FanDuel NBA GPP Breakdown: Tuesday, 11/20 – It’s Tyler Time!

FanDuel NBA GPP Breakdown

Greetings NBA DFS junkies and welcome back to the Tuesday edition of the FanDuel NBA GPP Breakdown. I’m “Thunder Dan” and I love FanDuel NBA DFS more than Russell Westbrook loves “game-time decisions.”

All kidding aside, my goal every day is to give you my top targets every night for GPP contests for FanDuel NBA.  When making these picks I always take into account salary, ownership, and match-up and I always do my best to give you a clear rationale for why I believe each player makes an elite GPP target.

We have a concise 4-game slate tonight with all 4 games tipping off by 7:30 Eastern time. That rarely happens, and it’s awesome because we should have all the news we need by 7:00 lock for all four games. You can set those rosters and then sit back and relax without having to worry about late scratches.

Due to the size of the slate, I’ll go game-by-game today. I break down each game and give you my top plays from each team before finally including my “Game Stack of Night” which is my favorite game to target with multiple players from both teams.

"For tournaments, we’re not satisfied with just 5x return on a player’s salary, we’re looking for players who can hit 6-7x value or greater."

Remember, this is a first look article that is intended to get you pointed in the right direction with your research. Every NBA slate changes as the day goes along and information is bound to come out that will likely push us onto certain plays or off others.  Always make sure you monitoring Twitter for player updates or getting those push notifications to your phone.

Without any further ado, let’s get into these games!

FanDuel NBA GPP Breakdown: Toronto @ Orlando

The Raptors will travel south to the Sunshine State as 6-point favorites in a game that has a healthy 222 total.  Orlando has won 5 of their last 6 games and are now above .500 on the season and leading the Southeast Division in the East. They’ll have their work cut out for them against the Raptors, who sport the best record in the NBA at 13-4.

Kawhi Leonard (10k) was rested in Toronto’s last game, and the Raptors didn’t miss a beat, crushing the Bulls by 39 points on Saturday.  He’s the most expensive player on the slate but is pretty easy to fit into builds today with some of the solid value options available in other games.  It’s hard not to love Kawhi tonight in this game and he happens to be coming off his first 60-burger of the season against Boston.

Kyle Lowry (8100) is my favorite play on the Raps tonight. His price has dipped to where he’s easy to fit into builds and he has one of the best matchups of any Raptor tonight as he will draw D.J. Augustin defense. His game log will likely keep most players away, but really like him as high-upside contrarian option.

While Toronto was really shorthanded this weekend, it looks like they could have the rest of their supporting cast back tonight as OG Anunoby and C.J. Miles could return. That takes me off any bench guards like Fred Van Vleet or Delon Wright.  The three-headed monster of Jonas Valanciunas, Pascal Siakam, and Serge Ibaka (6700) are all splitting minutes inside with Jonas only really being playable when one of the others is out. Ibaka is the guy who has the most offensive upside if he gets the minutes and Orlando is usually a team we can attack inside. It’s probably a situation I’ll avoid altogether.

FanDuel NBA GPP Breakdown: Toronto @ Orlando

Orlando has their offense firing on all cylinders after scoring 130 and 131 points in their two games this weekend. However, they’ll likely have a little more resistance tonight from Toronto than the Lakers or Knicks offered.  The Magic will likely look to their talented big man Nikola Vucevic (9500), who’s gone over 50 FD points in three straight games and was one assist shy of a triple-double on Sunday in only 31 minutes.  He’s a solid GPP option even as his price rises with how easily he’s scoring and rebounding the ball.

If you’re looking to pivot, then look no further than his frontcourt teammate Aaron Gordon (7900) who scored 31 real-life points on Sunday in only 29 minutes. The 1600 dollar discount off Vuc might be worth taking if you think Gordon can come close to Vuc’s point total tonight.

