Daily Fantasy NBA Basketball Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - 12/18/16

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Point Guard

John Wall FD - $9900 DK - $9600
Opponent - LAC
Proj Pts FD - 46.29 DK - 49.32

John Wall has been great lately, and I look for him to keep it up against the Clippers. Chris Paul is definitely a good defender, but I don't think it will affect Wall too much. Wall has averaged a double double against  the Clippers over the past 3 years, averaging 14 points and 10 assists. He is far from reliant on scoring, and in this match up, the points will come organically. He is going to run the offense and likely play 35 minutes, so the one negative factor in Paul defense is not going to sway me. I think it will sway others though, and he could come in at a far lower ownership than where he should be. Wall has at least 45 fantasy points in his last 4, and I look for him to make it 5 here. He is a great play in both cash games and defense, especially at such a weak position tonight.

Austin Rivers FD - $3900 DK - $4100
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 19.34 DK - 20.78

Rivers has played 38 and 34 minutes over the last two, and it looks like Doc Rivers is finally trusting him enough to play him on a regular basis. Whether or not anyone rests, I think Rivers will get plenty of minutes. He has played the 1,2 and 3 this season, so the versatility is there. He put up a stinker against  the Heat, but they throw out a great defense and a very slow pace, which kills Rivers type of play. The Wizards love to run and overs should take advantage of that in transition. The Wizards are a team that have a lot of good individual defender, but still gives up a ton of points That is because of there fast pace and how many shots they allow the other team. Rivers is always more of a GPP play, but I don't mind him in cash either. As a note, watch out for one or more Clippers resting. Doc has been quoted recently saying he wants t give some guys a night off soon.

D.J. Augustin FD - $3800 DK - $3800
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 20.57 DK - 22.48

Augustin has been great off the bench, and has now been getting some healthy minutes. He appears to be the main scorer off the bench right now, so I don't see the Magic just benching him out of nowhere. He has always been a guy that produces hen he gets the minutes, as evident by his +1 FP per minute average dating back to 2013. He is also extremely cheap on both sites, and will help you pay up for some of the other studs that are worth grabbing. The Raptors, like the Clippers, have a good man to man defender, but the style of play lets point guards rack up fantasy points. Augustin should be in for a pretty good game here, though I do like him more in cash games. My most popular combo in tourneys will be Rivers and Wall, as I think both have a bunch of upside and are safe enough not to kill my lineup.

Shooting Guard

DeMar DeRozan FD - $8600 DK - $8200
Opponent - ORL
Proj Pts FD - 40 DK - 41.71

DeRozan had an amazing start to the season, and has now slowed down a little bit. Even though he isn't going off for 35 real life points every night, he is still one of the best combo guards in the league. He handles the ball a ton on offense, and has no problem throwing 22 shots up. The Magic are a very average defense, and DeRozan has the best match up of anyone. Fournier is a decent defender, but DeRozan is a lot stronger and should be able to bully him down low. The Magic have also given up the 4th most rebounds to shooting guards, so he could look to take advantage on the boards as well. He is a great way to go in both cash games and tourneys. His price is fair, and we have seen the upside plenty.

Nik Stauskas FD - $3600 DK - $3400
Opponent - BKN
Proj Pts FD - 9.97 DK - 11.06

This is a game I will be targeting a ton, and Vegas agrees as they gave given this game the highest over/under at 216. Both teams posses atrocious defenses, and have a lot of cheap guys that play a lot of minutes. Those cheap guys should be able to get a little bump in production, and at such great prices, it shouldn't be tough at all to reach value. Stauskas has been getting around 25 minutes per game, and has taken advantage. He has made shots, and his peripherals have surprised as well. If he gets the minutes tonight, he should be in for a very nice game.

Garrett Temple FD - $4200 DK - $4400
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 21.98 DK - 23.71

Rudy Gay is officially doubtful as I write this, so I am going to go ahead and act lie he is going to sit. If he somehow goes from doubtful to playing, I do lose a lot of interest in a guy like Temple. With Gay missing the last 3, Temple has played over 30 minutes in each. Though the Mavs play at a slow pace, they have a bad defensive efficiency and they shots they do allow are usually open. At low 4K on both sites, he is a lock for value if he plays 30 minutes. He is a great play in all formats if Gay is out. Vegas hasn't released a line yet for this one, but I expect it to be close. The over/under might not be too high, but I think the game stack is actually in play here. Both teas give up a lot of quality shots and if we get lucky with overtime, it could be a fun time.

Small Forward

Kawhi Leonard FD - $8300 DK - $8400
Opponent - NO
Proj Pts FD - 40.25 DK - 42.2

Leonard is as consistent as they get, and usually sits right around that 40-45 mark. Last time out against the Pelicans, the Spurs ended up blowing them out, which resulted in Leonard only getting 28 minutes and missing value. Hopefully that will keep people off, as 1 game really means nothing. This game could certainly get out of hand, and if Anthony Davis does miss the game, I am concerned. I expect him to play, and if he does, I wouldn't be surprised to see him single handedly keep it close. Even if it does get somewhat out of hand, Leonard should be able to reach value in a small amount of minutes. The Pelicans have no quality  perimeter defender, and even if Tyreke plays for 20 minutes, he is still recovering and will have no chance to stay with Kawhi.

