It’s the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving and, as always, that means we have a massive slate over on DraftKings tonight. There are thirteen games on tonight’s schedule, so narrowing down a player pool is a somewhat difficult task with so many situations to keep tabs on. With this number of games on the schedule, it can be overwhelming – so I tend to go back to the basics and try to pinpoint the best individual matchups. With this in mind, I have focused on identifying my two favorite plays, at each position with an emphasis on individual matchups.
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Guards
Chris Paul (HOU): $8,300 vs. DET
Even with James Harden back in the lineup, Paul has been very consistent lately. Over the past four games, he has averaged 41.2 fantasy points per game and he still remains at a very playable price tag. The Pistons are a relatively weak defensive team against guards, ranking 21st against point guards on the season – plus Reggie Jackson is a poor on-ball defender, ranking 82nd out of 90 point guards in DRPM this season. Paul should be able to exploit a Pistons team that will turn most of its attention to slowing down James Harden tonight.
It’s the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving and, as always, that means we have a massive slate over on DraftKings tonight. There are thirteen games on tonight’s schedule, so narrowing down a player pool is a somewhat difficult task with so many situations to keep tabs on. With this number of games on the schedule, it can be overwhelming – so I tend to go back to the basics and try to pinpoint the best individual matchups. With this in mind, I have focused on identifying my two favorite plays, at each position with an emphasis on individual matchups.
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Guards
Chris Paul (HOU): $8,300 vs. DET
Even with James Harden back in the lineup, Paul has been very consistent lately. Over the past four games, he has averaged 41.2 fantasy points per game and he still remains at a very playable price tag. The Pistons are a relatively weak defensive team against guards, ranking 21st against point guards on the season – plus Reggie Jackson is a poor on-ball defender, ranking 82nd out of 90 point guards in DRPM this season. Paul should be able to exploit a Pistons team that will turn most of its attention to slowing down James Harden tonight.
Donovan Mitchell (UTA): $7,200 vs. SAC
After a dismal game against a short-handed Pacers team on Monday, I am looking to turn right back to Mitchell in tonight’s game. Prior to that dud, Mitchell had posted an average of 46.6 fantasy points over a two-game stretch where he launched 28 shots per game. Over the past two seasons, Mitchell has continued showing that he is capable of massive ceiling games and tonight shouldn’t be any exception to that. The Kings are ranked 22nd in fantasy points allowed to shooting guards and Buddy Hield ranks 69th out of 99 shooting guards in DRPM this season. Assuming he’ll have lower ownership after a poor game, Mitchell is in a great spot to rebound at lower ownership tonight.
Forwards
Jayson Tatum (BOS): $6,200 vs. NYK
Tatum’s game has been very up and down from a fantasy perspective – averaging 32.7 fantasy points over the past six games with a few duds mixed in – but he has a great chance to rebound tonight. The Knicks rank 27th in fantasy points allowed to power forwards and he went for 46 fantasy points in this same matchup earlier in the season. The Knicks are also playing on the second half of a back to back tonight, so Tatum should be able to exploit his matchup against either Noah Vonleh or Kevin Knox.
Jabari Parker (CHI): $6,000 vs. PHO
Parker continues to churn out average fantasy stat lines, but his 22.6% usage rate suggests that he will continue to have some upside baked into his price tag. Parker has eclipsed 25 fantasy points five times over the past seven games and I like his matchup against the Suns enough to consider him tonight. The Suns rank 28th in fantasy points allowed to small forwards and rank 27th in defensive efficiency as a whole on the season. Parker has been getting his shots up in a poor Bulls’ offense on a nightly basis, he should be able to get to value at his mid-range price tag.
Centers
Nikola Jokic (DEN): $9,700 at MIN
Jokic has a great matchup against the Timberwolves tonight and, overall, he is one of my favorite players to pay up for on tonight’s slate. He has averaged 48.3 fantasy points over the past six games and he should continue to roll tonight. Karl-Anthony Towns ranks 52nd out of 57 centers in DRPM this season and the Timberwolves rank 25th as a whole in defensive efficiency this season. Jokic’s price is at its highest point in a few weeks and due to that, he should have lower ownership than expected on such a large slate. He has a ton of upside in this matchup.
Wendell Carter Jr. (CHI): $5,500 vs. PHO
Over the past five games, Carter has hit a bit of a rough patch as he has only averaged 24.2 fantasy points per game. The good news is that his price is down almost a thousand dollars from where it was last week. Carter has a great matchup tonight against the Suns, a team that ranks 29th in fantasy points allowed to centers this season. A lot of people will likely lean towards DeAndre Ayton in this matchup, but Wendell Carter’s individual matchup is actually a bit better. Ayton ranks 54th out of 57 centers in DRPM and Carter has shown upside quite a few times already this season.
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Jay Brancato is an NBA and PGA fantasy contributor for FantasyPros. You can follow him on Twitter @jay_brancato.