NBA DFS Expert Survey: Tuesday, November 21st

Our panel of experts is here to give you their NBA DFS picks for the upcoming slate by answering a handful of questions to help you make crucial lineup-building decisions. Want to know squirrelpatrol’s favorite tournament play? Or Noto’s favorite salary saver? Find out below!

NBA DFS Picks: DraftKings & FanDuel Expert Survey for Tuesday, November 21

Who is your favorite player to spend up for in cash games?

tcsmith031: Trae Young

squirrelpatrol: Trae Young

headChopper: Trae Young

Stevietpfl: Trae Young

TheLuuch: Trae Young

Who is your favorite player to spend up for in large-field tournaments?

tcsmith031: LeBron James

squirrelpatrol: Dejounte Murray

headChopper: Tyrese Haliburton

Stevietpfl: Tyrese Haliburton

TheLuuch: Tyrese Haliburton

Who is your favorite salary relief play in cash games?

tcsmith031: Bruce Brown

squirrelpatrol: Bruce Brown (FD) / Talen Horton-Tucker (DK)

headChopper: Clint Capela

Stevietpfl: Craig Porter Jr.

TheLuuch: Craig Porter Jr.

Who is your favorite salary relief play in large-field tournaments?

tcsmith031: Buddy Hield (FD) / Austin Reaves (DK)

squirrelpatrol: Jaden Springer

headChopper: Austin Reaves

Stevietpfl: Saddiq Bey

TheLuuch: Bennedict Mathurin

Who will be the biggest bust relative to salary?

tcsmith031: Scottie Barnes

squirrelpatrol: Tyrese Maxey

headChopper: Scottie Barnes

Stevietpfl: Scottie Barnes

TheLuuch: Scottie Barnes

Who are you most afraid of being underweight on compared to the field?

tcsmith031: Tyrese Haliburton

squirrelpatrol: LeBron James

headChopper: Dejounte Murray

Stevietpfl: Kevin Durant

TheLuuch: Anthony Davis

Who do you believe you’ll be most overweight on compared to the field?

tcsmith031: LeBron James

squirrelpatrol: Jalen Johnson

headChopper: Malcolm Brogdon

Stevietpfl: Tyrese Haliburton

TheLuuch: Saddiq Bey

Which team are you targeting players from the most?

tcsmith031: IND (FD) / UTA (DK)

squirrelpatrol: ATL

headChopper: ATL

Stevietpfl: IND (FD) / ATL (DK)

TheLuuch: IND

Which team are you looking to avoid players from the most?

tcsmith031: TOR

squirrelpatrol: TOR

headChopper: CLE

Stevietpfl: PHX

TheLuuch: TOR

Which useful trend or statistic stuck out most during your research?

tcsmith031: We don’t think of the Magic as a defensive juggernaut, but Orlando is quietly all the way up to 2nd in defensive efficiency this season after finishing 12th last season.

squirrelpatrol: The clear attention-grabber is the IND/ATL game, 2 of the top 3 teams in pace matching up in a game with a 251.5 (and rising) total. But the Lakers have a 122.5 implied team total, just 1.5 points behind the Pacers. So with LeBron James listed as questionable, it’s worth having a plan to play either LeBron or Anthony Davis and late swap from one to the other using various Utah value pieces.

headChopper: The Pacers and Hawks have a season-high 251 total tonight. There have been 10 games this season with a total that closed over 240 points. Those games averaged 250 points being scored.

Stevietpfl: With Donovan Mitchell off the floor this season, Evan Mobley is averaging 1.44 fantasy points per minute with a 24.1% usage rate and a 24.71% assist rate. Mobley is only averaging 1.15 fantasy points per minute with Caris LeVert and Mitchell off the floor this season. Mobley benefits from Mitchell being out, but he needs LeVert on the floor to have a higher ceiling.

TheLuuch: The Pacers have a chance to clinch their tournament group with a victory tonight. If they lose, they could still win the group based on point differential.

