PREMIUM

NBA DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Primer: Sunday (11/6)

Sunday brings us a three-game slate to tackle with a 6:00 p.m. EST tip-off. Small slates can be tough to navigate due to their condensed player pools. It’s much harder to differentiate your lineup from the rest of the field. Therefore, if you take down a tournament, your chances of splitting the pot significantly increase.

However, regardless of the slate size, there will always be a plethora of information to dissect. Pay attention to each player’s roster percentage and identify high-end value plays so you can make the necessary pivots. Additionally, players ruled out open-up salary relief. That’s why keeping track of injury designations is a must for any DFS player.

Nonetheless, we have a ton to get to, so let’s dive into Sunday’s edition of the NBA DFS Primer for DraftKings and FanDuel.

View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our NBA Prop Bet Cheat Sheet

Schedule and Odds

CHI (+1.5) @ TOR (-1.5) O/U: 220.5
WAS (+8) @ MEM (-8) O/U: 225.5
UTA (+4.5) @ LAC (-4.5) O/U: 223.5

Check out our consensus game odds as well as the odds from each sportsbook at BettingPros

Nonetheless, we have a ton to get to, so let’s dive into Sunday’s edition of the NBA DFS Primer for DraftKings and FanDuel.

View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our NBA Prop Bet Cheat Sheet

Schedule and Odds

CHI (+1.5) @ TOR (-1.5) O/U: 220.5
WAS (+8) @ MEM (-8) O/U: 225.5
UTA (+4.5) @ LAC (-4.5) O/U: 223.5

Check out our consensus game odds as well as the odds from each sportsbook at BettingPros

Injury Report

Derrick Jones Jr. (thumb) Probable
Coby White (quadriceps) OUT
Zach LaVine (knee) questionable
Andre Drummond (shoulder) OUT
Lonzo Ball (knee) OUT
Pascal Siakam (groin) Doubtful
Fred VanVleet (back) questionable
Khem Birch (knee) questionable
Delon Wright (hamstring) OUT
Ziaire Williams (knee) OUT
Jaren Jackson Jr. (foot) OUT
Danny Green (knee) OUT
Leandro Bolmaro (conditioning) OUT
Luke Kennard (chest) OUT
Robert Covington ( illness) OUT
Kawhi Leonard (knee) OUT

Core Plays

Scottie Barnes (PG/SF-TOR): $7,100 DraftKings, $7,100 FanDuel

With Pascal Siakam ($9,800 DK, $10,200 FD) listed as doubtful and Fred VanVleet ($7,600 DK, $7,500 FD) carrying a questionable tag heading into Sunday, Scotting Barnes becomes one of my favorite plays. Barnes is coming off a stellar performance, posting a triple-double against a tough Mavericks defense. He’s averaging over 30 fantasy points per game on both sites, but with the slight usage bump he’ll receive without Siakam on the floor, I like his chances to go for 40-plus. Barnes is a great target to anchor lineups on a short slate Sunday with a respectable price point.

Paul George (SG/SF-LAC): $9,500 DraftKings, $9,000 FanDuel

With Kawhi Leonard (knee) out of the lineup indefinitely, the Clippers’ offense will run through George. While the veteran got off to a slow start to the season, he’s been heating up as of late. George has scored 28 or more points in his last three games, with an average of 1.45 fantasy points per minute during that span. Paul George can break a slate wide open like he did two games ago when he dropped over 75.3 DKFP and 78.8 FDFP. The veteran forward has the type of upside and safe floor I want as the centerpiece of my lineups.

Cash Game Considerations

Lauri Markkanen (SF/PF-UTA): $7,500 DraftKings, $8,500 FanDuel

While his salary makes him much more appealing on DraftKings, Markkanen is a viable cash game consideration on both sites. He seems rejuvenated with his new team. To begin the 2022-23 campaign, he’s averaging career highs across the board with 22.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per contest. He’s put up 45 or more fantasy points in three of the last four games, and I’m going back to the well. The Clippers will potentially be without one of their better defenders in Robert Covington (illness) tonight, and they’re allowing a middling 11.7 made threes a game. Markkanen will be able to exploit the Clippers on the perimeter and make his presence felt from behind the arc and in the paint, where they are in the bottom half of the league, giving up 49.6 points per game. Whether or not Markkanen can maintain his career season is yet to be seen, but for now, he’s playing lights out, making him one of my favorite cash game targets tonight.

OG Anunoby (SF/SG-TOR): $6,200 DraftKings, $7,800 FanDuel

FanDuel has accounted for Anunoby’s recent play and the fact that Pascal Siakam (groin) is doubtful for tonight’s game against the Bulls. They have priced him appropriately, whereas DraftKings, on the other hand, has left plenty of value still to be squeezed out of his $6,200 salary. Anunoby has posted 40 or more DKFPs in his last three contests for an average of 43.4. That’s well over a fantasy point per minute at 1.38, and it will take an injury or an awful performance for OG not to return a solid floor game at this price point on DraftKings. Solid floor and high upside are precisely what you want in your cash game players, exactly what OG Anunoby offers tonight at $6,200.

GPP Targets

Kristaps Porzingis (C/PF-WAS): $7,900 DraftKings, $8,600 FanDuel

Porzingis gets an excellent matchup against the Grizzlies, with a bottom 10 OPRK against the center position. The Grizzlies also like to get out and run at the 11th-fastest pace in the league, leading to Porzingis and the Wizards receiving some extra offensive possessions. Therefore, the big man should be able to stay hot. Porzingis has scored 30 or more DKFPs in every game this season but one, just missing the mark in that one game with 27.3. Over the past three games, he’s averaged 45.7 DKFPs, with back-to-back 50-plus fantasy point outings in that span. With an 8-point spread, the Wizards will need a big offensive performance out of Porzingis tonight, and I’m willing to take my shots on him in GPPs to do so.

Jordan Clarkson (PG/SG-UTA): $6,300 DraftKings, $6,700 FanDuel

I target Clarkson sparingly in DFS because his production relies heavily on scoring only. However, anything goes on such a small slate, and Clarkson doesn’t project to be a popular option tonight, making him a viable GPP target. With the Jazz trading away their two stars, Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, Clarkson has become one of the team’s leaders and has been tasked with taking on a leading role offensively. He’s led the Jazz to an overall record of 7-3 and is averaging career-highs in rebounds and assists. The veteran guard has the upside to put up 45-plus fantasy points, and the fact that he’s rebounding the ball and thriving as a playmaker doesn’t make him that volatile of a play anymore. So tread lightly, but I don’t mind looking Clarkson’s way as a strong GPP candidate.

Value Plays

Patrick Williams (SF/PF-CHI): $3,900 DraftKings, $4,100 FanDuel

Williams isn’t going to blow his price tag out of the water or anything, and there are likely better value options that open up once new starts to roll out. However, he’s a viable salary relief target from a first-look standpoint. Williams starts at the four for the Bulls and has seen over 30 minutes a game over the last four while putting up double-digit points in four of the previous six. As I said, he will not give you tremendous upside, but he can produce five times the return on investment while allowing you to fit multiple high-end options into your lineups.

Chris Boucher (PF/C-TOR): $4,400 DraftKings, $5,900 DraftKings

This is once again more of a target on DraftKings. $4,400 is just too cheap for a player who has just put up back-to-back 30-plus fantasy point performances. As mentioned, Pascal Siakam (groin) is doubtful for tonight’s game, so Boucher should see 25 or more minutes again. I’ll gladly take my chances with a player with a sub 5K price tag, double-double upside, and the ability to return five or six times the investment.