NBA DFS Picks Today (11/25): DraftKings & FanDuel Top Plays, Sleepers
It’s only a 4-game slate Saturday night on both FanDuel and DraftKings, but there are still plenty of different options with a large amount of injury news on tonight’s NBA DFS slate. Two games in particular stand out as great fantasy options, while the other two are likely to be slower paced with stronger defense.
Top NBA DFS DraftKings Lineup Optimizer Value
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PG – Trae Young ($9,500)
All season long, there has been a core of teams that have been phenomenal in targeting every single time they hit the schedule. If a team is facing the Wizards, Pacers, Hawks, or Hornets, I typically want to get as much exposure as possible, as those teams play incredibly fast and without any defense. Tonight, we have two of those teams facing off against each other with the Wizards vs. Hawks squaring off in what is sure to be a high-scoring affair. Young’s median projection currently has him as the 5th best RGV on the slate in LineupHQ. However, if this game stays close and Young plays extended minutes, 60+ fantasy points are certainly in the equation, especially on DraftKings where he gets the 3-point bonus.
Top NBA DFS FanDuel Lineup Optimizer Value
SF – Brandon Ingram ($8,000)
Brandon Ingram is a great play on both sites but especially on FanDuel where he’s priced cheaper. The beauty of Ingram tonight is that he’s a very strong play in a great matchup against the Jazz as things currently stand, but he could become a borderline lock-button play in LineupHQ. Zion Williamson isn’t commonly playing on back-to-backs for the Pelicans and could potentially get ruled out tonight. Without CJ McCollum, Ingram is the leader of this offense and will have to take on a hefty role against a terrible Jazz team if Zion doesn’t play either.
NBA DFS Sleepers
C – Jonas Valanciunas ($7,100 FD, $6,900 DK)
I never care about the individual or team defensive ability when selecting Jonas Valanciunas in my lineups. The only thing that matters is that they have a big, slow center on the opposite side he’s capable of matching up with. Some of the strongest games in JV’s career have come against Rudy Gobert, for example. Walker Kessler is expected to be back tonight for the Jazz, and while he’s a great defender, that bodes extremely well for the minutes of Valanciunas. Additionally, the Pelicans are playing on a back-to-back, and I think there is a pretty decent chance Zion Williamson sits tonight. That would boost things not only for Ingram as previously mentioned but JV as well. Valanciunas is currently projected for less than 10% ownership on both FanDuel and DraftKings, and that should likely stay the case, as we could potentially not get Zion news until after lock.
SF/PF – Saddiq Bey ($5,200 FD, $4,700 DK)
The Hawks and Wizards game has the highest total on the slate, but unfortunately, they’re also receiving the most projected ownership on both FanDuel and DraftKings. However, one player that looks to be flying under the radar is Saddiq Bey. NBA DFS players typically like to see their players in the starting lineup, but I actually prefer that Bey is coming off the bench. Not only is there additional usage when not always sharing the court with Trae Young or Dejounte Murray but in a game like this, his minutes could be more secure. Both of these teams have a tendency to go small, especially in fast-paced games. This should be one of the quickest games we’ve seen all season, and Bey has a legitimate shot of closing in a close game. Even if this one doesn’t stay competitive, Bey would likely see more garbage time run than any of the starters anyway, keeping his minutes floor nice and high.