Daily Fantasy DraftKings and FanDuel NBA Picks - Tuesday, December 20, 2022

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Point Guard/ Shooting Guard

Jalen Brunson FD - $7800 DK - $7200
Opponent - GS
Proj Pts FD - 39.48 DK - 42.27

The Knicks are on an upward trajectory here, having won their last seven games and moving into the East’s sixth spot. Part of that has been the play of Brunson who has 30 points in two of the last three games with minutes trending into the upper-30s. The Knicks had played a bunch of weird blowout games that had limited his run in recent weeks, but that doesn’t look like the plan for this team. Brunson is a value on both sites, but especially on DraftKings if this game stays close.

Jordan Poole FD - $8300 DK - $8100
Opponent - NY
Proj Pts FD - 39.79 DK - 44.33

Klay Thompson FD - $7300 DK - $6600
Opponent - NY
Proj Pts FD - 35.11 DK - 38.93

When you lose Stephen Curry from your team, there is going to be a lot of usage to go around for everyone that remains. And that’s obviously the case with the Warriors here. With Curry off the court this season, Jordan Poole has led the way with a 34.6% usage rate, taking 20+ shots in each of the last three games. He dropped 43 against Toronto on Sunday and the price really hasn’t caught all the way up for how Golden State is using him now.

Klay Thompson on the other hand actually has seen a usage decrease this year with Steph off the court, possibly a byproduct of teams being able to key in more on the other shooters when Curry isn’t around. But I still think the minutes' floor is high enough here with what GSW needs on offense and his price on DraftKings doesn’t reflect that he should run about 35 in a close game.

Malik Beasley FD - $5300 DK - $5500
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 29.11 DK - 32.42

It looks like Mike Conley could sit today on the second half of the back-to-back with Utah playing Monday evening. Collin Sexton is also on the shelf and that could put Malik Beasley into the starting role at the two-guard. At worst, he’s in line for more minutes here with the Jazz dealing with a few injury issues. Beasley’s been good for double-digit shot attempts even in a bench role for some time now and on a per-minute basis, his fantasy production has been solid. If there’s a role increase in this game then he would make for an excellent cash game play in a great matchup against the Pistons.

Small Forward

Lauri Markkanen FD - $7800 DK - $8000
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 40.9 DK - 44.51

Markkanen’s fantasy production has dropped off some recently, somewhat to be expected with Mike Conley getting back into the mix. But Conley could sit here and the Jazz draw one of the best matchups in DFS basketball right now. While Detroit runs only an average pace, they rank second-to-last in defensive efficiency and can’t really stop anyone on that end. In closer games, Markkanen is going to run minutes in the mid-30s and double-double potential is on the board if the rebounds can round back into shape. The price has dropped a bit for him in the short term which makes a perfect time to roster him in on a shorter slate.

Bojan Bogdanovic FD - $6100 DK - $6400
Opponent - UTA
Proj Pts FD - 32.63 DK - 36.51

Utah has been a nice story this season with their record, but they still make a good matchup to target opponents against. They are a top-10 team in pace and play the 25th-ranked defensive efficiency. Bojan is the Piston’s primary option on offense, averaging more than 16 shots per game over the last five and putting up 24 points a game over the last month. The DFS impact is very scoring-dependent, which makes things a bit risky seeing as how the rebounds and assists really aren’t there for him. But that’s reflected in the middle-tier pricing as well.

Power Forward/ Center

Deandre Ayton FD - $8000 DK - $7600
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 41.45 DK - 44.1

I like DeAndre Ayton a bit more if Devin Booker were to sit again on this slate especially because we saw much of the offense running through the big man against the Lakers on Monday evening. But either way, I think we can safely run him here against a Wizards team that lacks much on the interior to offer any resistance. It would be nice if Ayton did a bit more on the defensive side of the box score, but still think he’s a value here.

Draymond Green FD - $6500 DK - $5900
Opponent - NY
Proj Pts FD - 33.53 DK - 35.35

It can be an up-and-down experience rostering Draymond Green on any given night, but he’s priced in such a way that if the minutes are going to be in the mid-30s then the floor should be high enough. That’s because while he doesn’t score much, he contributes just about everything else in the box score. Over the last month or so he’s averaging just seven points, but there are also 6.4 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.2 blocks+steals. That’s enough to get it done, especially at a weaker power forward position.

Walker Kessler FD - $5500 DK - $5000
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 36.93 DK - 35.99

This play is contingent on Kelly Olynyk sitting out again on Tuesday. Walker Kessler got the start on Monday and could again here in this game. The minutes should be in the mid-20s if that’s the case and would have likely been more last game had foul trouble not bit him. He’s a double-double candidate if given enough run and has been an absolute block machine, averaging 2.4 swats per 22 minutes over the course of December. Few other players have that kind of defensive upside.