NBA DFS: Kemba Walker and best/worst DraftKings daily fantasy basketball plays for Thursday, Nov. 7th

Welcome to your daily NBA DFS digest at FakeTeams, gents. Every day I’m here with a handful of pro-tips to roster a winning team just a few hours from now.

You might be new to fantasy hoops, so let me tell you this: the world doesn’t end in LeBron James. Each night gives us a pretty good batch of surprising performances and leaves us in the dust with more than a few upsetting outings by those we played. First world problems, carry on. That’s the beauty of this game. There are so many matches going on every single day and such a big roster available that you can’t fixate yourself in the very same player on and on but instead you need to keep things fluid.

So read on, take note, play cool, and win the day. (Player salaries pulled from DraftKings.)

Love: (PG) Kemba Walker, BOS ($9300, at CHA)

I’m glad Boston finally met Kemba Walker, the sweet talker, the rim rocker. It took him what, one game? Two at most? No matter what, Kemba is already on a roll and it doesn’t look like it is about to stop. Walker has lit nets up to the tune of 25-plus points performances in his last four games, he’s snatched five boards and dished three or more assists in all of those four. Defensive numbers, you say? He’s got six steals and four blocks in six games, and he ain’t messing with foul trouble at all. The Celtics have finally given him the reins (32.4% usage or more in his last three games) and onlyDamian Lillard (1.40) is averaging more DKFP per minute in today’s slate (Kemba’s at 1.22).

Love: (SG) Devin Booker, PHO ($8400, vs MIA)

If you missed out, we confirmed it on Monday: Booker always brings the pressure cooker. Devin put on a show against Philly and although Phoenix went home carrying the L Booker made a great 40-burger. He sprinkled in a little bit of extra-effort with four boards, three assists, and a block, and was deadly from the floor with a massive 78.9% success on a 34.5 usage rate. This is no outlier in Booker’s cooking menu, mind you. He’s averaging 26.1 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and 5 APG so far this year, and he’s trying there with his 0.8 stocks per night. Best of all, though, are his shooting splits of 53.5/50/90.3 on a pretty palatable 18.1 attempts from the floor and 4.4 free throws. Miami isn’t the best of matchups overall but who is going to stop Book tonight?

Love: (SF) Jimmy Butler, MIA ($7200, at PHO)

You know this thing called buffet in which we can go and eat anything you want but you never know what to eat because there are so many options available that you get blocked and you end eating a little bit of everything because you feel bad leaving something out? That is also called Jimmy Butler, and I’m here for all of it. I don’t think there has been a player to put a more beautiful line than Butler’s 5-9-11-6-3 against Atlanta in his second game. This man is averaging 15 points, seven boards, 6.5 dimes and 3.8 (!) steals to go with a block. Is there anything Jimmy can’t do? Perhaps shooting efficiently, as his averages have been a little bit ugly (35.4/23.1/71.9) but given his contributions all around the board he has made up for it nicely. And hell, that will positively regress sooner than you’ll notice.

Love: (PF) Montrezl Harrell, LAC ($6200, vs POR)

Man, Kawhi Leonard is a headache. I mean, the NBA sent a guy to tell us he’s not breaking this whole “load-management” thing with the Clippers resting him each couple of days. He was out against the Bucks, so he should be back today, but who really knows the terms Board Man truly operates with? Forget about him and play Trez if you want him to blow your head. Sure, Harrell is playing under 30 minutes per game, but he’s averaging the same points (21.1) as Jayson Tatum, more rebounds (6.8) than LaMarcus Aldridge, more assists (2.4) than those two and 1.4 stocks through eight games. Trez is nil from three because he doesn’t even try but he’s shooting 68% from the floor on 12.1 attempts, which isn’t bad a tall. His 1.19 DKFP per minute on the court are the second-highest mark among eligible players today, only behind—you guessed it—Kawhi.

Love: (C) Aron Baynes, C ($5800, vs MIA)

Love: (C) Hassan Whiteside, C ($6400, at LAC)

I just couldn’t choose between these two, for real. Both guys are floating around 25 minutes per game. They are averaging 31.29 and 33.58 DKFP per game, and an almost exact 1.28 and 1.30 DKPF per minute played. Call Baynes Brains. Since flipping teams he’s scoring 15 PPG, snatching 5.9 rebounds, dishing 3.6 assists and putting up 1.4 stocks, so yes, he’s gaming the game. Oh, and he’s on the hot run shooting 58.7% from the field and 48.4% (!) from beyond the arc on 4.4 (!!) 3PA per game. But Hassan is the man. He’s one of only 10 players averaging a dub-dub with at least six games played, and he’s doing it in a silly-low 25.9 minutes. He doesn’t provide assists but knows how to block a shot (1.3 BPG) and is shooting a great 68% on 8.8 FGA. Play whoever you like the most, both will give you points today.

If you have any comment or question about the daily column, tonight’s games, players involved in them, or even season-long fantasy NBA topics, just drop it below or reach out to me on Twitter at @chapulana and I’ll get back to you as soon as I grab a keyboard!