Daily Fantasy NBA Basketball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and DraftPot - 12/3/15

Typically Thursday's are shorter affairs, but today we've got a six game slate with a bunch of superstars. Should be a fun one to sweat. For today's picks, CD Hill jumped in and wrote up a bunch of guys.

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POINT GUARD

Kyle Lowry - FD 8500 DK 8500
Opponent - DEN FD Proj. Pts - 40.2 DK Proj. Pts - 42.71
There's a lot to like about Kyle Lowry's overall game. He is currently averaging 20.7 points per game, 2.9 three-pointers per game, 6.2 assists per game and 4.8 rebounds per game, while shooting almost 90% from the line (88%). Now, he may not have a Usage ranking that's in the top 20 (ranks 25th with 26.3, tied with Zach LaVine) and his team's Pace Factor is one of the worst in the league (97), but he faces a Denver team next that ranks as the third worst team in the league on FanDuel and is the fourth worst team in the league on DraftKings in fantasy points allowed against opponents' point guards (44.4 on FanDuel and 53.9 on DraftKings). The pluses highly outweigh the minuses here.

Isaiah Thomas - FD 7300 DK 7500
Opponent - SAC FD Proj. Pts - 35.15 DK Proj. Pts - 37.56
Isaiah Thomas' team has the fifth best Pace Factor in the league right now (102.4) and you really have to consider the fact that he is one of the only (if not the only) point guards in all of DFS that scores as much as he does with regularity (20.8 points per game) and who comes in at a price tag in the $7,500 and under range. His scoring ability should play a huge role in his matchup against the Kings next, because Sacramento ranks as the eighth worst team in the league (in both FanDuel and DraftKings) in fantasy points allowed against opponents' point guards.

Tony Parker - FD 5500 DK 5300
Opponent - MEM FD Proj. Pts - 26.63 DK Proj. Pts - 27.38
In this spot, you're clearly going with Tony Parker for two primary reasons. The price and decent chance of him putting up at least 30 fantasy points. His matchup (the Memphis Grizzlies) may not be the most ideal, but they are ranked, roughly, in the middle of the pack in the league in terms of how many points they give up on average when facing opponents' point guards. Consider this selection a semi-steal cheap buy.

SHOOTING GUARD

Avery Bradley - FD 6000 DK 6500
Opponent - SAC FD Proj. Pts - 26.71 DK Proj. Pts - 28.71
He's been jacking up about six three pointers a game since joining the starting lineup for the Celtics and I suspect that kind of volume to continue tonight. The Kings are in the bottom third of the league in defending against the opposing shooting guard and Bradley's minutes are locked in. Bradley will add some defensive stats here and there, but by and large he's a scorer. The shot has to fall in order for him to hit value. That's built into his price and this is a fine cash game play.

Rodney Hood - FD 4800 DK 4900
Opponent - ORL FD Proj. Pts - 20.47 DK Proj. Pts - 22.21
He's had the run of late and that'll do at these prices. I'm also encouraged by the double digit shot attempts in each of the last two games. He won't see that kind of volume every night, but it's an encouraging sign for the guy. Orlando's actually a solid defensive team and they play at one of the slower paces in the league which also concerns me when picking an opponent. But Hood hasn't seen the price climb enough with the opportunity. Shooting guard is no great shakes, so going cheap isn't the worst thing in the world.

Strongly consider Gerald Green if Luol Deng were to sit again.

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SMALL FORWARD

Kevin Durant - FD 10500 DK 10100
Opponent - MIA FD Proj. Pts - 46.03 DK Proj. Pts - 48.62
Kevin Durant's been just about everything his DFS owners could expect and have asked for since his return from a hamstring injury. He's averaged the following numbers in his past four contests: 29 points, 3.5 three-pointers, 2.8 blocks, 7.8 rebounds and 4 assists. He has a high floor most nights because of the usage though the pace from Miami does worry me some. That being said, Durant seems to be just starting to hit his stride, so a standout game from him could be in the cards.  His price tag is more than worth it at this spot.

Rudy Gay - FD 7100 DK 7000
Opponent - BOS FD Proj. Pts - 33.76 DK Proj. Pts - 35.2
Rudy Gay faces a Boston team next that ranks 5th (DraftKings: 42.2) and 6th worst (FanDuel: 36.6) in the league in fantasy points allowed against opponents' small forwards. Gay and the Kings are also the second highest ranked team in the league in Pace Factor (102.1). Also worth noting, Gay comes in at a relatively cheap price for someone who can post 40+ fantasy points every now and then. It's not unrealistic to think he could do just that in this matchup.

