FanDuel NBA Daily Picks: Fantasy Basketball Lineup For November 20

Mason Plumlee has buoyed his value in FanDuel NBA play by unexpectedly becoming the primary facilitator in Portland.

The Portlad Trail Blazers’ way of manufacturing points is a bit backwards.

Portland is scoring 47.6 percent of its total points from the starting backcourt of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, but the primary facilitator has come from an unexpected place.

Center Mason Plumlee has surpassed Lillard as the team leader in assists, dishing out seven in each of the past two games, to increase his season average to 4.6 per game, equaling the amount of assists New York Knicks point guard Derrick Rose is posting this year.

No player at the center position is averaging more assists than Plumlee this season.

The recent influx of assists from Plumlee isn’t a fluke, as he has totaled five or more assists in six of his 14 appearances. Plumlee is generating 10.5 points per game off his passes, and Boston center Al Horford is the only other center producing over 10 points per game off his passing.

Plumlee is even finding creative ways to set up his teammates for easy looks.

The only other frontcourt player leading their team in assists per game is Golden State forward Draymond Green. Warriors forward Kevin Durant is the only player averaging over 4.0 assists per game while totaling less than the 38 passes Plumlee is doling out each night.

While Plumlee may not have the highest pass total, his teammates have capitalized any time he distributes the ball.

Nearly half of the passes made by Plumlee end up in the hands of Lillard, leading to 1.8 assists a game. Lillard, McCollum, Maurice Harkless and Meyers Leonard are all shooting over 50 percent from the field when being setup by Plumlee.

While the passing of Plumlee has been a pleasant surprise, his rebounding has slipped by 1.4 per game from a season ago.

After posting 15 double-doubles in 82 games, Plumlee didn’t post his first double-double this year until Friday night, as he finished with 13 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists against New Orleans.

Plumlee is starting to become a consistent factor off the glass, pulling down 8.8 rebounds a night over his last four games.

Only four players are averaging over 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and have blocked 10 or more shots this season: Green, Durant, Plumlee and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Plumlee carries a valuation of $5,300 in FanDuel NBA play for Sunday, placing him nearly $1,400 below the cost of an average player. Coming off a 35.9-point performance in FanDuel NBA tournament play, he is a bargain.

The seven assists from Plumlee matched a career-high, a feat he has achieved five times in his 248 career appearances and he could be in line for another huge assist performance Sunday against Brooklyn.