NBA FanDuel DFS Targets: Friday, November 23rd

Welcome to this edition of NBA FanDuel DFS Targets from FantasyCPR.com. Here you will find players to target for tonight’s action, geared for cash games and tournament plays on FanDuel.

Welcome to the Friday edition of NBA FanDuel DFS Targets for NBA DFS. First, I will go over players to target at each position for tonight’s 11-game main slate, starting a half hour later than normal, at 7:30 PM ET. There are a total a 14 games today, but FanDuel not only left the two early games off of the main slate, they opted to include the lone 7:00 E.T. start game between the Rockets and the Pistons as well.

I will give two targets at each of the guard and forward positions, and one center. Following the picks, will be the ever popular “sample lineup” we like to do here at FantasyCPR.  Some plays will be geared toward cash games, and some for GPP.

Some of course will also technically qualify as both. As we break each play down, I will be sure to specify which type of contests I am targeting that player in.

With NBA DFS, I can’t stress enough how important it is to not just plug-and-play these sample lineups. There is so much info that will drop over the course of the day for NBA, and you never truly know what to expect.

If you want to be a consistent winner for NBA, lock starts at 7PM ET on most week nights. Plan on being ready to tinker those lineups last second, accounting for all of that fabulous NBA news that nobody was expecting five minutes before, or even AFTER lock. It happens all of the time, so if you set your lineup now and forget it, it’s probably not going to work out for you in the long run.

NBA FanDuel DFS: What To Expect Tonight:

Well, Wednesday was a tough day on FanDuel for me. Safe to say fading Antetokounpo was the killer, but his huge 70+ FDP night in just three quarters was something nobody expected as the Bucks destroyed the Blazers. Kyle Lowry was also a slate breaker, and having zero shares of those two made for a rough night. Needless to say a break from NBA DFS was pretty welcoming for me yesterday with the Holiday, but I am certainly ready to get back to it tonight.

We have 11 games here on the slate tonight as I mentioned above, and just looking at match-up’s and Vegas lines, we could be in for blowout city. The stars are out again, so it will be important to figure out which ones to start, and of course, find what value can help us fill out our roster.

Potential Blowouts:

There are three games of note, which feature a powerhouse at home as a double-digit favorite, against a below average team. The first is in Philadelphia, where the Sixers host the Cavs. Cleveland was not able to hold off the Lakers in The Kings’s return to Cleveland, as the Cavs dropped that game 109-105. I have no idea how this team will stop Joel Embiid, and he has to be one of the top plays on the slate.

The other games with blowout potential, are in Toronto, where the Raptors welcome the dysfunctional Wizards into Canada, and the other is at Fiserv Forum, where the 13-4 bucks will take on the 3-14 Suns. With Antetokounmpo coming off of his monster game against Portland, he also looks like a tough fade. It’s going to be hard to decide though once again, as we also have Kevin Durant and the Warriors squaring off with the Blazers at home, and King James is also in action as well, as the Lakers will host the Jazz.

Potential Competitive Games:

As far as good match-ups go, I see one game that should stay close, and offers a terrific match-up at the point guard position. The Hornets will travel to Oklahoma City to face the Thunder, and we will see a healthy Russell Westbrook do battle with the red-hot Kemba Walker. I think stacking this game up looks a solid GPP play, as this over/under currently sits at 227.

The other GPP game stack I am eyeing is in the New York, as the Knicks will play the Pelicans. New Orleans is favored by seven on the road, as the Knicks are struggling to beat anybody, with a record of 5-14. The pace will be fast, and this is another dominant match-up for Anthony Davis, who looks to be yet another impossible fade on this huge slate. This game boasts the highest game total on the slate at 237.

With an understanding of what to expect tonight, let’s dig into the targets!

NBA FanDuel 11/23/18: Point Guard Targets:

Russell Westbrook – Oklahoma City Thunder – $11,000 – (GPP)

It is looking awful tough to fade Russ in cash at this price, but there is just too much value at the point guard position to pay up here. Don’t get me wrong, I will likely have a share in tournament play that is why he is here, but this position is loaded at the top and the bottom. To be slightly contrarian, I know $9,300 for Kemba Walker on the other side seems like a bit much, but could also be a great GPP play as well, as I expect both point guards to run this game.

