It’s officially the week of Thanksgiving which means it’s time to acknowledge the things you’re thankful for. I’m thankful the nine-game slate and having the option of superstar players in plus matchups, specifically Kyrie Irving, Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo. I’ll be focusing on two players from each position (outside of center where I’ll choose one) to hone in on and recommend finding a way to plug them into your lineups. Russell Westbrook is still out due to personal reasons and appears to be the only superstar unavailable for lineups tonight. Anthony Davis has a tough matchup tonight against the Spurs so I’ve chosen to fade him and go with value at the power forward position.
Players listed below are ones that I highly recommend fitting into your lineups based on recent play, matchups and potential game script. There are a couple mid-level guys that could allow you to save and spend up for a couple of the available superstars to boost your lineup listed below as well. These players are ones that I’ve focused on to highlight and to consider as placing into your lineup as core pieces.
It’s officially the week of Thanksgiving which means it’s time to acknowledge the things you’re thankful for. I’m thankful the nine-game slate and having the option of superstar players in plus matchups, specifically Kyrie Irving, Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo. I’ll be focusing on two players from each position (outside of center where I’ll choose one) to hone in on and recommend finding a way to plug them into your lineups. Russell Westbrook is still out due to personal reasons and appears to be the only superstar unavailable for lineups tonight. Anthony Davis has a tough matchup tonight against the Spurs so I’ve chosen to fade him and go with value at the power forward position.
Players listed below are ones that I highly recommend fitting into your lineups based on recent play, matchups and potential game script. There are a couple mid-level guys that could allow you to save and spend up for a couple of the available superstars to boost your lineup listed below as well. These players are ones that I’ve focused on to highlight and to consider as placing into your lineup as core pieces.
I hope everyone has a great Holiday starting with finishing in the green tonight. As always good luck!
Check out today’s NBA Shot from FanDuel 
Point Guard
Kyrie Irving (BOS): $8,400 @ CHA
It was a somewhat sluggish start of the season by Kyrie’s standards anyway. He’s certainly elevated his play of late though and has looked more aggressive offensively really the whole month of November. His salary of $8,400 is very tolerable for a player of this caliber who comes with a ceiling of around 70 FanDuel (FD) points. Tonight he gets a matchup with Kemba Walker and the Charlotte Hornets, who rank 15th against the point guard position. While this game doesn’t have a huge over/under total (217 according to Westgate sports book), the spread sits at -2.5, meaning the game should remain close throughout. This game appears to be one where Irving may look to get others involved early then takeover late, which is only good news for DFS players. He’ll need to exceed 42 FD points to get to over 5x value tonight which seems very achievable for a player who’s done that in four of the past six games, including two outings of 65+ FD points. Irving can be placed into lineups with confidence tonight.
Eric Bledsoe (MIL): $7,500 vs DEN
With Russell Westbrook out tonight it gives us an opportunity to save some money at the point guard position and going with Bledsoe provides a chance to get solid value. He draws a prime matchup against a Denver team that ranks 18th against the position in a game with the highest implied total of the slate (as of the writing of this article) so getting a couple players from that game would suit you well. Bledsoe has been a model of consistency for fantasy production lately. He’s logged five straight games of at least 34.5 FD points, and three straight games of at least 37 FD points. He can fill it up in any one of points, rebounds or assists on any given night so he doesn’t rely solely on his offense for production which raises his floor. He’s a good choice tonight in a high scoring game that should remain close.
Shooting Guard
Dennis Schroder (OKC): $7,500 @ SAC
Schroder has stepped up in the absence of Russell Westbrook and will more than likely be a highly owned commodity in lineups tonight. It’s hard to ignore his production in the games Westbrook has missed however in addition to the fact he has a solid matchup with the Kings tonight. Schroder will likely be used as a point guard and the Kings rank 26th against the point guard position. He ranks third on the team in usage and ranks only behind Paul George in situations where Westbrook isn’t on the court. It’s a situation where we can grab a point guard in the shooting guard position on FanDuel, and it’s certainly hard to pass up on that opportunity tonight, especially given the matchup.
