NBA DFS Picks: DraftKings Plays and Strategy for Friday, November 17

NBA DFS Picks: DraftKings Plays and Strategy for Friday, November 17

This article is part of our DraftKings NBA series.

Slate Overview

NYK at WAS: Wizards on four-game slide. 

MIL at CHA: Hornets on two-game slide and are 1-4 at home. 

PHI at ATL: Sixers are on two-game slide. 

DET at CLE: Pistons have lost nine in a row. 

SAC at SAS: Kings have won four straight; Spurs on six-game slide. 

BOS at TOR: Celtics on four-game win streak.

DEN at NOP: Both sides coming off wins; Nuggets 2-2 on road; Pelicans 3-3 at home. 

ORL at CHI: Bulls on two-game slide. 

LAL at POR: Trail Blazers on five-game slide.

PHX at UTA: Jazz have won two in a row. 

HOU at LAC: Rockets on six-game win streak; Clippers on six-game slide. 

For the latest spreads and over/unders, visit RotoWire's NBA Odds page. There you can also find player props, futures, picks, articles and sportsbook bonus codes.

Injuries to Monitor  

For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report       

NYK - RJ Barrett (illness), Quentin Grimes (hand): Questionable 
Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart could be up for increased roles.  

WAS - Delon Wright (knee): OUT
Landry Shamet is in line to step up. 

MIL - Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf), MarJon Beauchamp (ankle): Questionable; Jae Crowder (groin): OUT
Bobby Portis and Pat Connaughton are up for a boost. 

CHA  - Gordon Hayward (hamstring), Brandon Miller (ankle): Questionable; Terry Rozier (groin): OUT
Theo Maledon and Bryce McGowens have to pick up the slack. 

PHI - Joel Embiid (hip): Questionable; Nicolas Batum (personal), Kelly Oubre (ribs): OUT
Paul Reed and Robert Covington are up for more responsibility.   

DET - Marvin Bagley (illness): Questionable; Bojan Bogdanovic (calf), Isaiah Livers (ankle), Monte Morris (quadriceps), Joe Harris (shoulder), Jalen Duren (ankle): OUT
Marcus Sasser and Ausar Thompson should continue to see extra playing time.    

CLE - Darius Garland (neck), Donovan Mitchell (hamstring): Questionable; Isaac Okoro (knee), Ty Jerome (ankle): OUT
Caris LeVert could see big minutes.

SAC - Alex Len (ankle), Trey Lyles (calf): OUT
JaVale McGee and Sasha Vezenkov should see more playing time.  

SAS - Tre Jones (hamstring): Doubtful; Devin Vassell (thigh): OUT
Malaki Branham, Doug McDermott and Cedi Osman are in line for extra opportunity.     

BOS - Jaylen Brown (illness), Al Horford (toe), Kristaps Porzingis (knee): Available 

TOR - Gary Trent (foot): Probable; O.G. Anunoby (finger): Doubtful 
Gradey Dic and, Jalen McDaniels are in line for a boost if Anunoby is out. 

DEN - Jamal Murray (hamstring): OUT
Reggie Jackson will continue to start.  

NOP - Jose Alvarado (ankle): Doubtful; CJ McCollum (chest), Trey Murphy (knee), Larry Nance (ribs): OUT
Jordan Hawkins, Dyson Daniels and Naji Marshall are in line for added opportunities.    

ORL - Jalen Suggs (undisclosed): Questionable; Wendell Carter (finger), Markelle Fultz (knee): OUT
Cole Anthony and Anthony Black could see a boost in the backcourt. Goga Bitadze is up for another start in place of Carter.

CHI - Alex Caruso (toe): Probable; DeMar DeRozan (personal): Questionable
Ayo Dosunmu and Patrick Williams could see more action. 

LAL - Anthony Davis (hip): Probable; LeBron James (calf): Questionable; Jarred Vanderbilt (heel), Gabe Vincent (knee): OUT
Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Christian Wood remain in line to pick up more opportunities.  

POR - Malcolm Brogdon (hamstring), Scoot Henderson (ankle), Anfernee Simons (thumb): OUT
Shaedon Sharpe and Skylar Mays will likely start. Toumani Camara should continue to see greater opportunity.

PHX - Bradley Beal (back): OUT
Eric Gordon and Grayson Allen will likely get more playing time. 

UTA - Walker Kessler (elbow): OUT 
Kelly Olynyk will have a bigger role. Ochai Agbaji is expected to pick up another start.    

LAC - Mason Plumlee (knee): OUT
P.J. Tucker remains up for a bigger role. 

Elite Players

Guards

De'Aaron Fox, Kings ($9,000) at Spurs 

Fox topped 40 DK points in back-to-back outings since returning from a five-game absence. He is averaging 30.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.8 steals through five appearances on the season. He also faces a favorable matchup against a Spurs squad that is giving up a league-high 29.8 points per game to opposing point guards. 