Harrison Barnes FD - $6300 DK - $6300
Opponent - SAC
Proj Pts FD - 31.2 DK - 32.71

Barnes has officially established himself as the leader of this offense, especially with Dirk Nowitzki sidelined indefinitely. He has played 30 or more minutes in all of his last 10 games, and has reach value in 7 of them. If Gay is out like I assume, Barnes will get a few different guys thrown at him. He will Temple to start off, and should get some Matt Barnes after that. Temple is way too small and Barnes should be able to bully him. Matt Barnes could slow him down, but I think Barnes is too fast for him at this point in his career. There are a lot of off the board ways to go at SF, so I don't think he will be too high owned I do prefer him in cash games, as we haven't seen that crazy upside just yet.

Robert Covington FD - $5000 DK - $5600
Opponent - BKN
Proj Pts FD - 27.96 DK - 30.86

Covington will be another target of mine of the 76ers, who are facing the pitiful Nets defense. The Nets have by far the worst  defense in the league. If you are more of a football fan, think of the 49ers against the run. That is the Nets against the 3 ball.  They give up the most open 3's, and we know the upside Covington has when his shots are falling. He has drained 6 3's multiple times in his career, and his peripherals help with upside. He is fairly priced, and I don't think  his ownership will be too high. He is guaranteed to play 30 minutes here and should be in for a fun game with Bogan Bogdanovic following him around. I like Covington in all formats tonight, as I see no way that he dosn't hit value against the Nets on over 30 minutes. I am willing to go down with Covington tonight.

Power Forward

Anthony Davis FD - $11800 DK - $10800
Opponent - SA
Proj Pts FD - 52.81 DK - 54.65

Anthony Davis is Anthony Davis. If this was a slate with a lack of value, Davis wouldn't be here. He is questionable, and has a tough match up. With that being said, he has as much upside as anyone. Against the Spurs, Davis has actually been really good. In 15 career games, Davis has averaged a double double with 19 and 10. Since last season, he has played 8 games and averaged 23/12 and 3 blocks. I expect him to be really low owned tonight, and his upside is unquestioned. If you really love the cheap guys at other positions, I guess you could play Davis in cash, but I don't think it is optimal. In tournaments, go ahead and throw the guy with the highest upside out there. You will rarely get him at such a low ownership, especially on a short slate. The Spurs have actually been average against the PF, giving up 40 fantasy points per game.

Blake Griffin FD - $8700 DK - $8500
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 41.18 DK - 43.01

If you don't want to pay up for Davis, Griffin is a great way to go in all formats. He has the upside, and we all know it. He can put up 30 points and grab 10 rebounds any night, and the Wizards pace suggests this could be one of them. He is also very safe, as he has been over 30 fantasy points in all but 1 game over the last 3 weeks. Paul feeds him the ball, and with the sizable advantage over Markieff Morris, Paul should be able to get the ball to him in. The Wizards have given up the 8th most fantasy points pr game to the PF, and the 2nd most real life points.

Trevor Booker FD - $5800 DK - $5800
Opponent - PHI
Proj Pts FD - 28.36 DK - 29.86

We will be targeting more 76ers as they have a pace up game, but that is not possible for the Nets, so we have to settle for just  a slightly pace down game. Booker has been by far the most consistent option on offense, and I don't see that changing  against the 6ers. The 76ers have been slightly below average against the PF spot, and with Ilyasova playing more minutes,  those numbers should slowly decline. Booker definitely has off games once in a while, but even those off games won't kill you at his price. His upside is enormous at $5800 and I like him across the board. This game should stay close and he is the guy that will see big minutes.

Center

DeMarcus Cousins FD - $11200 DK - $10900
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 53.55 DK - 56.2

I currently have 80% exposure to Cousins, and I promise the only way it could go is up. Yes, the Mavs play really slow, but they are also really bad, and Cousins is really good. He is going to get the abysmal "defense" of Salah Mejri and Dwight Powell, who should easily slow down Cousins. not. One guy is insanely small and one is 7 foot 3 with the footwork of an elephant. Cousins is going to bully all of these guys around and I find it really hard not to plug him in almost everywhere I don't see too many paths to failure tonight for Cousins. He is a great play in all formats, though he will cost you a pretty penny. With all of the value at other positions, it should be no issue paying up for him.

Hassan Whiteside FD - $8900 DK - $8300
Opponent - BOS
Proj Pts FD - 45.54 DK - 47.33

Hassan Whiteside is somewhat tough to target, as he can sometimes disappear and sometimes look like the best player in basketball. Against the Celtics, the ladder seems more likely. They are a bottom 3 rebounding team, and that is no fluke. They came into the year fearing just this, and it has been fulfilled. Whiteside has averaged 15/11/3 against the Celtics, and while that won't get him to value, he was in worse spots when those games took place. Sandwiched in-between Cousins and Embiid, I could see Whiteside going overlooked, but I think he will be around a healthy 20% ownership around the industry. He is a good play in cash games and tournament, but I will only have him in tournaments as Cousins will be the only guy I use in cash games.

Joel Embiid FD - $6800 DK - $7200
Opponent - BKN
Proj Pts FD - 37.9 DK - 39.86

Embiid had his worst game of the season last time out, and still finessed his way to 23 fantasy points He had 0 rebounds in 19 minutes, and still figured out a way to not destroy you. Hopefully that "bad game" will keep some people off him, as I would love to get that upside under 10% in tournaments. I think Cousins and Whiteside will be super highly owned, and rightfully so, but you never know. If you think you can get him at a great ownership rate, he is definitely worth a shot in tournaments. I like him in cash games as well, but don't think it is necessary with value at other positions that let you easily pay up for Boogie or Whiteside.

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