Nets rookie Egor Dёmin has a favorable matchup against the Magic, who have an opponent rank of 28.
It’s Friday and we’re heading into the fourth weekend of the new season. The NBA Cup, the league’s in-season tournament, continues to roll right along. We have a total of nine games on today’s NBA DFS slate, but we won’t include the late game, as DraftKings only offers an eight-game main slate, while FanDuel includes all nine games.
We also get an Amazon Prime doubleheader, as the Miami Heat and New York Knicks meet at 7 p.m. ET on the streaming service, while the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs tip-off is at 9:30 p.m. ET.
Here are our top NBA DFS picks and advice for tonight’s slate.
NBA DFS core plays
Luka Dončić (PG – LAL)
- DraftKings: $12,000
- FanDuel: $12,600
Luka Dončić will obviously cost you a pretty penny, but any time you can get 65.2 fantasy points per game, it’s a nice, warm and fuzzy feeling. Plus, the other two highest-priced options carry a questionable tag into Friday’s action.
The Pelicans have an opponent rank of 18th, so a Lakers stack is a pretty good idea. If you’re able to squeeze Dončić into the lineup, more often than not, you’re going to get what you pay for. Last time out, he struggled with a season-low 19 points with seven rebounds and seven assists, while making just 7-of-20 from the field. As such, he is likely to be angry, too, and that’s never good for his opponent.
Alperen Sengun (C – HOU)
- DraftKings: $9,500
- FanDuel: $9,400
Alperen Sengun gets a crack at the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night, and he looks to add to his 49.3 fantasy points per game. The Blazers are 21st in opponent rank, so Sengun has a good chance to exceed fantasy expectations.
Sengun enters play with double-doubles in back-to-back games, while posting five such performances in six games since flipping the calendar from October to November. In fact, he is averaging 21 points, 11.7 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game across the past six outings.
Karl-Anthony Towns (PF – NYK)
- DraftKings: $9,400
- FanDuel: $8,900
Karl-Anthony Towns faces the Miami Heat, and he’ll have the luxury of not being defended by Miami’s Bam Adebayo (toe), who remains sidelined with a sprained left big toe. As it stands, Miami has an opponent rank of 19th. Without one of its top defenders, that number might be a little worse.
Towns is a model of consistency, posting seven consecutive double-doubles. He is averaging 22 points, 12.5 rebounds, four assists and 1.7 3-pointers per game in six contests this month. In his first meeting in Miami, he had 15 points with a season-high 18 rebounds, while adding a pair of 3-pointers in 36 minutes.
NBA DFS cash game targets
Franz Wagner (SF – ORL)
- DraftKings: $8,500
- FanDuel: $7,900
Franz Wagner is likely to be leaned upon rather heavily, as Paolo Banchero (groin) is will miss at least Friday’s game due to a strained left groin. It’s a very favorable matchup for Wagner, as the Brooklyn Nets have an opponent rank of 27th, and it’s a good game to see more usage. He should exceed DFS salary expectations as long as he stays out of foul trouble.
We got a glimpse of what to expect last time out on Wednesday in New York, as Wagner had a season-high 28 points on 10-of-22 from the field, while Banchero was limited to just four minutes before exiting. Wagner asserted himself as the primary scoring option, and he was a frontcourt force, also adding four assists, two steals and a block with a pair of 3-pointers.
Julius Randle (PF – MIN)
- DraftKings: $8,300
- FanDuel: $9,100
Julius Randle is well down the list in terms of fantasy points per game and salary. Looking at some of the other options on the list, he has a better fantasy points per game average than seven other high-priced options on the board, and he is facing a Sacramento Kings team with an opponent rank of 21st.
Randle is coming off an impressive 27-point performance in Utah on Monday, and he also added eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Before that, Randle faced the Kings in Sacramento, going 8-of-16 from the field with 19 points, six rebounds, four assists and a steal while knocking down a 3-pointer. He has at least one triple in four straight outings.