DeMar DeRozan (SAS): $9,000 @ NOR
DeRozan appears on this list due to this matchup with the Pelicans tonight, who rank 26th against the position. DeRozan has certainly shouldered more of the offensive load recently and has now produced four straight games of 20 or more points. He leads the Spurs in overall usage rate by about three and a half percent, and in a game that sports an over/under of 220+ there should be plenty of opportunity for DeRozan to fill it up. On top of his scoring output, he’s been a very productive rebounder averaging six rebounds per game over the past five games. Also with such a high usage rate his assist totals can also accumulate very quickly, which makes his floor very high. Look for DeRozan to be very productive tonight and continue to carry the load for the Spurs tonight.
Small Forward
Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL): $11,500 vs DEN
You’re probably just thinking I’m listing the highest priced player of each position, I promise it’s not the case. Tonight there’s the option at the top of the small forward position between Antetokounmpo and Paul George. Of these two I’m choosing Antetokounmpo for a few reasons. First, he dominates the usage rate (32 percent) for the Bucks and is the clear leader in usage by almost nine percent! Second, he is the best player on the court in a game with an implied total of 228 points (117 for the Bucks specifically). Third, he’s finished with 50+ FD points in four of the past five games (last game against Chicago he finished with 49.6 FD points). Sure his salary is very high and it’ll be tight fitting him into lineups, but the Nuggets are middle of the road defensively against small forwards (14th) and let’s be honest there’s no real defense for Antetokounmpo. For all the reasons above I’m definitely starting my lineup with him tonight.
Rudy Gay (SAS): $5,900 @ NOR
I’m not so excited about the small forward options outside of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Paul George, but =Gay does offer some salary relief in a game that offers a solid implied total. Gay ranks third on the Spurs in usage rate behind only DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge so he should see plenty of opportunity tonight. What’s nice about Gay is that he doesn’t require a lot of playing time to be productive which leads to his high usage. He’s a solid two-way player who uses his rebounding numbers to supplement his scoring totals very nicely. Over the past three games, he’s grabbed at least five rebounds to go along with his average of 17 points per game over that span. This makes his floor fairly solid, so he would be a good stabilizer at a cap friendly cost on the slate tonight.
Power Forward
John Collins (ATL): $4,900 vs LAC
Collins is a bit of a high-risk option tonight, but shows up in this list because of the matchup. This game offers the highest over/under of the night at 229 points, so there should be plenty of points to go around and Collins could certainly take advantage. He saw his first game action on Saturday and scored 12 points in just 12 minutes of playing time. He should see his minutes increase tonight as he eases back into his role, but it’s clear when he’s on the court he’s going to be aggressive. He’s a nice talent and comes at a cheap price due to the uncertainty of his minutes. Grabbing him could be a nice way to separate yourself from what could be potential low ownership, and gives you a piece of a game that has the highest implied total of the evening.
Tobias Harris (LAC): $8,000 @ ATL
Harris is a solid play tonight against an Atlanta team that ranks 30th in defense against the position. This game has the highest implied total and grabbing Harris will give you a nice piece of that action. In addition, Harris has strung together eight straight games of 30+ FD points, including four straight games of 35+. He’s averaged 20 points and eight rebounds per game over that eight-game span. He should be able to at least obtain those averages tonight and has high double-double upside in this matchup. Keep Harris in mind as a mid-level power forward if you’re considering fading Anthony Davis due to his matchup.
Center
Al Horford (BOS): $6,700 @ CHA
Horford draws a Hornets team that ranks 26th against the position, which gives him double-double upside tonight. While his stat lines typically aren’t the sexiest, he can produce at least something in all five major statistical categories. He’s kind of a jack-of-all-trades master of none type, which can certainly be enough to buoy a player that hasn’t scored more than 15 points since November 1. He has recorded at least two blocks in six straight games and has grabbed at least six rebounds in four straight. While he doesn’t offer much offensively he uses the supplemental stats to help boost his FanDuel production. You know what you’re getting with Horford and he would certainly provide stable production in a matchup like he has tonight.
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Chris Berg is a correspondent at FantasyPros. You can follow him on Twitter @bergey13.