Westbrook was healthy for the first meeting between these two teams in Charlotte, and he had his typical outing, posting a 29-8-10 stat line, adding three steals, which was good for 59.6 FDP. He did it all on Wednesday in his second game since returning from his foot injury and the birth of twins, finally notching his first triple-double of the year. He scored just 11 points, but grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out 13 assists. While he is likely easily safe for cash games, I just do not see comparable value at other positions quite yet. Unless we get some news, spend down here in cash.

Eric Bledsoe – Milwaukee Bucks – $7,300 – (Cash/GPP)

While I personally won’t be going here in cash, another player picking up his game as of late is Bucks point guard Eric Bledsoe. This looks like the perfect situation to roster him tonight, as he is coming off of his first bad game in a solid three weeks, and it just so happened it was against the same team he had his last bad game against.

Back on November 6th, Bledsoe had his worst game of the year in Portland against the Blazers, scoring just five points with seven assists in 30 minutes. Since that game, the lowest total he has posted came Wednesday, against yup you guessed it, the Blazers. That was still not an awful game, as Bledsoe was able to put up 30.7 FDP in just 23 minutes, as the starters rested the fourth quarter in the blowout.

Let’s not forget narrative street here either. The Bucks will face the Suns, who Bledsoe played for five seasons before demanding to be traded elsewhere. It took Phoenix a long time to accommodate him, and these guys don’t forget things like this. I expect another huge game out of the Bucks, and Bledsoe.

***Value Plays: Trey Burke $4,900 – DJ Augustin $4,500***

NBA FanDuel 11/23/18: Shooting Guard Targets:

Devin Booker – Phoenix Suns – $7,900 – (Cash)

I am pretty sure I just wrote up Booker the other day, and as much as I try to avoid this column being repetitive, sometimes it is what is. I specifically remember this one because I did point out that Booker is pretty much always in play for me under $8K. You will see as you read on, that I am very interested in stacking this game up a little bit as well.

Who knows what the Suns will do with their offense as far as whether or not Booker will be running the point, or playing the two. Either way, Booker is going to chuck up shots at a ridiculous rate, and he has been pretty steady at racking up FDP’s over the last three games. In that stretch, he posted a huge 50.6 FDP against the Sixers, and surpassed 37 FDP in the other two. Again, I am likely paying down at this position as well, but Booker’s floor here certainly makes him cash viable.

Tim Hardaway Jr – New York Knicks – $7,400 – (GPP)

It’s just been a few days since @2locksports has written up THJ in Picks and Pivots, but my guess is he will make his return there today. I don’t think I can ignore him here in this spot either, as Hardaway and the Knicks value plays certainly look great here in this spot at home against the Pelicans. There will be plenty of scoring in this one, and this is certainly a spot where THJ could crush value.

These teams just met on November 16th in New Orleans, and that game started a stretch of three straight 45+ FDP games for Hardaway Jr., as he dropped 30 points, and grabbed eight boards. He struggled a bit with turnovers last game in a win against the Celtics which brought his FDP down to 24.8, but he still managed 21 points on 8-19 shooting. THJ never carries high ownership, and looks to be a solid pivot away from Khris Middleton, who is likely to project out slightly better. He also could be considered for cash games, in a situation like you will see here in the sample lineup, where Booker just doesn’t quite fit at $500 more.

***Value Plays: Wayne Ellington $4,200 – David Nwaba $3,900***

NBA FanDuel 11/23/18: Small Forward Targets:

Giannis Antetokounmpo – Milwaukee Bucks – $11,400 – (Cash)

We are once again loaded at the top of this position, as ABC joins LeBron and KD all in action tonight on this huge slate. Normally it is a tough decision here, but it seems easy to me tonight. Even though Giannis just tore apart Portland, I’ll pass on Durant tonight, although he is probably a safe bet for 45-50 FDP. James will battle with the stingy defense of Utah, and the presence of Rudy Gobert in the paint all night could spell trouble for the Lakers offense.

