minutes. We expect Plumlee to play a ton of minutes for the Hornets tonight, and they have a fantastic matchup against the Kings. Plumlee is not cheap here at $5,700, but he should be much more expensive with all the minutes we expect him to play.

Here’s a balanced core For DFS Basketball 11/5/21 (using FanDuel Values)

Point Guard

Ja Morant – PG ($9,400 DK) Morant has been phenomenal so far this season, as it appears he is taking another step as one of the leagues premier guards. So far, Morant has been averaging 48.4 FPTS per game so far this season, taking massive usage for the Grizzlies. Morant has a dream matchup tonight against the Washington Wizards, which is the main reason we want to bet on his upside here. We know Morant can go for some huge games, and the Washington defense are the type to let it happen. A lot of the stars on this slate are quite expensive, so Morant fits in a lot of spots where it may be hard to get to a guy like Curry at $2,000 more.

Shooting Guard 

Malik Beasley – ($4,100 DK) Beasley was one of the highest rostered plays last time out as he was expected to see a much bigger opportunity with Russell off the floor. However, we instead saw most of the minutes go to Beverly. Beasley still saw 27 minutes last time out, and he went for 22 FPTS which is not too bad for this price. It felt like there was a lot of room for Beasley to play more last time and Beverly to play a bit less, so we really like the idea of being equally bullish on Beasley for tonight. At this price he should be able to give us solid value again easily, and there is a lot of upside he plays around 30 minutes and has a big scoring night. We love using Beasley for tournaments here, and we will use him for Cash games as well if he gets the start.

Small Forward 

Kevin Durant – ($10,600 DK) We have a lot of budget plays who look good on tonight’s slate, so we are going to find ourselves looking for superstars to plug in. Durant is a guy we always look at, as he is one of the top DFS producers in the league. KD has been averaging over 50 FPTS a night so far this season, as he has had to create more offence then usual with Kyrie Irving inactive. The Nets have an easy matchup against the Detroit Pistons tonight, so we are happy betting on Durant’s upside.  

Norman Powell – ($4,700 Dk) Powell has had a slow start to the season, which has led his price to falling much cheaper than we expected to able to roster him this season. Powell typically plays around 30 minutes a night for Portland, and his floor time has been a lot more consistent over the last handful of games. Powell showed how good he could be with over 40 FPTS last time out, yet he is still only $4,700 here. Powell is too cheap for how productive a player he is, and he has a great matchup tonight against the Indiana Pacers. 

Power Forward 

Giannis Antetokounmpo – ($11,800 DK) The price tag is really starting to get up there for Antetokounmpo, however he is still one of our favorite stars to spend up for tonight. $11,800 is honestly still too cheap for the Freak, especially in a situation where we know Khris Middleton is not going to be playing. Antetokounmpo should have to take on a big scoring load along everything else he does for Milwaukee, as he his head and shoulder above the rest of this slate as a producer. We also have a ton of value tonight, so it is not that hard finding the salary to fit in Antetokounmpo. 

Center

Khem Birch – ($3,700 DK) Birch is a guy that we are all over for tonight, and he is also a guy who likely goes hugely overlooked for other centers on this slate. Birch has had an interesting minutes situation, and it is going to be easy for people to look past the upside. Birch is yet to see the start at center for Toronto, but he has been playing more minutes then starting center Precious Achiuwa. Birch had a great upwards minutes trend except for last game, where we saw him get in some foul trouble. Birch is so cheap here; he could hit value if things don’t go as we want them to. However, if Birch is going to play 30 minutes tonight, he could quietly be on of the best plays on the slate at $3,700. 

General strategy 

There is a lot to like on tonight’s slate. With nine games and a ton of value, it is not going to be easy deciding who we want to plant our flag in. For Cash games tonight, we are happy getting to Antetokounmpo as our spend up option as he is always very consistent. We are likely going to Beverly and Ivica Zubac for value, as a lot of people will probably look to them. For tournaments, we love getting to Birch as we really think he is a guy the masses skip over tonight. We also really like George and Morant as spend up options for tournaments, as they likely go a bit less rostered then Antetokounmpo and Curry. Cunningham and Plumlee are priorities in both contest types for us tonight. We do not have a ton of lingering injury news now, but with this many teams playing it is likely something breaks before lock. Make sure to keep an eye on the news and good luck tonight.

Go win your lineup and tell us how you did. Twitter (@FantasyDFSX) is a good place for that.