Daily Fantasy NBA Basketball Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - 12/24/16

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Point Guard

Russell Westbrook FD - $12600 DK - $12500
Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 61.3 DK - 65.3

Russell Westbrook. I know we all know that, but wow. He is an unstoppable force, and we have never seen a season like this, ever. He is still averaging a triple double, and went for 45/11/11 last time out against the Celtics. The Timberwolves have been an average defense this year, but have picked up there pace lately. I think Ricky Rubio will get destroyed earlier, and then LaVine or Wiggins could try to stop him as well. We have seen it a ton of times this year, and Westbrook has continually dominated. Over his last 10, he has topped 60 in 6 games and topped 70 twice. There is value on this slate, so I think you can get Westbrook and his hefty price tag in your cash games. He is also a really interesting option in tournaments, as I don't think he will be more than 30% owned, which is rare. Make sure you get exposure to Russell Westbrook if you want to have a Merry Christmas!

Chris Paul FD - $9600 DK - $9300
Opponent - LAL
Proj Pts FD - 46.6 DK - 49.26

If you want to pay down a little bit for a guy that is extremely safe, Chris Paul is a good way to go. He took a day off due to hurting his hamstring against the Mavs, so make sure you keep an eye on that. As I write this, he is listed as questionable but has not had an opportunity to practice yet. If he does end up playing, he is going to be a nightmare for the Lakers. With Blake Griffin out for at least a few weeks, Paul is going to have to step up. If we look back to last year when Blake Griffin was out, Paul had his numbers spike across the board, and was a fantasy gem for about a month. I'm looking at him the same way here, and would not flinch to play him if he is active. He is a supreme cash game play, and could easily put up 60, which is plenty of upside for tournaments at this price.

Rajon Rondo FD - $5400 DK - $5700
Opponent - SA
Proj Pts FD - 29.32 DK - 31.45

The Spurs do have a really good defense, but have not been AS GOOD as years past. They have been league average against point guards, giving up 42 fantasy points per game. I actually hope Tony Parker plays, as he is just a horrible defender at this point in his career. Rondo looks really comfortable in Chicago, and has flashed his upside already a few times. His box score makes him seem inconsistent, but I think his ability to fill the stat sheet makes him much safer than he appears. At just $5.4k and $5.7k, he only needs about 23 to get us where we need to be. I don't expect that to be too difficult for Rondo, who has done surpassed 23 in 5 of his last 7. He can be played in all formats, but I do prefer him in tournaments.

Shooting Guard

Klay Thompson FD - $6200 DK - $6500
Opponent - CLE
Proj Pts FD - 30.84 DK - 33.57

Thompson had a putrid start to the season, but has since been utilized  a lot more as the season has progressed.  He is now seeing a healthy amount of shots per game, and is also seeing plenty of minutes. With J.R. Smith out, Richard Jefferson and Iman Shumpert have been getting more run. I really don't worry about how the good the defender is on Thompson, because most of his shots come off of crazy ball movement and off-ball screens. He will very rarely have the same guy on him that started the play. This game has the highest over/under on this slate, and should be an insanely fun game to watch. I will do my best to get a bunch of exposure to this one.

Avery Bradley FD - $6400 DK - $6000
Opponent - NY
Proj Pts FD - 31.65 DK - 33.85

Avery Bradley is the 2nd option on this offense, and the New York Knicks have not been good against shooting guards. Bradley has been super consistent this year as well, and his peripherals have been up this year as well. His price has recently dropped due to some tough games, which had good reason. They were against good defenses, and he still shot the ball plenty. The Knicks have been 7th worst against shooting guards this year, giving up 39 FPPG. I do prefer him in cash games, as he has only surpassed 50 fantasy points once this season. Sitting at just 6k across the industry, he will only need about 33 to hit value.Bradley should also be under owned, as there are a lot of guys that you can play at this position.

Nick Young FD - $4700 DK - $4700
Opponent - LAC
Proj Pts FD - 24.49 DK - 26.63

The last word I would tend to use to describe Nick Young is consistent, but that is exactly what he has been lately. Over his last 8 games after returning from injury, he has topped 20 FP in 5 and hit 19 FP in two of the others. Nick Young is a shooter, and the only real worry comes if he is being guarded by a lockdown perimeter defender. J.J. Redick is far from that, and he should be able to get plenty of open shots at the 3 point line. This game should be rather close, and the line is currently sitting at -5 with the 2nd highest over/under on the slate. Young can be used n all formats, mostly due to his low price across the industry. If you are playing on a site that has him bumped up, I would ignore him and look for value elsewhere.

Small Forward

LeBron James FD - $10100 DK - $10300
Opponent - GS
Proj Pts FD - 44.49 DK - 47.39

LeBron James or Kevin Durant will be a big question for a lot of people.  I think the combo of both will probably be under owned, but it is risky to fade Russel Westbrook. I have been highly anticipating this game for a long time, and you will certainly want exposure. Golden State is currently -3, and the over/under is sitting at 224, which is by far the highest. I do prefer James, as Durant is a worse defender than James. James has been somewhat up and down lately, but you know he will be up for this game. He is a little more expensive than Durant, which I actually like as it should keep his ownership down quite a bit. With that being said, there will still be a lot of people on LeBron James against the Warriors. Whatever you do on this slate, I would make sure you get at least some exposure to this game. Both Durant and LeBron have plenty of upside in tournaments, but James is my favorite in cash.