Austin Reaves (PG, SG – LAL)
- DraftKings: $8,000
- FanDuel: $8,300
Austin Reaves needs to be part of your Lakers stack on Friday night against the struggling Pelicans. After a white-hot start, Reaves has tailed off a little bit in the past five games, as his shooting has been rather rough. He is shooting 41.2% or worse in each of the outings, and hitting just 39.2% in three November outings.
Still, Reaves is averaging a respectable 21 points, seven assists, 4.7 rebounds, one steal and two 3-pointers in the current month. Reaves is facing a Pelicans team with an opponent rank of 30th, so expect him to be back to his old self, producing at a high rate in multiple categories.
NBA DFS GPP targets
Kon Knueppel (SG, SF – CHA)
- DraftKings: $6,900
- FanDuel: $6,100
The 20-year-old rookie Kon Knueppel has been tremendously impressive for the Hornets, going for 16+ points in each of his past five outings, and he has two double-doubles in the past four games, and nearly a triple-double against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night.
Knueppel has hit at least one 3-pointer in each of his 11 NBA games to date and is averaging three triples in six November outings. He went for 16 points, six rebounds and three triples in 34 minutes Wednesday in the front end of a home-and-home with the Bucks.
Brandon Williams (PG – DAL)
- DraftKings: $5,400
- FanDuel: $5,400
Brandon Williams is working on a five-game streak with double-digit point totals, which is quite solid and productive given his rather low cost. In addition, he is working on a seven-game streak with at least one steal, averaging 2.3 steals per game in seven November outings, while going for three or more assists in each of the past five outings.
In seven November outings, the Mavericks guard is averaging 12.1 points, 3.4 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game. Williams is a strong option against the struggling Clippers defense, which allows 115.5 points per game, a 47.5% defensive field-goal rate and a 39.4% defensive 3-pointer rate, second-worst in the league.
Duncan Robinson (SG – DET)
- DraftKings: $5,100
- FanDuel: $4,800
Another lower-priced option with a higher ceiling is Duncan Robinson. The 76ers allow a 46.8% field goal rate, and they’re giving up 116.9 points per game, which is middle of the road.
The former Miami Heat sharpshooter went for 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including seven 3-pointers last time out. Strike while the iron is hot, especially in a favorable matchup.
NBA DFS value plays
Egor Dёmin (PG – BKN)
- DraftKings: $4,400
- FanDuel: $4,100
The 19-year-old rookie out of BYU is proving he more than belongs in the NBA. Egor Dёmin has averaged 13 points in back-to-back games, including a career-high 16 points with five assists, four rebounds and four 3-pointers across 28 minutes against Toronto last time out on Tuesday.
Dёmin faces another favorable matchup, as the Orlando Magic have an opponent rank of 28th. He is averaging 18.4 fantasy points per game. As Dёmin gets more comfortable, that number is bound to continue rising.
Terance Mann (SG – BKN)
- DraftKings: $4,500
- FanDuel: $5,000
With Cam Thomas sidelined yet again, it’s Terance Mann who is likely to continue to benefit. Tyrese Martin has seen an increase in playing time, too, but the lights have looked too bright. Martin is just 3-for-18 (16.7%) from the field in the past three outings, averaging 2.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.
Look to the veteran Mann, who had nine points with four assists and three rebounds last time out against Toronto. He is averaging 8.5 points, 4.3 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game with an occasional 3-pointer. He’s not a bad option at the bottom of your lineup, allowing you to squeeze in plenty of big-time options up top.
Tristan da Silva (SF, PF – ORL)
- DraftKings: $4,500
- FanDuel: $3,900
With Paolo Banchero sidelined and Franz Wagner already doing plenty of heavy lifting, there will be secondary and tertiary roles for Tristan da Silva and Jonathan Isaac. We’ve seen da Silva shine at times, averaging a respectable 18.4 fantasy points per game. The Nets have an opponent rank of 27th, so don’t be surprised to see him exceed his salary expectations by miles.
The Magic forward is averaging 1.7 3-pointers per game in six November outings, and he has scored 11+ points three times in the past five games. He is the better bet between him and Isaac.
