Daily Fantasy DraftKings and FanDuel NBA Picks - Thursday, December 15, 2022

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Point Guard/ Shooting Guard

CJ McCollum FD - $7500 DK - $7200
Opponent - UTA
Proj Pts FD - 38.77 DK - 41.55

It didn’t work out great for the Pelicans the other night against the Jazz when they were effectively blown out in Utah and the starters lost minutes in the fourth quarter. But I still think we can be on McCollum here with Brandon Ingram out of the lineup and the Pels now missing Jose Alvarado as well. CJ has struggled shooting in a bad way over the last couple of weeks, but that’s due for a regression and the price has dropped because the scoring hasn’t been there. But he’s simply too cheap for this kind of opportunity.

Chris Paul FD - $8200 DK - $8200
Opponent - LAC
Proj Pts FD - 41.27 DK - 43.96M

Landry Shamet FD - $4000 DK - $1000
Opponent - LAC
Proj Pts FD - 23.64 DK - 26.1M

The Suns come into this game even more shorthanded than before. They were already missing Devin Booker who is still on the shelf and now they will be without Cameron Payne coming off the bench in the backcourt as well. It’s turned into something of a mess for Phoenix who’ve lost five straight and are really struggling right now. This matchup isn’t the best on the slate against the Clippers, but the opportunity is just high enough for the Suns guards. Chris Paul has had his minutes pushed in the short-term even in games that have gotten out of hand and he took 17 shots last time out, though he struggled from the field. I’m fine going back here even with the price climbing.

And then there is Landry Shamet who started last game at the two guard and ended up playing 32 minutes in total. He took 13 shots, a welcome sign for the usage considering he really needs to score in order to hit value. The price is low enough and the minutes should be high enough to consider him as a punt play in cash especially with the Suns so very thin at guard right now.

With Jose Alvarado out, Dyson Daniels could see more minutes off the bench and is coming cheap on both sites.

Small Forward

Jimmy Butler FD - $9600 DK - $8700
Opponent - HOU
Proj Pts FD - 45.31 DK - 46.91

Tyler Herro FD - $7700 DK - $8000
Opponent - HOU
Proj Pts FD - 39.61 DK - 43.27

The Heat are on a back-to-back here which is a little concerning with the minutes for some of those who maxed out on Wednesday. One of them was Herro who played 40 minutes in the win over the Thunder. But even with Jimmy Butler back today, we can got back to Herro especially considering Bam Adebayo is likely out of the lineup and the Rockets offer one of the best matchups out there. Houston ranks 27th in defensive efficiency and 9th in pace. That’s a nice sweet spot on a shorter slate of games and Herro should see plenty of usage with the rebounding getting a likely tick up as well.

And then, of course, there’s Butler who is coming too cheap on DraftKings at $8700. He didn’t play the front end of the back-to-back but the usage should be on the high side for him with Bam out of the lineup. He’s taken 15 shots per game over the last five, averaging 24 points, seven rebounds, and 5.6 assists in that span with 1.8 blocks+steals to boot. I do think on DK he will garner some ownership at the lower price point.

Power Forward/ Center

Zion Williamson FD - $10200 DK - $9800
Opponent - UTA
Proj Pts FD - 49.74 DK - 51.82

Zion is definitely more of a FanDuel play than DraftKings on this slate, especially considering we need to roster two power forwards. He draws a great matchup against the Jazz who rank below-average in defense efficiency and run the fourth-fastest pace in the league. He’s coming off dropping 26 points, nine rebounds, and five assists on these guys in just 26 minutes two nights ago. And while we don’t really use previous games to model projections, it’s at least a good sign that he was able to dominate statistically even in the loss.

Brook Lopez FD - $6300 DK - $5800
Opponent - MEM
Proj Pts FD - 34.31 DK - 34.38

Though he hasn’t taken many shots over the last three games, I do think we can still consider Brook Lopez on both sites for the center position with the Bucks taking on the Grizzlies. Foul trouble and a blowout did him in last game and while the usage has been at its floor in the short-term, this is still a guy averaging three blocks a game over his last 10 games. He leads the league in that stat.

Jonas Valanciunas FD - $5700 DK - $5400
Opponent - UTA
Proj Pts FD - 29.79 DK - 32.99M

Foul trouble has done him so dirty this month, getting buzzed off minutes in three of his last five games because he can’t keep his hands to himself. That could be a feature and not a bug with Jonas who has struggled to stay on the court this season for a variety of reasons, some of them rotational. But man, he’s just coming so cheap on both sites and is a guy when the minutes are even in the mid-20s can easily pay these prices. It’s something of a risk, but I do think there’s some run bad in here that is effecting his game logs.

If Nikola Jovic (FD 3800 DK 3000) gets the start for Bam Adebayo I think you can consider him as a punt.