Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) dribbles the ball during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019, in Washington. The Wizards won 119-113. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
After a big slate on Monday, we're rewarded with a much smaller three-game slate here. That Monday slate was absolute chaos too, with the San Antonio-New Orleans game being postponed at about 8ET. That's a nightmare for DFS managers and the Clippers are dealing with some COVID issues of their own right now. That means a lot of guys from that game are going to make it into this article, so, let's go ahead and get into it!
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Opponent - ATL
Proj Pts FD - 28.73 DK - 30.14
Opponent - ATL
Proj Pts FD - 24.96 DK - 25.82
The Clippers had a bombshell dropped on them Monday night when Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Patrick Beverley were all ruled out for the next week. That's a ton of minutes, usage, and ball-handling off the roster, leaving these two guys to feast. Let's start off by talking about Reggie, who's likely to start at point guard. In his only start earlier this season filling in for Beverley, R-Jax had 24 DK points across 18 minutes in what was a monster blowout. That means he easily could have had 30-40 fantasy points in a closer game and Jackson should see at least 30 minutes here.
He's not the only guard we love for the Clippers though, with Williams likely seeing a huge bump too. Jackson has a 24 percent usage rate with those three guys off the floor but Williams' usage is just shy of 30 percent. That bump is huge for a struggling guy like Lou and one has to believe he'll see a major increase in shots, minutes, and usage as well. We're talking about one of the greatest Sixth-Men in NBA history and he's simply getting way too much usage at this price to avoid him here.
Opponent - HOU
Proj Pts FD - 23.22 DK - 23.98
There are some great big-name players on this slate, so, getting a guy like Robinson in there could be huge to build a lineup. Washington has had their fair share of COVID incidents and it's forcing Robinson into a career role. In the last two games for this diminished roster, J-Rob is averaging 27 DK points per game in 29 minutes a night. That's an astounding total from a player barely cracking a minimum price and we haven't discussed this matchup. Not only does Houston rank 18th in total defense, they also own a 28th OPRK against opposing point guards this year.
Don't forget about John Wall facing the worst defense in the NBA. They're not just the worst defense, it's also Wall's former team!
Opponent - HOU
Proj Pts FD - 63.82 DK - 65.36
This might be hard for some people to believe but Beal has been one of the three best players in fantasy basketball this season. In fact, BB has at least 40 DraftKings points in all 12 games this season, averaging an absurd 52.2 DK points per game. That 40-point floor is simply stupendous and it makes him impossible to fade on a three-game slate. That also means that these price tags are about $1,000 too cheap on both sites and it's a wonder why he's not an $11,000 player. The matchup is the icing on the cake though, with the Rockets surrendering the third-most fantasy points to opposing shooting guards.
Opponent - UTA
Proj Pts FD - 29.24 DK - 29.53
Burks has always been one of my favorite bench players in the league and people always seem to sleep on him. Health has been a major reason why but he's clearly at 100 percent right now. In his six games this season, Burks is averaging 29 DraftKings points per game in 28 minutes a night. What adds to his intrigue here is the fact that Reggie Bullock is currently sidelined, opening up the starting SG job for Burks. That means more minutes and shots are headed Burks' way which is all you can hope for from such a productive player. The price is the best part of this play though, as he should be a $6K player on both sites.
If you have the salary, Donovan Mitchell is obviously a great pick.
Opponent - ATL
Proj Pts FD - 27.7 DK - 27.82
Batum has quietly had a really nice bounceback season for the Clippers and it's very possible that he might be the focal point of the offense here. He's actually been the third-best player outside of Kawhi and PG-13, averaging 24 DraftKings points per game. Much like past seasons, Batum has been stuffing the stat sheet at ease and it's scary to think how much he'll be asked to do here with so many guys missing. George, Beverley, and Kawhi make up for about half of the teams scoring and usage which makes Batum one of the easiest picks out there. The matchup is spectacular too, with Atlanta owning a 27th OPRK against opposing small forwards so far this year.
Opponent - HOU
Proj Pts FD - 29.9 DK - 29.95
Mathews has established himself as the Wizards sixth man and that alone makes him a good option with the lack of depth on this roster right now. With so many guys missing, Mathews has at least 21 DraftKings points in three-straight fixtures while playing a season-high 35 minutes on Monday. Anybody playing 35 minutes around $4K is definitely in play, particularly when they're in a tasty matchup like this. In fact, Houston ranks 18th in total defense this year and they love to play small-ball, opening up even more time for Mathews to fire up shots.
Bojan Bogdanovic flirted with a triple-double in his most recent game and remains too cheap.
Opponent - LAC
Proj Pts FD - 40.31 DK - 40.93
Collins has been a disappointment for fantasy owners this season but we all know how talented he can be. He showed just that on Monday, dropping 46 DraftKings points in 37 minutes of action. He's actually done that twice in the last three games and it's clear that Atlanta is privy to the fact that he needs more usage. Some of the injuries are really opening things up too, with Trae Young, Danilo Gallinari, Cam Reddish and Clint Capela entering this matchup with questionable tags. As long as two of those guys sit, Collins should continue to get the usage bump we've seen over the last week. We also don't mind that he faces a weak Clippers frontcourt with half their players missing.
Opponent - ATL
Proj Pts FD - 26.61 DK - 26.92
Ibaka is the final piece of our Clippers stack and it's possible he's the best play of the bunch. We say that because his usage has been crippled by Kawhi and PG13. If we can just bump his usage by 10 percent while doubling his scoring and rebounding, Ibaka should return to the 20-10 guy we used to love. While it's a crazy small sample size, Ibaka is averaging 1.9 DK points per minute with both of those guys off the floor, proving how valuable he is with them out. We love this matchup too, with Atlanta surrendering the second-most fantasy points to opposing PFs this season.
Marcus Morris is also looking at a usage increase with all of these Clippers out.
Opponent - NY
Proj Pts FD - 39.7 DK - 39.24
The center selections are lacking on this slate but there may be no better bet for 30 fantasy points than Rudy. We say that because he's double-doubled in five-straight games, scoring at least 29 DK points in all but one game this season. His consistency has been even more impressive recently, scoring at least 34 DraftKings points in 10 of his last 11 games. He's done that damage without scoring a whole lot and it's scary to think how good he could be if he falls into 20 points through putbacks and lobs. We believe a handful of those are likely here against the slowest pace team in the NBA, allowing Gobert to feast in the paint even more.
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 36.65 DK - 38.91
Cousins has seen a major price increase over the last few days and rightfully so. With Christian Wood unlikely to play here, Cousins should get another start at center, making him a premier play. We say that because he had 58.3 DK points on Saturday in a start for Wood, setting season-highs across the board. This is a dude who's destroyed in the small minutes he's been given this season too, averaging 1.5 DK points per minute. If he plays the 32 minutes he's averaged over the last two games, we could be looking at another 50-spot at that rate. All of that doesn't even take into consideration that he faces the worst defense in the NBA here, who happens to also play at the fastest pace in the league too.
Robin Lopez should continue to start for Thomas Bryant and that makes him a solid value below $5,000.
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