DraftKings NBA Picks November 21: The King returns to Cleveland

ATLANTA, GA – NOVEMBER 07: Noah Vonleh #32 of the New York Knicks draws a foul as he attempts a shot against Vince Carter #15, Taurean Prince #12 and Jeremy Lin #7 of the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena on November 7, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

DraftKings NBA Picks November 21: The King returns to Cleveland

We have the largest DraftKings NBA slate of the year with only four teams not playing. The Heat, Wizards, Clippers, and Magic are the only teams that get an extended Thanksgiving break. That means the Raptors, Nets, Blazers, and Knicks are all playing in back to backs. We all know that Kawhi is sitting already, but be on the lookout for more.

DraftKings NBA Point Guards:

Best Bets:

Russell Westbrook ($10,700): Westbrook’s return may sap most of the value of his teammates, especially with their prices elevated so high. He makes up for it by playing a Warriors team that is without Curry, and therefore unable to guard him. Westbrook put up 63.25 DraftKings points after a six game layoff. He should be even better than that tonight!

Kemba Walker ($9,800): Walker has 103 points over his last two games. Not DraftKings points. Actual points. That has turned into 140.25 DraftKings points. Indiana is decent against the point, but could be without Oladipo. That would turn this from a decent matchup into a great one. I’m on the fence about Kemba with Indiana at full strength, but you can build around him if Oladipo is out.

Honorable Mention:

Ben Simmons ($8,600): The Sixers’ version of the big three is still learning how to work together, but Simmons may already have this thing figured out. He has finished one assist shy of a triple double in each of his last two games. The across the board production is still there for Simmons. His scoring and rebounding numbers have actually been better with Butler around. Will that continue.

Jrue Holiday ($8,100): Holiday has at least eight assists in 14 straight games. We all know that he can score as well. We just saw Kemba have a huge game against the Sixers. This is a game you definitely want a piece of. The first one to 150 might win this game. Both of these teams like to run the court. Expect another strong game from Holiday here.

Luka Doncic ($6,800): Doncic has taken 20 shots from the field in each of this last two games and recorded at least nine rebounds. Little by little Dallas has let the line out on Doncic, and he is starting to show what kind of numbers he can put up on a given night. As long as Dallas is giving him this kind of run, Doncic is going to destroy value at this price, especially in a matchup like this.

Dark Horses:

Ricky Rubio ($6,500): It’s guys like Rubio that made DFS look like gambling. He has 49 points, including 85 DraftKings points, over the last two games. Rubio had 67 DraftKings points in the three prior contests combined. It’s hard to predict just when he will go off, but Rubio is riding a mini hot streak, and has a very favorable matchup with the Kings here.

Dennis Smith Jr. ($5,600): Smith and Doncic are learning to coexist here. The absence of Wes Matthews probably doesn’t hurt any. Both Smith and Doncic are seeing good minutes lately, and the production is there. Smith has topped 30 DraftKings points in every game with Matthews out. If Wes is out again, fire up DSJ.

Collin Sexton ($5,400): Sexton has been remarkably consistent lately. He has between 28 and 30 DraftKings points in each of the last four games. If Sexton is able to take the court, he is going to make a strong value play once again. Just keep an eye on his ailing hip.

Trey Burke ($4,200): Burke still isn’t starting, but he keeps putting up huge numbers for the price. His 27.75 DraftKings points last night was plenty enough for 6x value, and there seems to be little slowing him down. Due to the recent production for the price, I think we can even trust him against Boston.

My pick: Doncic(PG); Smith(PG), Burke(G)

PHOENIX, AZ – NOVEMBER 08: Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns handles the ball during the NBA game against the Boston Celtics at Talking Stick Resort Arena on November 8, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Celtics defeated the Suns 116-109 in overtime. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

DraftKings NBA Shooting Guards:

Best Bets:

James Harden ($10,900): There are a whole lot of places to blow our allotment of cash tonight, and Harden is definitely vying for some of it. Harden seems to hit 5x value about half the time, but he has hit that mark three times in the last four games. This is still his team, so even if Paul is stealing assists, Harden does more than enough elsewhere to make him worth a look.

