DraftKings NBA picks November 8: Can Porzingis be stopped?
By Mike Marteny
DraftKings NBA picks November 8: Can Porzingis be stopped?
We only have five games for our DraftKings tournament tonight, making it a lighter slate than most Wednesdays. There is still a lot of value out there. Let’s go find it!
More from DraftKings
- DraftKings Open Championship picks 2023: Best PGA DFS golf lineup
- Genesis Scottish Open DraftKings picks 2023: Best PGA DFS golf lineup
- Rocket Mortgage Classic DraftKings picks 2023: Best PGA DFS golf lineup
- US Open DraftKings picks 2023: Best PGA DFS golf lineup
- RBC Canadian Open DraftKings picks 2023: Best PGA DFS golf lineup
Just a reminder that the classic tournaments on DraftKings truly are classic. They do not allow for late swapping. The late swap tournaments are much, much smaller, so we have to decide if we want a fair match, or if we want to win big money. We shouldn’t have to decide that!
The money line was up a lot to 278.5 DraftKings points. My lineups were hurt by Patty Mills and Amir Johnson. The other was done in by horrible nights from Gortat, Markkanen, and a 3-21 shooting night from Donovan Mitchell.
The winning lineup was a solid 365.25 DraftKings points. He stacked the Dallas backcourt and used Brow and Kevin Love for a huge night.
If you would like to try DraftKings for the first time, use this link for the referral bonus! It is good for up to 25% of your first deposit. We have plenty of advice on the site to help you turn that into a solid bankroll!
Point Guards
Best Bets:
Stephen Curry ($9,300): The Timberwolves have been eaten alive by point guards this year. Curry’s numbers are down a bit lately because the Warriors are finally blowing teams out. However, if it happens tonight, Curry will be the main reason why. The Timberwolves are pretty solid everywhere else but in the middle, but the Warriors can’t really attack there anyway.
Kyrie Irving ($8,800): Irving torched the hapless Hawks on the perimeter, and could do the same to a Lakers team that doesn’t defend the outside well at all. He scored a career best 35 on the Hawks. Don’t be surprised if he has another high scoring night tonight.
Honorable Mention:
Goran Dragic ($6,800): It’s hard to rely on Dragic game in and game out, but this looks like a game where he can succeed. The Suns give up a ton of points to all positions, but especially the point. That makes Dragic a very nice target tonight, especially with his price in this range.
Jeff Teague ($6,500): Teague has thrived so far in Minnesota. The Warriors are a fairly tough matchup, but his passing ability and ability to hit shots from the outside can only help. I don’t really think this turns into a blowout, so there is value to be had in this game. It should be high scoring, and Teague only needs 33 DraftKings points for 5x value. He has hit that mark six times in the last eight games.
Dark Horses:
Jordan Clarkson ($4,200): Clarkson can put up points in bushels. That’s exactly what he has done lately. He has back to back 30+ DraftKings points outings, all while playing about half the game. Boston is pretty good on the perimeter, but the good news is that Clarkson wont really have to deal with Irving. That will fall to Ball. Clarkson is a solid value play with some upside tonight.
Frank Ntilikina ($3,800): Ntilikina still isn’t starting, but he is splitting the minutes about right down the middle with Jack. He has more upside than Jack, and has been putting up solid numbers with the exception of a dud against the Suns. Games like that will happen for the rookie, but he has upside that most at this price do not.
My picks: Dragic(PG); Irving(PG), Ntilikina(G)
Shooting Guards
Best Bets:
Devin Booker ($8,000): Booker is always going to carry some risk because he still relies a lot on scoring. He had duds against the Spurs and Nets, both of which are better on the perimeter than Miami is. This looks like a nice spot to bounce back for Booker.
Evan Fournier ($6,700): Fournier had an awful game against Boston on Sunday, but I would bet that he wont go 2-14 from the floor again. I am taking Fournier over Oladipo because of the opponent (Oladipo plays Detroit in the second night of a back to back) and because Butler gets about 14 shots every two games. They both may outproduce Fournier, but he is the much safer option against the Knicks.
Honorable Mention:
Tim Hardaway Jr. ($6,100): Hardaway came in a little under value last night, but I can live with 28.5 DraftKings points at this price range. He should be in that same area again tonight as a consistent producer for this offense. Porzingis is clearly the go-to guy, but Hardaway is the best option on the outside most of the time.
Dion Waiters ($5,700): An up-tempo game like Phoenix is perfect for a spot up shooter like Waiters. He has the ability to stuff the stat sheet if his shot is falling, but could come up well short if it is not. Still, I like the pace of the game and the volume to put Waiters over 5x value and closer to 6x.
Avery Bradley ($5,500): Bradley has topped 5x value in five of the last six games. Indiana shouldn’t be able to stop him from making it six of seven. He is an accomplished shooter, and helps enough everywhere else that he rarely misses value.
Dark Horses:
Jonathon Simmons ($5,100): His run in the starting lineup against Boston didn’t go well on Sunday. Simmons ended up playing less minutes, and providing less of everything but points. That said, Boston is a solid defensive team, and the Knicks are still trying to figure out the pecking order of the guards. If Payton plays, I’m out on Simmons. If not, I’m open to giving him another chance here.
Lance Stephenson ($3,300): Stephenson had his best game of the season last night. While I wouldn’t expect an outburst of that magnitude against the Pistons, Stephenson meant enough to the Pacers offense last night that I could see him getting playing about half the game again. If that happens, he should still come out well above 5x value.
My pick: Bradley(SG), Hardaway(G); Waiters(SG)
Small Forwards:
Best Bets:
Kevin Durant ($9,700): He has only been below 44 DraftKings points once this season. No one else on this star-studded team can claim that. Durant is the safest option among the Warriors to hit value, but he doesn’t have the upside that either one of the Splash Brothers does. Still, on a light slate, KD is one of the few that can drop 50.