Carmelo Anthony FD - $7600 DK - $7600
Opponent - BOS
Proj Pts FD - 37.75 DK - 40.17

Melo against Boston on Christmas day. Something tells me he will have a huge game. I know that has no statistical backing, but we all know that these guys can get up for big games when they have been playing boring games for weeks on weeks. Anthony is $7600 on both sites, so only needs about 42 fantasy points to hit value. I think Jae Crowder will start off on him, but I expect Avery Bradley to switch on him after a few made baskets. Bradley isn't a guy that scares me, especially when Anthony is a lot bigger and stronger. You can target Anthony in both cash games and tournaments, though I will do my best to pay up for James or Durant.

Kawhi Leonard FD - $8000 DK - $7800
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 42.18 DK - 44.24
Jimmy Butler FD - $7800 DK - $7500
Opponent - SA
Proj Pts FD - 41.01 DK - 42.82

These 2 phenoms will face off against each other, and this match up will be really fun to watch. They are pretty similar players, being lockdown defenders that can stretch the floor and control the ball on offense. I don't think either guy destroys the other, but I would look for Butler to have the better game. He has flashed more upside this year, and has also shown the ability to initiate offense, which Leonard sometimes struggles to do. Butler is also a little bit cheaper on both sites, so I wold go there in my cash games. I will have exposure to both in tournaments, though most of my ownership is in the above SF's.

Power Forward

Kevin Love FD - $8400 DK - $8200
Opponent - GS
Proj Pts FD - 37.64 DK - 40.25

Love returned against the Nets and was great in just 25 minutes. He finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds, and could of probably went 20/20 if the game stayed close. The Warriors are very efficient against power forwards, but due to there fast pace, they have ranked 7th to last. Love has been getting fed the ball recently, and you can absolutely play him with LeBron James. They will run a lot of pick and rolls together, so there numbers can sometimes be correlated. He is sitting at 8.2 and 8.4 on both sites, which means he will need about 48 fantasy points to hit value. That should be pretty accessible against a Warriors team that gives up 43 FPPG to the average power forwards. He is a great play in both cash games and tournaments.

Gorgui Dieng FD - $5600 DK - $5500
Opponent - OKC
Proj Pts FD - 29.76 DK - 31.31

Gorgui Dieng truthfully isn't that good, especially with Karl-Anthony Towns, but Tom Thibodeau seems to disagree. He has been running Dieng out for about 40 minutes per game over his last 5, and the other starters have been right there as well. From a team standpoint, wearing out all of your young players is probably not the best way to go, but it's fantastic for us DFS'ers. You can feel safe that your guy will be on the court, which is half of the battle when you roster players on certain teams. Dieng is more of a cash game play, but I don't mind him as the last guy you plug into a tourney.

Thomas Robinson FD - $3800 DK - $3800
Opponent - LAC
Proj Pts FD - 18.79 DK - 19.93

Thomas Robinson is a lot better than Timofey Mozgov or Ivica Zubac, who keep seeing minutes over him. Julius Randle could also return, so keep an eye on that. Robinson is only in play if Randle is ruled out. He has been outstanding in the limited minutes he has gotten, putting up 22 and 27 fantasy point sin under 20 minutes. The Lakers will be forced to give him an uptick in minutes, and you have to consider his upside at this price If he does play 25 minutes, he could get 35 without a doubt. The Clippers are weak at the 4 with Griffin out, and have been forced to play the undersized Paul Pierce at PF. Robinson is much bigger, much stronger and a lot more agile. He is a GPP option for me, but see the merit in cash if Randle is out.

Center

Karl-Anthony Towns FD - $9100 DK - $8300
Opponent - OKC
Proj Pts FD - 42.75 DK - 45.08

Like Dieng, Towns will get a ton of minutes and heaping of shots. Towns has played well recently, and has excelled in fast paced match ups. The Thunder are certainly that, and Towns will have no problem running the floor if he needs to. With Oladipo out, Westbrook has been pushing the ball more and forcing things to happen instead of sitting in a half court set. that could bode well for these Timberwolves guys, who typically see a lot less possessions than they will tonight. Steven Adams is an above average defender, but will very rarely see a 1 on 1 with Towns. He will get most of his points off of screens, and switches off the guard. Towns is expensive, but he has the upside in tournaments and the floor in cash. I love the stack with Westbrook and Towns, added by a role player or two on each side.

DeAndre Jordan FD - $7300 DK - $7400
Opponent - LAL
Proj Pts FD - 36.91 DK - 38.43

DeAndre Jordan predictably took a hit with CP3 out, so make sure Paul is in there before you plug in Jordan. Jordan is a great player by himself on the boards, but Paul gives him a ton of opportunities to score that would not otherwise be there. If he plays like we expect, Jordan could be in for a monster game. The Lakers will do there best with Mozgov, but he will have no chance against Jordan. The Lakers have given up the 3rd most FP per game to centers, at 50.6. This game is the late night hammer, so the Paul + Jordan could be a really fun one to have.

Robin Lopez FD - $4500 DK - $4500
Opponent - SA
Proj Pts FD - 23.68 DK - 24.56

If you want to pay way down at center, you can look at RoLo. He isn't great, but will typically get you around 20 and will occasionally have a big game, which results in him coming close to 35 fantasy points. Because of his limited upside, he is a guy that I would use in cash if I love my roster and just need a cheap center. I will try to do what I can to reach up to Towns or Jordan, but I see the merit in Lopez. The Spurs have been good against centers this season giving up the 6th least FPPG, but there size will force Lopez to play extended minutes, which is more important. Lopez isn't exciting, but he should be able to get the job done.

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