NBA DFS Picks: FanDuel Lineup Plays and Strategy for Saturday, November 9

NBA DFS Picks: FanDuel Lineup Plays and Strategy for Saturday, November 9

This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.

The NBA's rollercoaster week persists with Saturday's main slate, with a three-game ledger following Friday's massive 13-game schedule. We do have a light injury report, however, which helps keep the already narrow player pool from getting even smaller.

Slate Overview

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Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Saturday, 11/9 @11:00 a.m. ET:    

Brooklyn Nets at Cleveland Cavaliers (-13) (O/U: 221.5)
Chicago Bulls at Atlanta Hawks (-3) (O/U: 237.5)
Toronto Raptors (-6) at Los Angeles Clippers (O/U: 225.0)

We have a mixed bag from a betting perspective when it comes to our three games Saturday. Both the spreads and projected totals are at different points on the spectrum in terms of what we'd ideally like to see, and the Bulls-hawks game certainly looks like the gem of the night on paper in terms of a combination of competitiveness and projected scoring.

Injury Situations to Monitor   

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

Immanuel Quickley, TOR (pelvis): QUESTIONABLE

If Quickley is able to make his return Saturday, Davion Mitchell will revert to a smaller role.

Zach LaVine, CHI (thigh): QUESTIONABLE

If LaVine remains out Saturday, Ayo Dosunmu should remain in the starting five.

Other notable injuries:

Kawhi Leonard, LAC (knee): OUT
De'Andre Hunter, ATL (knee): OUT
Kelly Olynyk, TOR (back): OUT
Bogdan Bogdanovic, ATL (hamstring): OUT
Lonzo Ball, CHI (wrist): OUT

Elite Players

We have two players with salaries above $9K on Saturday's slate: James Harden ($9,600) and Trae Young ($9,500)

Saturday is one of the rare instances where there isn't a player with a five-figure salary in the pool, but both Harden and Young are certainly capable of delivering returns worthy of that type of investment. The Beard, as expected, has gone back to a much more high-usage role reminiscent of his Rockets days and is averaging 47.3 FD points per game. However, he's been at 42.6 or less in the last three games, but he draws an appealing matchup against the Raptors.

Young is going to be a central figure in the game with the narrowest spread and highest projected total of the night, and he checks in averaging 47.1 FD points per contest after putting up 49.2 and 59.9 FD points in his last two games. The latter total came Friday night over a robust 41 minutes, however, and Young will be playing on his third game in four nights Saturday.

Expected Chalk

Other likely chalk plays include:

Jalen Johnson, ATL ($8,800)

Johnson has been an excellent complementary source of production alongside Young this season and is averaging an impressive 42.3 FD points per contest. 

Donovan Mitchell, CLE ($8,300)

Mitchell's production has been down, as he's scored under 30 FD points in three of his last five games. However, he should remain popular on such a small slate, especially since the struggles have led to a notable salary decrease.

RJ Barrett, Raptors ($8,200)

Barrett has been excellent since making his delayed season debut, and he recently had a three-game stretch where he scored 50.8 to 53 FD points.

Nikola Vucevic, CHI ($8,000)

Vucevic's salary continues to be a bargain considering he has two games with over 50 FD points in his last four.

Jarrett Allen, CLE ($7,600)

Allen is averaging 37.8 FD points per game and has already been over 44 FD points on three occasions, which should help keep him very popular at his salary on a slate where centers are at a premium.

Key Values  

Norman Powell, LAC vs. TOR ($6,300)

One of the Clippers' main sources of offense besides Harden has been Powell, who checks into Saturday fresh off his first career double-double against the Kings on Friday. That performance netted 48.4 FD points, his third over 40 already this season. Powell is averaging 35.3 FD points per game overall and shooting a career-best 51.6 percent, including 49.4 percent from behind the arc. His old Raptors squad makes for a good matchup, as they're allowing 41.6 FD points per game to two-guards, along with the sixth-highest offensive efficiency rating (25.0) to the position.

Dyson Daniels, ATL vs. CHI ($5,600)

Daniels is enjoying a career-best season as he takes over for the departed Dejounte Murray, with the third-year guard averaging a career-high 12.4 points and 4.0 rebounds. Daniels is coming off having scored a career-high 49.6 FD points against the Pistons on Friday, his second tally over 40 already this season. Daniels' efficiency still has room for improvement, but he'll be a key complementary figure in the game with the highest projected total of the night and faces a Bulls squad allowing the fourth-highest offensive efficiency rating (25.2) and third-most FD points per game (47.4) to shooting guards, as well as 39.8 percent three-point shooting to the position. 

Clint Capela, ATL vs. CHI ($5,100) 

Sticking with the Hawks-Bulls matchup, Capela's salary makes the veteran very worthy of consideration despite some of his struggles with consistency this season. The big man has been better recently anyhow, scoring 25.7 and 22.4 FD points in his last two games after bottoming out at 8.5 FD points three games ago against the Celtics. Capela is still capable of a double-double on occasion with enough minutes, and the Bulls come in surrendering the fourth-most blocks per game to centers (2.8) and a co-league-high 58.2 points in the paint per game, while 87.5 percent of Capela's scoring emanates from that part of the floor.

ALSO CONSIDER: Gradey Dick, TOR at LAC ($6,000)

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.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juan Carlos Blanco
Winner of the FSWA 2016 Newcomer of the Year Award, Juan Carlos Blanco has been playing fantasy sports for over 20 years and covers NBA, MLB, NFL, CFL and Arena Football for Rotowire.com, including serving as the beat writer for teams in multiple sports. He has previously written for KFFL.com and remains an avid season-long and daily fantasy player in multiple sports as well.
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