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Zach's favorite FanDuel NBA DFS picks for today, Tuesday 11/12/24. His top daily fantasy basketball lineup sleepers and value picks for FanDuel DFS contests.
The NBA slate will look and feel a little different this Tuesday since it is the first day of the NBA Emirates Cup. The teams will be wearing different uniforms and the courts will have unique designs as Group Play of the second year's mid-season tournament (rebranded with a new sponsor) gets underway. For fantasy basketball, the contests work the same way on this eight-game slate, though, so let's jump in and find the best way to build your team for Tuesday.
In today's edition, I recommend some higher-priced players for cash games and GPPs while highlighting some of my favorite value plays and game stacks. If you want advice on the DraftKings NBA slate, check out today's article by my colleague Max Kulish.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel on 11/12/24. Remember to monitor NBA injury news and our awesome NBA injuries report tool, as the slate can completely change before lineups lock at 7 p.m. EST on FanDuel.
FanDuel NBA DFS Core Picks
Franz Wagner, ORL – SF/PF ($8,200)
The Magic have had to rely heavily on Wagner over the past couple of weeks since Paolo Banchero is out with an oblique injury. Wagner has been up to the challenge, though, scoring 20+ points in four straight games and producing over 40 FanDuel points in each of his last three.
In his six games without Banchero, Wagner has averaged 1.21 FanDuel points per minute and continues to turn in good non-scoring numbers along with turning up his usage to over 30% in five of those six games.
Franz Wagner over his last four games...
25.0 PPG
5.3 RPG
5.3 APGHe hasn’t played in the 4th quarter in two of the four games.#MakeItMagic pic.twitter.com/XG5aCirHOF
— ORLmuse (@ORLmuse) November 11, 2024
Against the Hornets, Wagner should be in a good spot to continue his strong production as both these teams look to fight their way out of Group play and make a run.
Bam Adebayo, MIA – C ($7,800)
The Heat will be without Jimmy Butler (ankle) for a second straight game, and Bam is very affordable in what should be a great matchup for him against the Pistons. This season with Butler off the floor, Bam's usage has jumped from 21.4% to 24.5% and he has produced 1.22 FanDuel points per minute.
Adabayo's best game of the season was a 32-point, 14-rebound double-double back on Nov. 2, and dating back to that game, he has averaged 47.8 FanDuel points per game at an impressive rate of 1.34 FanDuel points per minute.
On Sunday without Butler, Bam had a down game with just nine points on 3-of-11 shooting, but he should be poised for a beautiful bounce-back in Detroit on Tuesday. He handed out seven assists and had seven rebounds to go with only nine points, so if his shot starts dropping, we could get a dominant performance that could approach triple-double range with his always-present blocks and steals. Even though he's not a lock, I love his ceiling.
Bradley Beal, PHX – SG/SF ($6,900)
The Suns have one of the best matchups to attack this Tuesday, although it's not totally clear yet the best way to go about it. They're facing the Jazz, who rank in the top 10 in the NBA in Pace and the bottom 10 in Defensive Rating. As a result, they have allowed 119.7 points per game, the fifth-highest mark in the Association.
Phoenix won't have Kevin Durant (calf), Jusuf Nurkic ($6,100; ankle) is questionable, and Devin Booker ($8,900) has struggled with his shot while playing through illness. Bradley Beal is also playing through an elbow and knee issue but is not on the injury report, and on Sunday, he reminded everyone how excellent he can be when given a bigger workload.
📈Bradley Beal last night vs SAC
28 PTS
9-18 FG
3-10 3PT
7-9 FT
8 REB
2 AST
1 STL
1 BLK pic.twitter.com/xOuULp4rSM— PHX Fans (@PHXFansAZ) November 11, 2024
Beal has been solid most of the season, producing 0.93 FanDuel points per minute and averaging 32.9 FanDuel points per game. He finished with a season-high 45.6 FanDuel points in that loss on Sunday, though, which was the first game that KD missed. If his role is expanded while Durant is out, Beal could go on a very nice run, starting with this juicy matchup vs. the Jazz.
Others Under Consideration: Jayson Tatum - SF/PF ($10,200), Devin Booker - SG/SF ($8,900), Luka Doncic - PG ($11,000)
FanDuel NBA DFS Tournament Pivots
Jusuf Nurkic, PHX – C ($6,100)
In that juicy matchup vs. the Jazz, Nurkic should be in a great place to stack up fantasy points if he plays on Tuesday. He did reaggravate his ankle injury on Sunday after only playing 15 minutes and left with only 10.4 FanDuel points.
Hopefully, that drives the public to look in other places, leaving lots of leverage in building around Nurk. In his three previous games, he reeled off a trio of monster double-doubles with 40, 50.1, and 32 FanDuel points.
Jalen Johnson, ATL – SF/PF ($8,600)
Johnson and the Hawks already faced the Celtics this season, and they'll start their NBA Emirates Cup with a trip to Boston to face the defending champs. In their first meeting, Johnson had 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 36.2 FanDuel points. That game was part of his current run of five straight with 20+ points with at least 20% usage in each game.
The fourth-year forward has taken a huge leap this year, becoming one of the most productive forwards in fantasy basketball on a regular basis. His salary has risen to the point where he isn't an extreme value anymore, but he still should offer good leverage in a potentially high-scoring contest vs. the Celtics.
Jalen Brunson, NYK - PG ($8,800)
It's easy to sleep on how impressive Brunson has been this season since he has made such a habit of carrying the Knicks' offense with huge usage and minutes over the past few seasons. This season, he is playing over 34 minutes per game with a 30.5% usage rate and producing 1.1 FanDuel points per minute. That number is trending in the right direction after he posted over 46 FanDuel points in three of his last five games. Reports of a "slow start" seem to be exaggerated after Sunday's big game against the Pacers when he had 33 points, 10 assists, and 52.2 FanDuel points in his first double-double of the season.
