RADIO
Another NBA Thursday slate is here! Yet again, Thursday brings us a small slate of only four games to set our DFS lineups. Looking ahead to next Thursday, we will finally get a larger slate of six games to increase our player pool. With that being said, there is no time to look ahead. We must play with the hand that we are dealt! Who wants to be the person that displays self-control and takes a night off due to a small slate? It will definitely not be me as I am coming off an NFL DFS heater this past Sunday -finishing 3rd out of 11,871 entries in the "222K Sun NFL Kickoff." More importantly, give me a follow @DrewDeen to learn about how I almost simultaneously puked and pulled my groin.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on 11/07/19. You can also check out today's FanDuel lineup picks. Remember to monitor injury news as the slate can completely change before line-up lock.
Only one of the eight teams in action tonight is on a back-to-back with the LA Clippers hosting the Milwaukee Bucks last night. All four matchups should have similar vegas lines in terms of point totals with the exception of the last game on the slate - Clippers vs Blazers. I am expecting this game to be heavily targetted by DFS players. Remember, I am writing this article well before any news and prior to me actually submitting lineups. This information should be used directionally, and feel free to reach out to me on Twitter closer to tip-off.
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DraftKings DFS Guards
Jimmy Butler - SG/SF, @ PHO ($7200)
Long gone are the days when Jimmy Butler was commenting on the Instagram of Gabrielle Union, the wife of Miami Heat legend, Dwyane Wade. Butler now finds himself in a Heat uniform in the alpha dog role on a young, talented roster. Usually, I am not thrilled to roster Butler, but a price of $7200 seems too cheap for a player of his caliber on a four-game slate. While Butler has not flashed the scoring upside we would like to see, he has proven that he can pay off his salary by acquiring fantasy points through other categories. He is averaging 41 DK points per game and is yet to attempt more than 15 shots in the four games he has played in this season. Tonight could be the game we see him take a more aggressive approach in terms of putting the ball in the hoop.
Terry Rozier - PG, vs BOS ($6,800)
If you are a big fan of playing the revenge narrative, you will love seeing Scary Terry with a match-up against the Boston Celtics. Rozier will surely see a fair share of the pesky on-ball defender, Marcus Smart, but I am willing to take some shots on Rozier in tournaments. He has a healthy usage rate of 25% this season, and I cannot see that dropping tonight in a game with added motivation against his former team. Hopefully, we will not see Terry come out a bit anxious and get in foul trouble.
FYI - I would not recommend him as a cash or 50/50 play
DraftKings DFS Forwards
Trey Lyles - SF/PF, vs OKC ($3,700)
We are always looking to save salary in DFS to pay up for stars that we can rely on to produce. One guy I am looking at for this slate is forward Trey Lyles. While Lyles is not the sexiest play, we need to accept that we are not playing him with the expectation of having a huge fantasy day. The case for Lyles over other players is that he is not scoring dependent. This makes him more unlikely to kill your lineup than other punt plays that cannot overcome a bad shooting night.
This is an example of a play that I could easily pivot off of depending on injury news. If I find a player in a similar situation with a higher ceiling and similar floor, it would reduce my exposure to Lyles. At the time of writing this, my favorite players in this range are Lyles and Portland SG/SF Kent Bazemore
Kawhi Leonard - SF/PF, vs POR ($9,600)
The Board Man gets paid......and rested. Last night the newly acquired forward sat out for load management. It seems as if the Clippers are going to take the saw approach as the Raptors in terms of resting Kawhi throughout the season. Tonight, Leonard is the clear top player on the slate in the highest projected point-total game. Combine this with the extra day of rest and no further analysis is needed. There is not a signal defender on the Blazers roster that concerns me. If Leonard has a bad fantasy night, just chalk it up to variance and move on to the next slate.
DraftKings DFS Centers
Steven Adams - C, @ SAS ($5,400)
After several seasons of being on playoff-contending teams, Steven Adams now finds himself in a rebuilding roster situation. It will certainly be easy to forget about Adams, but the guy is still taking the court and rebounding like a mad man. Adams has only failed to reach ten or more rebounds once this season, and he is a double-double threat each night. The downside with Adams is that he does not offer as high of a ceiling as other options on the slate. This is very much a price-point play where my expected outcome or fantasy projection makes him a strong play relative to his price.
Take a look at center Hassan Whiteside for a higher ceiling play.
