DraftKings NBA picks November 17: King James III

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 15: A close up of the jersey of LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers during a game against the Sacramento Kings on November 15, 2019 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /

2 of 8

PHILADELPHIA, PA – NOVEMBER 12: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers reacts against the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Wells Fargo Center on November 12, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 76ers defeated the Cavaliers 98-97. 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 Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

DraftKings NBA early slate:

On small slates like this, I like to identify the key players and build from there. The guys I really want to build with are Joel Embiid and Kemba Walker. With Walker, it’s due to matching up with the Kings without Fox. Embiid put up 61 DraftKings points on the Cavs earlier this year, so these are great places to start.

That leaves us with $5,266 per slot for the six remaining slots. We can build nice and balanced with that, or try to fit in another bigger piece. That’s pretty easy to do if you slide in Yogi Ferrell. Ferrell has been much better than interim starter Cory Joseph, so instead of banging my head against the wall with CoJo, I’ll go Ferrell.

Both Ben Simmons and Tristan Thompson did well in this matchup earlier this year with 36.25 DraftKings points for Simmons and 35 for Thompson. The difference is that Thompson is $1,900 cheaper if you don’t mind clogging the UTIL slot.

Kevin Porter is a stock on the rise for Cleveland. He racked up 23.75 DraftKings points on Thursday in just 24 minutes. Osman is still the starter, but for how much longer? That value allows us to use both Simmons and Thompson.

We can also use that savings to either load up on Cleveland guards or the Sacramento front. With the position flexibility, we can do either.