Who is your top overall play (when considering price, matchup, roster construction, etc.) on the board and why?

tcsmith031: Trae Young – Young comes at a useful discount from Tyrese Haliburton, which makes him an easy way to get exposure to this glorious IND/ATL game environment. Trae’s numbers across the board are still excellent, as he’s leading the Hawks in both usage (30.3%) and assist rate (41.2%) en route to a tidy 1.3 FP/min.

squirrelpatrol: Trae Young – The Hawks are playing at home, where Trae has averaged 2.2 points per game and 0.5 assists per game more than on the road over the course of his career, and they have a 127.75 implied team total in a game with a 251.5 total. Trae should draw plenty of ownership, but I won’t look to get under the field.

headChopper: Trae Young – I hinted in my useful stat that when a total is this big in the NBA, points get scored. Young is most likely the leading scorer for a team that will put up a massive points total. He is well below the price of other elite fantasy players in his category.

Stevietpfl: Trae Young – I mostly play single-entry contests for NBA, and I want to have 3-5 players from this IND/ATL game. These teams rank 1st and 3rd in pace, and both teams are in the bottom 10 in defensive rating. My build will be Young and Tyrese Haliburton together, and I think they have the highest ceiling combo on the slate. Young is at home in a game with the fastest projected pace of the season and a massive 250 total. I’m not going to overthink this.

TheLuuch: Trae Young – I’m good with playing Trae in every format. Even if his actual ownership comes in higher than his pOWN%, I’d probably argue it should be even more. This game total is massive, and Trae is simply too cheap for his role in it. Both teams rank in the bottom 10 in defensive rating and top 5 in pace.

Who is your top contrarian play (when considering price, matchup, projected ownership, etc.) on the board and why?

tcsmith031: LeBron James – I don’t know how contrarian he’ll be, but maybe the questionable tag will bring down LeBron’s ownership. The Lakers have a healthy 122.25 total of their own against a Jazz team that comes into this one just 28th in defensive rating. LeBron is still putting up huge numbers (1.5 FP/min) at 38 years old, and this lingering calf injury hasn’t affected his minutes of late.

squirrelpatrol: Dejounte Murray – With a 251.5 total, if Trae Young isn’t having a game that lands him on the winning lineup, then Murray may be getting there. Murray put up 32 points and 10 assists last week when Trae was out, and he’s the player most likely to absorb the usage if Trae is having an off game.

headChopper: Tyrese Haliburton – For reasons already touched on with this massive total. This game will deliver big points. Points are often set up by assists. Between all these stat categories, Haliburton should put up a rock-solid floor with a chance at a massive ceiling. Early ownership numbers look particularly low on DraftKings and very palatable on FanDuel.

Stevietpfl: Saddiq Bey – There are 6 players with a pOWN% over 20% for this game, and it’s going to be the most popular game on the slate. Bey is in the same price range as Buddy Hield and De’Andre Hunter, which makes him a great lower-owned tournament option. Bey has played 27+ minutes in 4 of the last 5 games. He’s scored at least 16 points in 3 straight games and could benefit from a fast-paced game with little to no defense.

TheLuuch: Tyrese Haliburton – His current pOWN% is much higher on FanDuel, but he’s still outside of the top 10 projected highest-owned players. With no defense and an expected high pace in this one, don’t overthink it. He’s the engine that makes Indy go, and this game should produce fireworks.

What is your hot take of the day?

tcsmith031: LeBron James posts a 40-point triple-double.

squirrelpatrol: Playing a Jazz team that gives up the most blocks per game on the season, Anthony Davis doubles his season average with 7 blocks.

headChopper: Darius Garland has a double-double of at least 20 points and 10 assists, and Tyrese Maxey matches him.

Stevietpfl: Tyrese Haliburton has a rare 20-assist and 30-point game.

TheLuuch: After recording 2 of his 3 highest-usage games of the season while Donovan Mitchell has been out, Darius Garland drops 35 real-life points.

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NOTE: Our analysts do their best to update their answers as news comes out throughout the day. For the most up-to-date picks and projections as lineup lock approaches, be sure to head to LineupHQ.

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