Andrew Wiggins ($6,500): Wiggins is still the outside scorer on this team, even with Jimmy Butler there. Wiggins gets more shots, and often does more with it. He could have a fairly tough night tonight, but his price is low enough that 5x value is still within reach. Just don’t expect a really big night from him.
Honorable Mention:
T.J. Warren ($6,000): Honestly, I have no idea how Warren is still this cheap. Struggling against the Spurs is understandable. He has a solid matchup with the Heat tonight, and though he may not hit 40 DraftKings points here, I expect somewhere around 6x value.
Brandon Ingram ($5,900): Ingram has been one of the most consistent players for a young Lakers team this year. He has grown into a scorer, and is a good rebounder. That gives Ingram a solid floor. He hasn’t had the huge fluctuations that he had last year, which makes him much easier to use for DFS purposes. Ingram has good upside and a solid floor, which can be hard to find at this price.
Dark Horses:
Bojan Bogdanovic ($4,800): Bogdanovic is mostly a bench scorer, which limits his upside. However, he gets consistent minutes and plenty of open shots. He had a dud against the Knicks, but many a small forward has this season. It’s looking like a good spot to use him against Detroit tonight.
Marcus Morris ($4,000): Morris is really cheap for his potential tonight. He racked up 26.25 DraftKings points in just 23 minutes against Orlando back on Sunday. Morris should see at least that many minutes tonight, and has a great chance at picking up over 6x value for this price again.
My pick: Bogdanovic(SF); Warren(SF), Bogdanovic(UTIL), Morris(F)
Power Forwards
Best Bets:
Kristaps Porzingis ($9,500): Do you want to bet against Porzingis right now? I don’t. Whiteside is not an elite defender. I like this matchup a little less if Johnson guards the Unicorn, but I’m not sure it matters at the level he is playing at right now. Porzingis looks like clearly the best option tonight.
Draymond Green ($7,500): Draymond spends enough time at the center position to maybe take advantage of some of Towns’s shortcomings on defense. Green is always going to provide strong defensive stats, but if he can get some scoring going, he could be in for a really good night!
Honorable Mention:
Aaron Gordon ($7,200): The Knicks are pretty solid up front, but Gordon is turning into an all around star for the Magic. He isn’t that polished offensively, and he isn’t a great passer, but he has a nose for the ball and is a good rebounder. He has shown flashes of offensive brilliance, which makes him an enticing GPP play. His floor is solid enough to keep us in contention until he finally goes off.
James Johnson ($6,400): Johnson has topped 40 DraftKings points in three of his last four games. This matchup with Phoenix looks like a good one for him since the teams that have given Johnson problems are one with big power forwards. The up-tempo will suit his game just fine.
Kyle Kuzma ($6,100): The rookie has done a great job with Larry Nance out. The Lakers have committed to running Kuzma most of the time in the starting lineup, leaving Randle to chew up the bench minutes at the four and the five. It is working for the Lakers, so expect Kuzma’s run to continue.
Dark Horses:
Thaddeus Young ($5,800): Young may lose some playing time once the Pacers are fully healthy up front, but that hasn’t happened yet. Sabonis was held out of last night’s game, and is generously listed as questionable for tonight. If Young starts again, I want him in the lineup. He has six straight games of 5x value or better.
Julius Randle ($4,900): Randle isn’t seeing more than 20 minutes, but he is still easily hitting 5x value off the bench for the Lakers. Whether they plan on increasing his minutes or not is unclear, so Randle carries a healthy amount of risk, but it’s hard to ignore what he is doing right now. He has at least 6x value in three of the last four games.
My pick: Johnson(PF), Kuzma(F), Young(UTIL); Porzingis(PF)
Center:
Best Bets:
Karl-Anthony Towns ($8,900): Defensively, the Warriors struggle on the interior with traditional bigs. Towns fits that bill, but is also more athletic than most, so he may succeed where Denver failed over the weekend. There is risk here though. Towns no longer caries the team on his shoulders, and he has had issues with foul trouble recently. That should keep his ownership down for those willing to take the chance.
Andre Drummond ($8,400): Drummond is actually averaging more rebounds than points this season. He has back to back 50+ DraftKings points games against the Kings and Bucks. The Pacers aren’t that big up front either, so expect another strong game from Drummond with a high floor because of his elite rebounding ability.
Honorable Mention:
Hassan Whiteside ($7,400): The Suns are allowing a lot of points, and Whiteside dominates the interior against small teams. He will be well rested since Whiteside played just 16 minutes in a blowout loss to the Warriors. Duds like that are possible, but it’s not likely against the Suns.
Al Horford ($7,300): Horford was just one assist shy of a triple-double against his former team on Monday. Tonight he gets a decent Lakers team, but all that means is that the Lakers likely can stay close enough for the Celtics not the blow them out. That is good news for DFS players.
Dark Horses:
Brook Lopez ($6,100): Myles Turner had a nice game last night, which could lead to high ownership, but that isn’t why I’m off of him. Detroit is really tough inside. I would rather save teh case and take Lopez, who has obliterated 5x value in each of his last three games. Since he played against Detroit, actually.
Alex Len ($4,800): The fact that the Suns are playing Len at PF as well has helped his production immensely. He and Tyson Chandler have played pretty well together, which is bad news for Chriss. Chandler is more consistent than Len, but Len has more upside. Neither one is a bad choice against Miami tonight.
My pick: Drummond(C); Whiteside(C)
Stay tuned for our FanDuel picks, and our picks for the PGA tour! We even have some EPL picks coming your way! For you college football fans, we have all of the games picked against the spread along with ESPN college pick em picks!