Jae Crowder - FD 5000 DK 5600
Opponent - SAC FD Proj. Pts - 23.32 DK Proj. Pts - 24.72
Jae Crowder is another one of those cheap buys with relatively high upside. He faces a Kings team next that can't seem to hold down small forwards very well in terms of the amount of fantasy points they let up on average since the start of the season. They give up an average of 37.5 fantasy points per game on FanDuel, third worst in the league, and 43.4 fantasy points per game on DraftKings, fourth worst in the league. You shouldn't expect at least 30 fantasy points out of Crowder, but mid-to-high 20s from him is a reasonable expectation.

POWER FORWARD

Derrick Favors - FD 8000 DK 7200
Opponent - ORL FD Proj. Pts - 33.48 DK Proj. Pts - 33.91
It's going to be pretty clear now with Utah starting center Rudy Gobert out for an unspecified amount of time with an MCL injury that Derrick Favors is going to be asked to pick up the slack for his team on both the offensive and defensive ends on the floor. Expecting Favors to add in, at the very least, a few more points and rebounds on average shouldn't be a crazy thing to look for from him at this point. 20 and 10 kind of numbers is very possible now and the likelihood that he could surprise and have a few 30 and 15 kind of nights ahead is also a real possibility. He's definitely worth giving a shot here, especially considering the price he's going for right now and the $8,500-$9000 type of value you might get out of him.

Jared Sullinger - FD 6100 DK 6400
Opponent - SAC FD Proj. Pts - 29.88 DK Proj. Pts - 31.41
Jared Sullinger is one of those players that is still priced just barely over the $6,000 mark yet still scores fantasy points like a player who should be priced a bit higher than that. You need to take advantage of that fact and find a spot for him on your squad, because his matchup next is a favorable one in the sense that he faces a team (Sacramento) that has struggled to keep small forwards' fantasy points per game averages down (third worst in the league with 44.6 in FanDuel and fourth worst in the league in DraftKings with 50).

Trevor Booker - FD 4000 DK 4000
Opponent - ORL FD Proj. Pts - 11.18 DK Proj. Pts - 11.63
Trevor Booker comes in at a rock bottom price right now and the best part is that he should see a bump in minutes now with team's starting center Rudy Gobert out indefinitely with an MLC sprain. He has already shown earlier this week what he can do with major minutes when he's truly feeling it on both sides of the floor (especially defensively) putting up 13 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks, three assists and three steals in 38 minutes played on Saturday, November 28, 2015. He has potential to be the top cheap buy in all of DFS right now.

CENTER

DeMarcus Cousins - FD 10600 DK 10600
Opponent - BOS FD Proj. Pts - 51.32 DK Proj. Pts - 51.96
He's probably the best big money play on the board tonight and I'll have him in almost if not all lineups. If you consider him as playing the four, then the Celtics are one of the worst teams in the league at defending the position. They've been better against centers I suppose, but either way Boogie could be in line for a monster game. The Celtics push the pace which will help the Kings' overall volume. In the right kind of game, Cousins will play monster minutes and he's obviously the focal point of the offense when on the court. He's jacking up a bunch of threes this season (for better or worse) and should be able to stretch the Celtics. The price isn't quite high enough on him and I'm not so interested in fading him on a mini (ish) slate.

Bismack Biyombo - FD 3900 DK 4900
Opponent - DEN FD Proj. Pts - 26.52 DK Proj. Pts - 27.09
Nikola Jokic - FD 4000 DK 4500
Opponent - TOR FD Proj. Pts - 18.41 DK Proj. Pts - 18.99
If you're on a Boogie fade then these are the cheaper ways to go. Again, I'm not positive that's a great idea in 50/50 type games considering some of the other big money players have tough matchups, but both Biyombo and Jokic (facing each other mind you) have okay floors relative to price. Biyombo's minutes are a bit more set though he has almost no offensive upside, relying rebounds and blocks. Jokic is more adept in the post, but the Nuggets pass that run around to a bunch of big men leaving him on the bench for long stretches. Again, Cousins is the clear play, but on DK where he's a PF, you can go cheap with either of these two guys.

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