This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
We have seven-game Friday main slate, a lighter schedule than usual for this night of the week with the league rolling out three games during the day as well. We have a fairly optimistic injury report, as some recent absences appear to have a good chance of coming to an end and short-term injuries are on the light side overall.
Slate Overview
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Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Friday, 11/29 @ 12:30 p.m. ET:
Los Angeles Clippers at Minnesota Timberwolves (-6) (O/U: 213.5)
Orlando Magic (-7.5) at Brooklyn Nets (O/U: 208.5)
Detroit Pistons at Indiana Pacers (-5.5) (O/U: 230.0)
Toronto Raptors at Miami Heat (-8.5) (O/U: 219.0)
Boston Celtics (-11.5) at Chicago Bulls (O/U: 243.5)
Oklahoma City Thunder (-3) at Los Angeles Lakers (O/U: 230.0)
Sacramento Kings (-7.5) at Portland Trail Blazers (225.5)
Both point spreads and projected totals paint a fairly optimistic picture from a DFS perspective. The one outlier in terms of game lines is the Celtics-Bulls matchup, as the combination of Boston’s offensive capacity and Chicago’s defensive issues do legitimately set the stage for a runaway victory for the defending champs.
However, that matchup, along with three others, check in with totals of at least 225 points, which gives us a solid amount of game environments to focus on in terms of where some top individual performances may be found.
Injury Situations to Monitor
For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire’s NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.
DeMar DeRozanSAC (back): OUT
With DeRozan still out, Kevin Huerter should continue to operate as the starting small forward while De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis will get even more usage than usual.
Cade CunninghamDET (hip): QUESTIONABLE
Cunningham participated in Friday’s shootaround and appears to have a solid chance of returning from a three-game absence.
Tobias HarrisDET (hip): QUESTIONABLE
Like Cunningham, Harris was at Friday’s shootaround and looks likely to come back after missing one game.
Coby WhiteCHI (wrist): QUESTIONABLE
If White – who was at Friday’s shootaround – can’t go, Josh Giddey should continue to see increased ball-handling responsibility while Ayo Dosunmu likely remains in the starting five.
Cameron JohnsonBKN (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
If Johnson can’t play, Ziaire Williams could be a primary beneficiary.
Norman PowellLAC (hamstring): QUESTIONABLE
If Powell sits out, Amir Coffey is likely to stay in the starting five at small forward.
Other notable injuries:
Paolo BancheroORL (oblique): OUT
Kawhi LeonardLAC (knee): OUT
Gradey DickTOR (calf): OUT
Cam ThomasBKN (hamstring): OUT
Patrick WilliamsCHI (foot): OUT
Immanuel Quickley (elbow): OUT
Trey LylesSAC (calf): OUT
Jerami GrantPOR (knee): DOUBTFUL
Nic ClaxtonBKN (back): QUESTIONABLE
Dorian Finney-SmithBKN (ankle): QUESTIONABLE
Anthony DavisLAL (foot): PROBABLE
Jimmy ButlerMIA (back): PROBABLE
Duncan RobinsonMIA (glute): PROBABLE
Anthony DavisLAL (foot): PROBABLE
Dalton KnechtLAL (quad): PROBABLE
Terry RozierMIA (foot): PROBABLE
Elite Players
We have three players with five-figure salaries on Friday’s slate – Anthony Davis ($11,200), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($10,800) and Jayson Tatum ($10,300).
Davis is fully expected to continue playing through his foot injury and is averaging 56.1 FD points over his last seven games, a stretch where he’s eclipsed 55 FD points on five occasions.
Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 54.8 FD points over his last five games, shooting 53.8 percent, including 43.3 percent from three-point range, over a stretch that he’s bookended with tallies of 61.4 and 59.3 FD points.
Tatum has an excellent matchup against the Bulls and has flashed a floor of over 60 FD points on three occasions this season. The one caveat that applies to him Friday is the fact he’s in a game with the largest spread on the slate, which theoretically could lead to reduced minutes.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Franz WagnerORL ($9,900)
Wagner continues to get a big boost in usage on most nights with Paolo Banchero out and has averaged 51.9 FD points over his last nine games.
James HardenLAC ($9,500)
Harden is coming off an outstanding 43-point effort against the Wizards on Wednesday that netted 63.3 FD points and should make him very popular at this salary.
Domantas SabonisSAC ($9,300)
Sabonis will once again take the floor without DeMar DeRozan and offers a secure floor of 40-45 FD points, which should put him in plenty of lineups.
Anthony EdwardsMIN ($8,900)
Edwards is always highly rostered but has been especially appealing of late with an average of 45.6 FD points over his last seven games, eclipsing 50 FD points in his last two contests as well.
De'Aaron FoxSAC ($8,700)
Fox is always highly rostered at a sub-$9K salary and should be even more popular with DeRozan out again, a circumstance in which he boasts a team-high 37.7 percent usage rate and averages 51.1 FD points per 36 minutes.
Key Values
Jrue HolidayBOS at CHI ($5,500)
Holiday is a clear secondary option in the Celtics’ Tatum-Brown-centered attack, but the veteran point guard can still emerge with some solid fantasy performances from time to time. Friday may very well be one of those occasions, considering the Bulls’ defensive weaknesses, particularly against point guards. Chicago is allowing an NBA-high 33.0 offensive efficiency rating to PGs, as well as a league-high 56.6 FD points per game to the position. The latter figure is largely the result of the Bulls surrendering a league-high 32.6 points per game to the position, along with the third-most assists (10.9) per contest to ones. Then, Holiday has already proved over a 5x return on his current salary on six occasions this season, with two of those instances coming within the last five games in the form of 39.2 and 36.5 FD-point tallies.
Malik MonkSAC at POR ($5,400)
Monk is always a threat to deliver a fantasy-friendly effort in his high-volume bench role, already having scored between 24.2 and 51.1 FD points in seven of his 12 games this season. The veteran guard also happens to have the Kings’ second highest usage rate with DeRozan off the floor (23.6 percent) and averages 38.3 FD points per 36 minutes in that scenario as well. In fact, Monk just delivered a season-high 51.1 FD points over 35 minutes with DeRozan absent Wednesday against the Timberwolves, and he scored 21.8 FD points in just 19 minutes against the Trail Blazers back on Oct. 28. Portland also checks in allowing a Western Conference-high 52.0 offensive efficiency rating to second-unit players, strengthening Monk’s case further.
Scoot Henderson BY. vs. SAC ($5,000)
Henderson makes for an intriguing value option on the other side of the Trail Blazers-Kings battle, as the second-year guard just returned from a three-game absence Wednesday to post 34.9 FD points in 35 minutes off the bench against the Pacers. Henderson also generated 26.3 FD points in 28 minutes against the Kings back on Oct. 28, and he’s posted over 24 FD points in nine of 16 games overall. Sacramento is allowing 38.7 percent three-point shooting to backcourt players and a 40.1 percent success rate from deep to second-unit players specifically, and Henderson could well outpace his salary once again if he sees another robust workload.
ALSO CONSIDER: Deni AvdijaPRO vs. SAC ($5,900); Payton PritchardBOS at CHI ($5,000)
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. Juan Carlos Blanco plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: DraftKings: jcblanco22, FanDuel: jc_blanco22, DraftPot: jc_blanco22, FantasyDraft: jc_blanco22, OwnThePlay: jcblanco22.