Evan Fournier (6600) is also in play. He’s been inconsistent this year but has cracked the 40 FD point mark twice already this season and the 30 FD point mark 7 times.  He’s not my favorite SG tonight but is an interesting piece to include in a game stack.

Perhaps the most interesting play from the Magic is second-year player Jonathan Isaac (5100), who’s flashed some serious point-per-minute upside with his ability to rack up steals and blocks.  He’s been on a minute restriction since returning from injury but has managed to score 80 FD points in only 60 minutes on the court. He played 24 minutes on Sunday so if he gets another 24 tonight he’s absolutely in play for me at that price.

FanDuel NBA GPP Breakdown: L.A. Clippers @ Washington

This is a tale of two teams heading in different directions. The Clippers are winners of five in a row and seven of their last eight including victories over the Bucks, Spurs, and Warriors.  Meanwhile, the Wizards are reportedly shopping stars John Wall, Bradley Beal and Otto Porter after a 5-11 start and what sounds like some serious turmoil within the team between the players a coach.

The Clippers played last night and pulled one out against a pesky Hawks team behind big nights from Tobias Harris (8200), Lou Williams (6400) and Montrezl Harrell (7500).  Danilo Gallinari missed the game with an illness and if he were out again tonight then Mike Scott (3600) would be an easy plug-and-play considering he went 9x on that price last night in 28 minutes off the bench.

Normally, I would love the Clippers core here against Washington’s porous defense in a pace-up spot but I wonder why kind of effort we will see from the Wizards tonight. I usually don’t like trying to figure out intangibles like effort and my loyal readers know I simply don’t do narratives. But this feels like a team on the verge of total implosion and I could see the Clips coming in and waxing the Wizards tonight in a blowout.

If you think the Wizards come out fired up and keep it close throughout, then the usual suspects of John Wall (9800) and Bradley Beal (8200) are the logical targets.  I just think the prices on most of the pieces we would want from this game outside of Lou Williams or Mike Scott are more than I’m willing to pay. Oh and Montrezl Harrell is good, and this is a good spot for him again even at his highest price of the season.

FanDuel NBA GPP Breakdown: Brooklyn @ Miami

Now, this is a game I can sink my teeth into. Miami will be without Goran Dragic and Dwayne Wade again tonight, so we have some really attractive pieces from the Heat that we can use here.

Tyler Johnson (5600) is at the top of that list for me. He’s been rock solid in his 30-minute bench role and just dropped 36.5 on the Nets last week. He’ll be chalky, but I’ll happily eat this chalk as he’s still very affordable for his floor and ceiling. Josh Richardson (7700) is the other main beneficiary of Dragic’s absence, while Wayne Ellington (4200) makes a pretty solid punt play even if he’s totally scoring dependent.

Hassan Whiteside (8600) is awfully tempting as Brooklyn is one of the best matchups for big men, but he’s failed to play more than 28 minutes in each of the last four games and I think it’s very likely the Heat could go small here against the Nets down the stretch. The return of James Johnson 4700) doesn’t help Whiteside either as Johnson played 15 minutes and is able to play inside when the Heat want to go small. Johnson isn’t really playable yet until we see him get back to his 25-minute bench role so I’m likely focusing mainly on the Heat guards and wings here.

For Brooklyn, it’s really a three-man show right now with D’Angelo Russell (7300), Jarrett Allen (6600) and Spencer Dinwiddie (6300) being the three clear targets on the Nets since Caris Levert went down with an injury.

Russell is jacking up a ton of shots and has also seen his assist numbers go up as he’s playing on the ball more often. Allen has seen an uptick in minutes with 29.5 over his last two contests and has produced nicely with 39 and 42 FD points in those outings. And finally, Dinwiddie has the 6th man, gobbling up usage with the second unit and playing between 27 and 31 minutes over the last three games. Rostering any other Net is rather risky, considering how spread out the minutes are for the remaining players in their rotation.