Jalen Brunson Stats For NBA Game vs PACERS 10-11-2024 https://t.co/udMwdvLSh4#JalenBrunson #Jalen #Brunson #nba #nbahighlights #basketball #new #york #knicks #newyorkknicks pic.twitter.com/YXXLc3YssO
— NBA Players Highlights (@NBAPlayersHigh) November 11, 2024
The short-handed Sixers don't have anyone to contain him tonight, and the biggest threat may be that the game gets non-competitive and he plays fewer minutes.
Others Under Consideration: Karl-Anthony Towns - C ($9,000), Cade Cunningham - PG ($9,100), RJ Barrett ($7,600), Julius Randle - PF ($7,300)
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FanDuel NBA DFS Value Picks
Klay Thompson, DAL – SG/SF ($4,900)
Klay is back in Golden State for the first game of the NBA Cup to add another layer of intrigue and drama to what should already be a great matchup between the Mavs and Warriors. Thompson has produced only 0.76 FanDuel points per minute over his first 10 games in Dallas but has played 30 minutes per game, third-most on the team behind only Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving ($8,500).
Thompson has scored double-digit points in four straight and eight of his 10 games this season with a 19.6% usage rate. If he gets a little boost from coming back to face his former team, he'll be a very solid value under $5,000.
De'Anthony Melton, GSW - PG/SG ($4,600)
Coach Steve Kerr came right out and said that he wants Melton in his starting five going forward after Sunday's game.
Steve Kerr plans to keep De’Anthony Melton as the starting shooting guard and wants that Curry, Melton, Wiggins, Draymond, TJD group to be the starting lineup moving forward
Full explanation pic.twitter.com/6quMQuykve
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) November 11, 2024
In his first start of the season, Melton dropped 39 FanDuel points on 19 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and two assists. He should flourish as the team's starting shooting guard and has always been a source of multi-category potential when healthy. His salary is sure to climb with more games like Sunday's, so take advantage of his bargain rate while you can.
Grayson Allen, PHX – SG/SF ($4,100)
Allen could be one of the Suns that gets the biggest boost from Durant's injury. He averaged 19.3 minutes per game in his first seven games but played 27 minutes on Sunday. There was overtime in that game, but it indicates he could be set up for more work.
Unfortunately for him and the Suns, Allen made just three of his season-high 13 shots on Sunday to finish with 12.7 FanDuel points. If he's going to get that much extra work, though, he'll be a great value option against his former team, the Jazz.
Garrison Mathews, ATL – SG ($3,800)
Mathews is a great play under $4,000 in his current role for the Hawks. He has scored at least eight points in six straight games off the bench and is averaging 11.1 points, 1.4 assists, and 0.9 steals in 22.9 minutes per game.
The 28-year-old veteran always brings a high ceiling as a three-point shooter off the bench who can get hot like he did when dropping 23 points against the Kings to start this strong run. His salary spiked after that but has settled back under $4,000, where he brings plenty of potential vs. the Celtics.
Tristan Da Silva, ORL – SF ($4,000)
Da Silva has made five straight starts since Banchero's injury and has been very solid for the Magic.
Since Paolo went out injured, Tristan Da Silva has averaged 28minutes a game.
Da Silva has hit at least one 3 pointer in every game since Paolo's injury, and is shooting 35% on the season.
Da Silva is ^On Track^ to climb into the top 60 Magic players All-Time by seasons end. pic.twitter.com/rHPzI9HfDB
— MagicPlayerHistory (@orlmagichistory) November 11, 2024
He hasn't posted ridiculous numbers, which is why he's still so cheap, but he has averaged 27.7 minutes per game while producing 9.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 17.2 FanDuel points per game in the six that Paolo has missed.
Others Under Consideration: Malik Beasley - SG/SF ($4,300), Andre Jackson Jr. - SG ($3,900), Moritz Wagner - PF/C ($4,800), Toumani Camara - SG/SF ($4,600), Mike Conley - PG ($4,600)
Today's Top NBA DFS Game Stacks
Dallas Mavericks at Golden State Warriors (232 total)
This juicy Western Conference matchup has the highest total of the night, and it will have no shortage of theater and points scored. The Mavericks' backcourt of Luka and Kyrie always brings a high ceiling and Klay's potential storyline gives him a high ceiling as well. The frontcourt is a little unclear with Dereck Lively II ($5,100; shoulder) questionable and P.J. Washington ($5,800; knee) doubtful, but Naji Marshall ($5,000) and Daniel Gafford ($6,700) are strong possible fill-ins.
The Warriors' rotation has been tricky to figure out since they run so deep, but Stephen Curry ($8,500), Andrew Wiggins ($5,600), and Melton all look like strong options to consider.
Phoenix Suns at Utah Jazz (228.5 total)
This is the other matchup I like, but mostly just from the Suns' side of things. Nurk, Beal, and Booker all have very high ceilings as they take on more work, and Allen, Royce O'Neale ($5,800), and Tyus Jones ($5,800) all have good value potential. Mason Plumlee ($5,200) will also be worth a look if Nurkic is ruled out before tip-off.
My Favorite NBA DFS Picks for Today
Here is where I leave you with some of my favorites.
- My favorite OVERALL play on the slate: Bam Adebayo
- My favorite CASH play on the slate: Bam Adebayo
- My favorite GPP play on the slate: Bradley Beal
- My favorite VALUE play: De'Anthony Melton
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