Devin Booker ($8,700): Booker lit the lamp on Monday, hitting 13 of 28 shots. The best thing to take away from this is that Booker still had eight assists in this game. Oh, and he did it all while fouling out! The Bulls present another great matchup for Booker. He isn’t just shooting dependent anymore. He does enough other things to give him a nice floor now.

Honorable Mention:

Tim Hardaway Jr. ($7,300): The Knicks shook things up a little bit last night and the team responded by hanging with the Blazers. At any rate, we learned that Hardaway is the offensive focal point of the team no matter what they decide to do with the other positions. So the offense may change gears around him, but it shouldn’t affect Hardaway’s output any.

D’Angelo Russell ($7,200): That’s back to back games of 50+ DraftKings points for Russell, and last night he did it while only scoring 20 points. He added nine rebounds, six assists, and four steals to put together an impressive all around stat line. If this is what Russell is evolving into, his price is way too low.

Khris Middleton ($7,000): I do have a feeling that we are going to see a lot of people trying to get in on the ground floor of a Butler breakout. This could be that with the uptempo Pelicans on tap, but why? The downside on Butler in Philly so far has been huge. Meanwhile, Middleton is Rodney Dangerfielding it in Milwaukee. No respect, yet he has at least 25 DraftKings points in 11 of his last 12. He broke 30 in all but two of those. Oh, and he has sprinkled in a couple of 40’s and a 50 there. Middleton has a high floor and decent upside. And he’s $200 less than Butler.

Dark Horses:

Buddy Hield ($5,600): The first reaction to this, especially if you vividly remember last year, is that I must be crazy. Utah has allowed the fewest fantasy points to shooting guards, and Heild is about as inconsistent as they come. Or is he? Hield has only been under 25 DraftKings points once this season, and it wasn’t against Utah. He put up 30.5 in the first meeting with the Jazz. 6x value in on the table for Hield tonight. He has at least 30 DraftKings points in seven of the last ten games.

Jeremy Lamb ($5,400): Another day, another 5x value for Lamb, except this time it was against the mighty Celtics, and he played only 28 minutes. Lamb’s minutes have fluctuated from time to time, but the Hornets are clearly getting him more involved in the offense. He has taken double digit shots in each of the last three games. Lamb is a nice pick against Indiana, and could be even better if their backcourt is nicked up again.

Jordan Clarkson ($5,200): Clarkson has been one of the few bright spots on a team that is clearly looking forward to the draft lottery. The minutes and the scoring for Clarkson have been pretty consistent so far. Even though Clarkson has a clunker here and there, he is still playing about 28 minutes per game, and more often than not scoring in double digits. That makes him worth a look for this price.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ($3,500): Just when you think KCP is an afterthought, he comes out with five straight double digit scoring efforts. He has at least 20 DraftKings points in three of the last four games, so there is solid upside here.

My pick: Booker(SG); Caldwell-Pope(SG)

OAKLAND, CA – NOVEMBER 13: Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors reacts after the Warriors made a basket against the Atlanta Hawks at ORACLE Arena on November 13, 2018 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

DraftKings NBA Small Forwards:

Best Bets:

LeBron James ($11,600): He’s back in Cleveland, possibly more amicably this time. Expect the King to thrive. Note to all you planning on attending the game, I agree with George Hill

George Hill does not want any booing for LeBron James in his return. 👊 pic.twitter.com/GLvoma12LT
— Cavs Nation (@CavsNationCP) November 20, 2018

So don’t boo. Just play LeBron and enjoy the DFS goodness.

Kevin Durant ($10,600): We all know how Durant can work himself up, and I expect him to do just that. Even though the Thunder did pretty well on KD the first time around, this time they are in Oakland and Durant’s entire supporting cast is missing besides Klay. Curry and Draymond are both out, so expect massive usage numbers for Durant tonight. It’s going to be hard to justify not using him here.