FanDuel NBA GPP Breakdown: Portland @ New York

The Blazers come into the Big Apple as only 7.5 point favorites tonight, but I’m skeptical of whether or not the Knicks can compete. Portland has some serious firepower on offense and is not usually a team I like to target with opposing players as their defense is somewhat underrated.

Damian Lillard (9600) can certainly go off on any given night and he certainly showed that on Sunday as he dropped 56 on John Wall and the Wizards. If I’m spending up on a stud, I think I’d rather pay that money for Kawhi or Vucevic, though.

I was rewarded on Sunday for staying on my man, the “Bosnian Bully” Jusuf Nurkic (8000) and even as his price goes up I think I’ll still have a few shares of him tonight. He’s been simply dominant when given the minutes and nearly had a triple-double on Sunday with a 13-14-8 line in 31 minutes. He could dominate the Knicks inside if the Blazers even need him to.

My favorite play from Portland is going to be C.J. McCollum (6700). If the ownership is more likely on Lillard and Nurk, then I’m going to go after the cheapest of the big three Blazers and hope I can catch him on a night when he has one of his vintage scoring displays.  He’s scored 40 real-life points once this season on his way to 63 FD points, so you know he has those big games in him.

The Knicks are…well…a mess. Tim Hardaway Jr. (8000) has been the only consistent player on the entire team and he’s now getting priced where it’s hard to make a profit on him even if he has a good night.  You could chase Trey Burke (4900) and his big night from Sunday or try to get Enes Kanter (6500) on a night when he gets 30+ minutes, but I’d be lying if I told you I had any idea of how Coach Fizdale is going to run his rotations.  The Knicks obviously have some appealing fantasy options, but they are one of the most unpredictable teams in the NBA right now.

FanDuel NBA GPP Breakdown: Game Stack of the Night

Brooklyn (+3) @ Miami (216 total)

This game actually has one of the lower totals on the slate and neither team plays very fast. But what it does have is a tight spread and several players on both teams who are in a great position to pay off their salaries due to injuries. The Heat handled the Nets in their first matchup, but I think we see Brooklyn keep this a competitive game throughout.

If you fade Hassan Whiteside, then you can pretty easily fit any and all of the pieces you want from this game. The trio of Russell, Allen, and Dinwiddie only cost a combined 26.2k, while my preferred trio of Heat players – Johnson, Ellington, and Richardson only cost 19.5k.  If you use all six players, you’re left with an average of 7.4k left for the last three spots on your roster.

I plan to build several variations of this game stack and the optimal build might not be to use all six of these players but to mix and match 2 and 2 from each side. Johnson and Allen are my favorite plays from each side, but D’Angelo Russell probably has the highest ceiling of any player in this game and will probably be in any game stack that I build,

FanDuel NBA GPP Breakdown: Sample Lineup and Slate Overview

Here’s where I am at this morning. I try to include as many of the players that I write up in my lineups but at some point, you have to find value plays at certain positions to make everything fit. There are quite a few different ways to go with roster construction today despite there being only a four-game slate, so I’ll likely mix and match my favorite plays and build a few game stacks.

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Keep in mind these sample lineups are for illustrative purposes are not intended to be plug-and-play lineups. There’s still a lot that could happen that could change roster construction during the course of the day.

PG: Tyler Johnson (5600) – OUT
PG: Kyle Lowry (8100)
SG: D’Angelo Russell (7300)
SG: C.J. McCollum (6700)
SF: Jonathan Isaac (5100)
SF: Josh Richardson (7700)
PF: Mike Scott (3600)
PF: Aaron Gordon (7900)
C: Jusuf Nurkic (8000)

That’s all I got today, folks! I hope you enjoyed my slate breakdown and I appreciate you taking the time to read my article. Be sure to share it with friends and fellow DFS players, leave comments or hit me with other feedback or questions on Twitter.  Keep coming back to FantasyCPR for the best free content in the industry! Good luck in your contests!