Daily Fantasy DraftKings and FanDuel NBA Picks - Friday, December 1, 2023

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Point Guard/ Shooting Guard

Jordan Goodwin FD - $4700 DK - $4800
Opponent - DEN
Proj Pts FD - 29.93 DK - 31.78

Though he’s officially listed as questionable right now, it looks like Devin Booker will sit out this game against Denver with an ankle injury. That should put Jordan Goodwin in the starting lineup as the point guard and give him a higher minutes floor. The Suns, already without Bradley Beal as well, are pretty desperate for guard play at this point, and Goodwin does fit that need to a degree. He’s coming pretty cheap and has been a solid per-minute fantasy contributor off the bench this season. He’s shooting 36% from beyond the arc and averages about 12 points and four assists per 30 minutes.

Jalen Suggs FD - $5900 DK - $6200
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 33.04 DK - 34.29M

The Magic walk back into a matchup with the Wizards on Friday, with Washington representing one of the better chances to score points in DFS. That’s because they rank second-to-last in defensive efficiency and third in pace. Fast and bad at D? We’ll take it. Jalen Suggs has a higher minutes floor right now as long as the games stay close with the Magic needing guard play since Markelle Fultz is on the shelf. The scoring can come and go for Suggs, but the price isn’t close to prohibitive, and he makes for a higher floor play here.

Derrick Rose (FD 4800 DK 4900) is in the Memphis Grizzlies starting lineup and with the new role is coming way too cheap on both sites. We could have some real point guard choices in this price range tonight though that’s a bit easier on DraftKings with the different position eligibility.

If Victor Wembanyama sits then I think we seriously consider playing Devin Vassell (FD 6500 DK 6500), Jeremy Sochan (FD 5600 DK 6100), and maybe even Tre Jones (FD 5700 DK 5200). Would have to see how the Spurs’ lineup shook out but removing a high-usage star from the mix does open a lot of things up.

Small Forward

Franz Wagner FD - $7700 DK - $7800
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 41.73 DK - 44.39

Paolo Banchero FD - $7800 DK - $8400
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 43.68 DK - 47.08

We had both of these guys as core plays the other night when they faced off against these very same Washington Wizards. It turned out great for one, and not so amazing for the other. Franz Wagner was awesome going for 31 points and six rebounds, taking 14 shots, making 11 and just generally getting into an efficient scoring rhythm. We can happily roster him again seeing as how the matchup is one of the best around.

And while Paolo Banchero struggled in that game, finishing with just six points on 2-6 shooting in his 27 minutes, I’m not too dissuaded from going back here again. That performance is much more like a blip than anything else. This is a guy averaging 19 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.6 assists on the season with a marked increase in his three-point shooting over his rookie year. Banchero is knocking down treys at a 43.6% clip and has big upside against a terrible defense.

Kyle Kuzma FD - $7900 DK - $8500
Opponent - ORL
Proj Pts FD - 42.18 DK - 46.18

I really can’t ever consider any of the Wizards guys safe, but Kyle Kuzma might be as close as it gets on that front. He’s played 35 minutes in three of the last five games and on the season is averaging 23.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 4.8 assists with fairly efficient 47/ 36/ 82 splits.

The price on FanDuel kind of makes things easier seeing as he’s not breaking the bank and does have a high enough floor. The one concern is the Magic totally blowout Washington and everyone’s minutes get cut. Might have to live with that risk.

Power Forward/ Center

Kevin Durant FD - $10200 DK - $9900
Opponent - DEN
Proj Pts FD - 51.27 DK - 55.17

Kevin Durant is having an amazing season and has really had to do almost everything for the Phoenix Suns as they deal with injuries to both Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. The minutes' load at 36.8 per game might be unsustainable considering he’s in his age-35 season, but the Suns have little choice at this point. Dude is averaging a career-high (yes, you read that correctly) 31.3 points on 52/ 49/ 90 shooting. It’s kind of unreal at this point, and though the matchup against Denver isn’t ideal, he should find a high usage in this one from start to finish.

Zach Collins FD - $6600 DK - $6800
Opponent - NO
Proj Pts FD - 34.38 DK - 37.68

Said this the other day and it didn’t come to fruition, but happy to throw it out here again. With the Spurs on the back-to-back, I don’t think Victor Wembanyama will suit up, and he already has the questionable tag on him. The rookie phenom has played every game this season so taking a night off should be in the cards.

If that was the case then we could immediately fire up Zach Collins in this matchup against the Pelicans. Collins sees bumps in his usage and rebounding rate with Wemby off the court, and the price wouldn’t reflect this bump in opportunity.

Goga Bitadze FD - $5500 DK - $5600
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 34.48 DK - 34.18

Goga Bitadze was a chalkier play the other night when these Magic faced off against the Wizards, and that could be the case once again. He underperformed thanks partly to the minutes getting cut at the back end of a blowout. And that could be the case again here with Orlando, a -11 favorite coming in. But it does seem like the plan is to play this dude minutes in the high 20s if everything breaks right. And on DraftKings especially, I think we can roll him at his current price point.