Honorable Mention:

Paul George ($8,900): George still racked up 45.25 DraftKings points with Russ back, so I think it’s kind of unfair to just dismiss him because of that. George had 44.5 DraftKings points in the first meeting with the Warriors with Westbrook on the court. The only issue with using George here is the lack of significant upside. As long is Westbrook is on the court, George wont have a monster game. That’s just like with Russ.

Nikola Mirotic ($6,900): It was bizarre to see the Pelicans score 140 and see that Mirotic had just 13 of those points. It wasn’t an off night. Mirotic just shot only seven times. Expect the volume to be back up for Mirotic against a team that can’t defend perimeter oriented fours anymore. We could get a strong game from Mirotic at low ownership here.

T.J. Warren ($6,700): Another game, another 5x value for Warren. This is becoming commonplace. Warren has at least 34 DraftKings in six straight games. I doubt the Bulls are going to slow Warren down. Play him once again with confidence.

Dark Horses:

Robert Covington ($5,600): In three games as a Timberwolf, Covington has 92 DraftKings points. Covington is getting all the minutes he can handle when not in foul trouble, and is a great value play with his price staying this low. I don’t see a reason not to use him tonight no matter what your build ends up looking like.

Tyreke Evans ($5,400): Evans saw a slight uptick in minutes with Oladipo out, but his poor shooting kept him from having a really good game. Still, Evans came close to 5x value against a pretty good Utah defense. I’m not sold on Evans if Oladipo is in there, but if he is out again, there is enough upside with Evans to use in GPP formats.

E’Twuan Moore ($5,000): After a couple of off games, Moore was back to draining buckets against the Spurs on Monday. Moore has shot 50% or better in six straight games now. In a game with the Sixers that promises to be a track meet, expect Moore to get all the shots he can handle once again. It’s also fair to expect him to make half of them.

Danny Green ($4,600): It has already been announced that Kawhi is resting here, so Green should see a nice little uptick in production like he did on Monday I the second game of that back to back. Green racked up 29.5 DraftKings points with a perfect shooting night with Kawhi out. Even with Kawhi in last night, Green put up some solid numbers. He continues to be a constant value source, albeit with little upside.

My pick: Covington(SF), Evans(G); Covington(SF), Evans(F), Green(UTIL)

NEW ORLEANS, LA – OCTOBER 19: Anthony Davis #23 of the New Orleans Pelicans reacts during a game against the Sacramento Kings at the Smoothie King Center on October 19, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /

DraftKings NBA Power Forwards:

Best Bets:

Anthony Davis ($11,400): If Davis can even rack up 53.25 DraftKings points on the Spurs, other teams really have no chance to stop him. Davis is the most consistent star for DFS purposes, and is worth using in every game. Especially when he isn’t even the highest priced player on the slate.

Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,200): Giannis only had 40.5 DraftKings points in the first game with Portland, but he is riding a streak of six games with at least 48 DraftKings points since then. Giannis has one of the higher floors among superstars, but it’s been a while since he had a game that LeBron or A.D. are capable of. On a full night slate, we can probably do better.

Honorable Mention:

Julius Randle ($7,000): Randle put up a triple double off the bench against the Spurs on Monday. Not only that, but he helped dominate Aldridge on the other end. Randle has been huge for the Pelicans, and has put up more than 50 DraftKings points three times already this season, all of them off the bench. I see no reason not to use Randle, especially with the ceiling he has for a pretty reasonable price.

Pascal Siakam ($6,600): Siakam has thrived under the new coaching staff. He put up yet another 28+ DraftKings point game last night, his ninth straight. Seven of those have been over 30. The Hawks have been pretty bad up front. Part of that has to do with injuries, but another part of that is inexperience. There is no reason not to expect another strong night from Siakam. The issue is that it’s going to be hard to hit value with his price on the rise.

Jayson Tatum ($6,200): Tatum ate the Knicks alive in the first meeting, racking up 46 DraftKings points in that game. Tatum has had some problems with consistency this year, but they have all come against teams that are pretty stout up front. The Knicks are fine at center, but PF remains a work in progress with PorzinGOD out.

