Saturday brings NBA action tipping off at 7:00 p.m. ET on FanDuel and DraftKings. The player pool is packed with intriguing options, making it a great slate to find the top NBA DFS building blocks and NBA DFS picks. Let’s break down today’s core plays, including Desmond Bane and LaMelo Ball, with each player having several teammates to bring along for the ride.
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NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: Saturday, Nov. 23
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NBA DFS Picks Today: Building Blocks
LaMelo Ball: Hornets at Bucks
NBA DFS Projections
DraftKings: 52.32 | FanDuel: 49.25
NBA DFS Ownership Projections
DraftKings: 50.1% | FanDuel: 37.9%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $9,600 | FanDuel: $9,600
LaMelo Ball has been excellent this season in his 15 games, averaging 33.1 minutes, 4.9 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 1.4 combined blocks and steals, with a career-high 28.9 points. That is a five-point bump in his average when compared to his scant 58 games played in the two preceding seasons.
Last Saturday, Ball led the Hornets to a 115-114 victory in Charlotte against Milwaukee. The Bucks have rolled off three-consecutive wins since then, though this is the second-leg of a back-to-back and the third game in four nights for Milwaukee. The Hornets are eight point road dogs and will be without Miles Bridges, Tre Mann and Nick Richards. Over the last five games, Milwaukee has allowed 117.4 points per 100 possessions, which of course has been an issue with Damian Lillard being unable to stick with opposing lead-guards. Ball has no reason to fear the deer and he is a strong building block in all formats tonight.
Brandon Miller is coming off a 60 fantasy point game, though that was courtesy of an overtime period against Detroit. Ball fouled out to start the overtime, so it was up to the second-year forward to carry the torch. Miller has produced just over a fantasy point per minute this season with or without Bridges on the court, though he does get a boost in his assist, rebounding and usage rates. He is likely to figure prominently into DraftKings contests, with his s dual eligibility at shooting guard and small forward making the second overall selection in the 2023 NBA Draft eligible for five of the nine roster slots.
While Moussa Diabate is a neutral option, getting him correct may end up being the key to the slate. When looking at his game log, we can see the third-year frontcourt player does not have much in the way of consistent offensive chops, aside from putbacks and lobs. In the last two games, he is 0-for-4 from the field, but he has collected 23 rebounds, including 14 on the offensive end. In the prior game against the Bucks, Diabate converted 6-of-7 (86%) of his shots, with 14 boards, 10 — YES TEN! — of which were on the offensive glass. Over his last five appearances he has two games of 39-plus fantasy points and two with less than 13 fantasy points. This is great for tournaments, but clearly a double-edged sword.
Giannis Antetokounmpo played all but the final 30 seconds of the fourth quarter last night, helping ensure a Milwaukee victory. The team was mostly in maintenance mode as the Indiana Pacers were unable to cut their deficit to fewer than six points and that was only for a brief stretch midway through the final frame. The Bucks next two games are on Tuesday and then next Saturday, so the only real concern with Antetokounmpo’s minutes would be in the event of a lopsided game.
Charlotte has been in the middle of the pack with a 112.1 defensive efficiency rating over the last 10 games, which bodes well for Antetokounmpo and Lillard. The diminutive guard crushed it last night with 24 points, five rebounds, 13 assists and a steal. After missing three games in the concussion protocol, Lillard has averaged 36 minutes in the trio of tilts since his return.
Desmond Bane: Grizzlies vs. Bulls
NBA DFS Projections
DraftKings: 40.1 | FanDuel: 38.45
NBA DFS Ownership Projections
DraftKings: 45.1% | FanDuel: 35.9%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $7,100 | FanDuel: $7,400
It isn’t officially NBA season until the Memphis Grizzlies have a handful of key players out with injuries. Ja Morant (hip) is on track to miss an eighth straight game, while oft-injured guard Marcus Smart missed six games with an ankle issue, returned for two and then has missed the last three with an illness. He is questionable for tonight’s game.
Rookie Zach Edey is going to miss the next two weeks with an ankle injury and of course two bright spots from last year’s injury-riddled campaign have darkened with G.G. Jackson still not ready to make his debut this season and Vince Williams Jr. rehabilitating into mid-November, only to suffer an ankle injury three games into his season. He is going to be out through the holidays, which is just a shame.
This does mean ample minutes and offensive opportunities for the available Grizzlies, who will be led by Desmond Bane. The 26-year-old has been sublime when healthy, but he was only able to take the court for 100 games in the two prior seasons. Naturally he missed seven games at the start of this month with an oblique injury, though he has ramped back up to mid-30s minutes with four games under his belt. Over the last 10 games, Chicago has the second-worst defensive efficiency rating in the league and with Alex Caruso now in Oklahoma City and Patrick Williams on the shelf, Bane should be able to find all the room he needs to operate tonight.
Scotty Pippen Jr. will be one of the five most popular plays tonight on FanDuel ($5,400), but he will be an afterthought on DraftKings ($6,700). Jaren Jackson Jr. stands out on both sites and the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year is always viable in tournaments.
Turning the focus to the Bulls, Chicago is on a back-to-back and this is also the third game in four nights, with the Windy City warriors coming off an exhilarating 136-122 victory against the visiting Atlanta Hawks. While the starters all logged heavy minutes, the team is off until Tuesday, so expect everyone to be a full go tonight.
Torrey Craig broke some hearts after being a DNP-CD, despite crushing in a spot start on Wednesday. The soon-to-be 34-year-old has played in just two of the last nine games and he may end up being traded to a playoff contender at some point, for a bag of scrimmage jerseys. DO NOT trust him EVER, unless he is in the starting lineup.
Ayo Dosunmu was with the first five last night and it will be interesting to see if he holds sway over Craig (who had a minor ankle tweak in the late going on Wednesday) for another game. Dosunmu, Coby White and Zach LaVine each went for 20 points last night, while Nikola Vucevic just missed out with 18 points, along with 13 rebounds and a stellar four blocks. The starting unit is all in play and of course Dosunmu is as well, even if he is back with the reserves.
Today’s Top Sports Betting Pick
Anthony Davis is an excellent option in the DFS world, though tonight we can look to the under on his 12.5 rebounds prop which is rather enticing.
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Stokastic’s Advanced NBA Statistical Projections have Davis projected for 34.5 minutes and 11.63 rebounds, which is below the 13 needed for the under on the 12.5 threshold. The “True Odds” of -128 and a 56% win rate show that there is a 3.2% expected ROI.
This season, Davis is averaging 35.2 minutes and 11.2 rebounds per game. The playing time is in line with the last couple of seasons, though his rebounding is down by almost a full carom. The Brow has 14 rebounds in three of his last five games, with 12 and nine in the other two. However, if we reach back another four games, he had four, nine, nine and 11. In his last three games against Jokic, Davis averaged nearly 37 minutes with just under nine rebounds per tilt.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today
Catch all the latest news and updates for NBA DFS picks on the Stokastic NBA Live Before Lock Show today at 6:00 p.m. ET on YouTube, where we’ll dive into all the key elements of tonight’s slate.