That brings us here. Yeah I fear the blowout a little bit, but there will plenty of points to go around here in this one. Antetokounmpo was an afterthought on Wednesday compared to the other two, and all he did in three quarters was score 33 points, grab 16 rebounds, and just miss a triple-double with nine assists. That was good for an incredible 71.7 FDP in just 29 minutes of action! I won’t make that mistake again, and I have ABC locked in all formats.

Nikola Mirotic – New Orleans Pelicans – $7,600 – (GPP)

Going back to my Pelicans/Knicks game stack, another target to keep in mind at a fair salary is Mirotic. With Davis just tearing it up as of late, Mirotic has kind of taken a back seat, but still occasionally will drop a solid 40+ FDP game. Even with Davis at his side, Mirotic has established himself as a solid rebounder, notching four double-double’s in his last five games. This whole price range has a chance to get overlooked tonight, as my guess is most will spend way up on one of the top three, and way down on the solid value that Wilson Chandler represents. Save this play for tournaments though, as it carries plenty of risk. It does however fit very will with this game stack.

***Value Plays: Juancho Hernangomez $5,300 – Wilson Chandler $3,800***

NBA FanDuel 11/23/18: Power Forward Targets:

Anthony Davis – New Orleans Pelicans – $12,500 – (Cash/GPP)

Another day, find a new way to jam Davis in your lineups. That seems to be the theme here, as Davis is on one of his historic runs. AD has failed to reach 60 FDP just once in the last six games, and that miss was still a 55.8 FDP performance against the stingy inside defense of the Spurs. The thing that makes Davis so dominant though, is that he doesn’t even need to score points to have massive games, and he proved that on Wednesday.

Davis tangled with Embiid in that one, and despite scoring just 12 points, Davis put together an incredible stat line to get him to 64.2 FDP. He grabbed 16 rebounds and dished out six dimes, but an extra 30 FDP came on steals and blocks alone, as he had five of each. As long as he is healthy and this run continues, my cash lineups are starting here.

Noah Vonleh – New York Knicks – $4,800 – (Cash)

We need value tonight, and I usually save these targets for the studs we are looking to roster tonight, but occasionally, an important value play like this is present, and I want to make sure to address it. The Knicks will try to stop AD tonight with Enes Kanter, Vonleh, and rookie Kevin Knox. We know that should spell big things for Davis, but Vonleh has been playing solid with his new squad, and is now seeing 30+ minutes per game over the last three.

On top of the huge minutes, Vonleh has posted back-to-back 40+ FDP games, and he only needs around 30 FDP here to make value in cash games. Not only are these type of plays important for cash games when they come up, they can be vital for tournaments as well. It is rare a guy priced under $5K drops a 40 FDP game, and Vonleh has done that twice in a row now. If he can stay out foul trouble, he should be in line for another solid outing.

***Value Plays: Kevin Knox $4,000 – Ersan Ilyasova $3,900***

NBA FanDuel 11/23/18: Center Targets:

Deandre Ayton – Phoenix Suns – $6,800 – (Cash)

Tough call at the center position no doubt, but I made up my mind early that the correct studs to pay up for in cash tonight appear to be Giannis and AD. With that said, paying down at center still comfortably leads me to Ayton. I will have Embiid on a GPP squad for sure as he has an incredible ceiling against the Cavs, but I think Ayton will get the job done in cash.

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The Suns have a tough match-up against the Bucks, but Milwaukee is pretty awful at defending centers. Ayton hit a little rookie wall there failing to exceed 40 FDP in eight straight games, but he is coming off a solid 18-point, 12-rebound outing against the Bulls in Chicago, which was good for 43.9 FDP. If Phoenix can somehow stay in this game and the starters get normal run, Ayton could have a huge night.

NBA FanDuel DFS: Sample Lineup 11/23/18:

The line-up below is meant to be illustrative only to further back-up the logic laid out in previous slides. It is not an optimal line-up. It is in fact, just a “Sample Lineup.”

PG – Trey Burke – $4,900
PG – DJ Augustin – $4,500
SG – Tim Hardaway Jr. – $7,400
SG – David Nwaba – $3,900
SF – Giannis Antetokounmpo – $11,400
SF – Wilson Chandler – $3,800
PF – Anthony Davis – $12,500
PF – Noah Vonleh – $4,800
C –  Deandre Ayton – $6,800

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