Paul George, Clippers ($8,600) vs. Rockets

Despite the Clippers' recent struggles, George continues to put up big numbers, averaging 24.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.4 steals on the season. He turned in a season-high 55.8 DK points, with 35 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals in his last outing, and he topped 40 DK points in eight of his 10 appearances. He should find an opportunity to pad his stats against the Rockets, who are giving up the league's ninth-most free-throw attempts per game. 

Forwards/Centers

Jayson Tatum, Celtics ($10,300) at Raptors

Tatum continues his dominant play, averaging 28.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He has gone over 50 DK points in back-to-back games and three times in his last five outings. He is likely to keep up his strong play against the Raptors after he averaged 26.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists through two meetings last season.  

Julius Randle, Knicks ($8,800) at Wizards 

Randle has a good opportunity to pad his stats against the Wizards, who are giving up the league's fourth-most points per game to opposing power forwards. Randle is averaging 19.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.0 steals on the season, and he topped 50 DK points in two of the last four games. He may also have to carry an extra load on offense if RJ Barrett remains out. 

Domantas Sabonis, Kings ($10,000) at Spurs 

Sabonis has three double-doubles and one triple-double among his last four outings and is averaging 19.1 points, 12.8 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. He faces a good opportunity to thrive against a Spurs team that is giving up the league's eighth-most points per game to opposing centers, while also allowing them to shoot an average of 57.9 percent from the field. 

Expected Chalk 

Nikola Jokic, Nuggets ($12,500) at Pelicans 

Jokic is up for an advantageous matchup against the Pelicans, who are giving up the league's ninth-most points and second-most rebounds to opposing centers, while also allowing them to shoot 61.0 percent from the field. Notwithstanding, Jokic has been putting up monstrous numbers, averaging 30.0 points, 13.9 rebounds, 8.4 assists and 1.0 steals on the season. The two-time MVP has topped 60 DK points in each of the last six games, including a high of 84.8, in the game-before-last. 

Value Picks

Eric Gordon, Suns ($4,800) at Jazz

Gordon is up for a larger role in the absence of Bradley Beal. Gordon is averaging 13.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 0.9 steals per game. He also topped 20 DK points in each of his last five starts, including three with more than 30 and a high of 42.3.

Malaki Branham, Spurs ($3,900) vs. Kings

Branham is up for a significant boost in the absence of Devin Vassell and likely, Tre Jones. Branham is averaging 9.0 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists, in 20.2 minutes per game this season. He is attempting an average of 3.2 three-pointers per game and should find an opportunity to get his shot off against the Kings, who are allowing opponents to shoot an average of 48.9 percent from the field. 

Ochai Agbaji, Jazz ($4,000) vs. Suns 

Agbaji is up for his fourth consecutive start in the absence of Walker Kessler. Agbaji finished with more than 23 DK points in each of the last two games, including a high of 31. He is averaging 8.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.3 blocks over the three starts and faces a second straight home game to build on his rhythm. 

Robert Covington, 76ers ($4,500) at Hawks 

Covington logged 16 points, six rebounds and two steals, totaling 27.5 DK points in the last game. He is up for his third consecutive start, as the Sixers remain without Kelly Oubre. Covington also faces a favorable matchup against the Hawks, who are giving up a league-most 29.4 points per game to opposing power forwards. 

Andre Drummond. Bulls ($4,300) vs. Magic 

Drummond continues to supply a strong presence off the bench, averaging 6.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. He logged double-digit rebounds in two of the last three outings and has topped 20 DK points in four of his last six games. He also faces a favorable matchup against the Magic's shorthanded frontcourt. 

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Dan Bruno plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: duelingdan.
RotoWire Community
Join Our Subscriber-Only NBA Chat
Chat with our writers and other RotoWire NBA fans for all the pre-game info and in-game banter.
Join The Discussion
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dan Bruno
Dan has been writing all things NBA for RotoWire since 2014. He is an active fantasy sports player, with a love for DFS. Dan is a certified Coach with the Ontario Basketball Association and is a recreation professional in his home city.
Best NBA Bets Today: Free Picks and Player Props for Sunday, December 15
Best NBA Bets Today: Free Picks and Player Props for Sunday, December 15
NBA DFS Picks: DraftKings Plays and Strategy for Sunday, December 15
NBA DFS Picks: DraftKings Plays and Strategy for Sunday, December 15
NBA DFS Picks: FanDuel Plays and Lineup Strategy for Sunday, December 15
NBA DFS Picks: FanDuel Plays and Lineup Strategy for Sunday, December 15
NBA DFS Picks: DraftKings Plays and Lineup Strategy for Saturday, December 14
NBA DFS Picks: DraftKings Plays and Lineup Strategy for Saturday, December 14
NBA DFS Picks: FanDuel Plays and Strategy for Saturday, December 14
NBA DFS Picks: FanDuel Plays and Strategy for Saturday, December 14
Best NBA Bets Today: Free Picks and Player Props for Saturday, December 14
Best NBA Bets Today: Free Picks and Player Props for Saturday, December 14