Dark Horses:

Jaren Jackson ($5,600): The Grizzlies aren’t limiting Jackson’s court time even with Green back, so it appears as thought both of the youngsters can coexist in this frontcourt. The Spurs were shredded by the Pelicans on Monday night. Some of it was athleticism, which Jackson also has. We saw what Randle was able to do to the Spurs. Will this be an ongoing trend? It’s worth finding out with Jackson this cheap. Honestly, I think I prefer to save the $1,500 and go with Green. His output has been almost the same as Jackson at a fraction of the price.

Juancho Hernangomez ($4,700): Juancho was a bust on Monday night as a value play, going just 2-10 from the floor. That will sour many off of him, but don’t let it do that to you. The Timberwolves are one of the worst defensive frontcourts around, and they will be for as long as Saric is coming off the bench. Not that Saric is a great defender either. Juancho has a great chance to get back on track here because the minutes were still there.

Noah Vonleh ($4,100): It’s easy to forget how young Vonleh is since it seems like he was on the Portland bench forever. He hosted his own coming out party against his former team last night, ravaging them for 45 DraftKings points. It’s going to be much tougher against Boston tonight, but even if Vonleh only gets half of what he had last night, that’s still 5x value. There is enough upside here.

My pick: N/A; Davis(PF)

LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 18: Anthony Davis #23 of Team LeBron and Joel Embiid #21 of Team Stephen jump for the tip-off during the NBA All-Star Game 2018 at Staples Center on February 18, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /

DraftKings NBA Center

Best Bets:

Joel Embiid ($10,800): LeBron in Cleveland is going to be the story of the night, but the matchup of the night could be Embiid against Davis. Embiid is going to have his hands full here, but he has at least 57 DraftKings points in five of the last seven games. We have seen a high floor from Embiid this year, and the Sixers are letting him play all the minutes he can handle. I see no reason to avoid him tonight, but I see him more as a lineup sidekick than anchor.

Nikola Jokic ($9,700): Playing a center against the Timberwolves is almost as automatic as playing a center against the Nets. I wouldn’t be one bit surprised if Jokic outscored all other centers tonight. In fact, I think he will be in the running for the highest score of any position.

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Honorable Mention:

Rudy Gobert ($7,800): Gobert put up 44.25 DraftKings points in the first meeting with the Kings, and is a good play if you are fading the top tier of centers. Using Gobert along with Jokic and foregoing all of the five digit players seems a viable option here as well with potentially lower ownership on Gobert.

DeAndre Jordan ($7,100): Lock and load. He’s playing the Nets!

Domantas Sabonis ($6,500): Sabonis has back to back games of more than 40 DraftKings points. One of those was against the solid Utah front, and both of those were done in 28 minutes or less. If Oladipo is out again, Sabonis has helped pick up the scoring slack, and hauls in a ton of rebounds per minute. I’m on Sabonis again, even against a decent Charlotte front.

Serge Ibaka ($6,300): The new coaching staff has done wonders for Ibaka as well. He was a man without a role for much of last year, but Ibaka has played right around 30 minutes per game this year and has at least 30 DraftKings points in seven of the last nine games. He could be in for a huge game against the weak Hawks front.

Dark Horses:

Jarrett Allen ($5,600): One of my favorite strategies of the season is to use whichever center has the Nets and roll it back with Allen in the UTIL slot. Allen has three straight games with more than 38 DraftKings points. Allen sometimes struggles with more athletic fronts, but we wont have to worry about that with Dallas. Allen is as strong of a play as Jordan tonight.

Derrick Favors ($4,500): Favors is really only worth using when the matchup is right, and it certainly is here against Sacramento. Favors racked up 31.75 DraftKings points on this Kings the first time around, coming just one rebound shy of a double double. This is one of those places to take the value and use Favors.

Dewayne Dedmon ($4,200): Dedmon has quickly taken minutes from Len in the frontcourt. Even though he is only playing 24-26 minutes per game, Dedmon has at least 6x value in three straight games. There is a ton of value at the PF/C positions tonight. We are going to need it to roster LeBron back in Cleveland or Davis tonight.

My pick: Jordan(C), Favors(PF), Ibaka(F), Allen(UTIL); Jokic

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