NBA DFS Building Blocks for Wednesday, December 1 | Today, 12/1/21

Wednesday, Dec. 1, brings a nine-game main slate with plenty of pending player availability news. Let’s look at the player pool and discuss the top NBA DFS picks for DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo lineups. Do not forget to head over to the Awesemo NBA DFS home page for more great written daily fantasy basketball content.

NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks, Wednesday, Dec. 1

Yahoo Play of the Day — Giannis Antetokounmpo: Milwaukee Bucks vs. Charlotte Hornets

  • Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 53.56 | DraftKings: 54.88
  • Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 13.0% | FanDuel 27.9% | DraftKings 17.1%
  • DFS Salary: Yahoo $58 | FanDuel $11,200 | DraftKings $12,100

While this is an apex salary for Giannis Antetokounmpo, he is posting 1.72 Yahoo points per minute, which is right in line with his first MVP season. While one would like to see him with a higher success rate from behind the arc, he is averaging a career-high 10.1 free-throw attempts per game in just 32.4 minutes of action. Giannis leads the team in points, rebounds, assists and blocks. There will be nearly unlimited discount options tonight with all of the pending news, which will allow for a stars-and-scrubs lineup.

One other thing to keep in mind is that, by choosing Antetokounmpo over an equally popular Nikola Jokic, that creates an extra hour for news to play out. This will allow flexibility to make some late swaps if more favorable players are unveiled after lock. Additionally, there are a lot of centers in excellent matchups who are cheaper than Jokic but carry a similar point-per-dollar projection and also have access to a 50-Yahoo-point ceiling game. There are far fewer forwards who are comparable to Giannis, and three of them need to be on rosters. Seeing the full picture is key when building NBA DFS lineups.

Karl-Anthony Towns: Minnesota Timberwolves at Washington Wizards

  • Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 40.87 | DraftKings: 42.95
  • Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 11.6% | FanDuel 15.1% | DraftKings 10.6%
  • DFS Salary: Yahoo $39 | FanDuel $8,800 | DraftKings $9,500

Karl-Anthony Towns has a nice matchup against a Washington squad that will be using a frontcourt of Daniel Gafford, Montrezl Harrel and Kyle Kuzma to slow him down. Towns has fouled out in his last two games, though that should not be an issue against tonight’s opponent. While the Wizards have tightened up their defense and are playing closer to a league-average pace, they are not well suited to stop players with an inside-out game like Towns. While Towns has not had the fantasy ceiling of seasons past, he is coming at a significant discount to Jokic on Yahoo and FanDuel, and that extra salary cap can be utilized to upgrade other positions, while lineups featuring Jokic are going to be significantly weaker.

Paul George: Los Angeles Clippers vs. Sacramento Kings

Edit: Paul George is out.

  • Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 44.85 | DraftKings: 47.73
  • Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 7.6% | FanDuel 35.9% | DraftKings 12.3%
  • DFS Salary: Yahoo $45 | FanDuel $8,600 | DraftKings $10,200

Sacramento is on a back-to-back after squandering a 59-50 half time lead to the Lakers before ultimately losing by 25 points. The Kings have a bottom-five defensive efficiency rating, allowing 109.2 points per 100 possessions, and they are playing short-handed with Harrison Barnes out and five other players listed as questionable. While Paul George is coming off of three performances with less than 40 fantasy points, this is a solid get-right spot. Game log watchers are unlikely to land on him, outside of FanDuel where he is coming with a discounted salary, which makes him an excellent differentiation option.

Fellow Awesemo NBA writer Zach Brunner highlighted George as a top option tonight as well in his NBA DFS Picks, Grades & Values article for Wednesday’s slate.

Christian Wood: Houston Rockets at Oklahoma City Thunder

  • Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 39.11 | DraftKings: 40.35
  • Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 12.2% | FanDuel 4% | DraftKings 5.2%
  • DFS Salary: Yahoo $34 | FanDuel $8,600 | DraftKings $8,900

The Rockets have now won three straight after a dismal 15-game losing streak. They pasted the Thunder 102-89 in Houston Wednesday, and Christian Wood rolled up 24 points and 21 rebounds on his way to 59.2 Yahoo points as a featured option in this article series. Coach Stephen Silas has tightened the rotation with Jalen Green (hamstring) out for the next week and D.J. Augustin in the health and safety protocol. Daniel Theis not only is out of the starting lineup, but he has not played in the last three games, as the Rockets have elected to try out a smaller lineup with their recent string of opponents. Wood should be in the mix tonight and has a chance at a third straight 50-fantasy-point performance; anything below 40 will be wildly disappointing in this rematch.

Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies

Houston Rockets at Oklahoma City Thunder

Though they are not true discount dandies, Kevin Porter Jr. and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander each dropped 40-plus fantasy points for a second straight game in this matchup on Monday. Jae’Sean Tate and Garrison Mathews are fine options on all DFS sites if they remain in the starting lineup. K.J. Martin and Eric Gordon are also in play on the full slate as well as the subsequent late slate due to the shortened Rockets rotation. Tre Mann and Luguentz Dort are the tertiary targets on the Thunder, as they have rivaled the recent fantasy production of rookie teammate Josh Giddey at a fraction of the salary and popularity.

Sacramento Kings vs. Los Angeles Clippers

Moe Harkless (knee) has missed the last two games, and he is considered day-to-day and may not return before the weekend. Harrison Barnes has been out for the last three games with a foot issue, and he is questionable once again. Marvin Bagley is questionable with a non-COVID illness, and Robert Woodard is unlikely to play with an ankle injury. Depending on where things shake out, Chimezie Metu, Davion Mitchell and Terence Davis could become tremendous value options, and if this news breaks after lock, fewer gamers will be willing to take chances with them. Richaun Holmes, De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton are also intriguing tournament plays depending on which starters remain out. On the Clippers’ side, Marcus Morris should return to the starting lineup after getting a rest day on Monday as he works his way back from a knee injury, and Terance Mann is also in play as long as Nicolas Batum is out.

Final Thoughts on NBA DFS picks for the Wednesday, Dec. 1 Slate

Tonight most gamers are going to look to the Denver – Orlando game for their value plays, which may artificially increase their popularity when compared with their likely production. There are many other ways to take different paths and still roster the superstars while maintaining good median lineup projections. Keep in mind that salaries and scoring formats differ across the various fantasy sites, and a slam-dunk play on Yahoo may be a below-average NBA DFS pick on DraftKings or FanDuel.

Eric "EMac" MacPherson won the 2007 Fantasy Baseball grand prize (trip for two to the MLB All-Star game) in the Roto format on ESPN. He won again in 2008, this time in the H2H format. As one of the early adopters of daily fantasy sports, EMac has been providing content for baseball and basketball as well as both professional and college football since 2012 for a variety of websites including DraftKings Playbook, FanVice, RotoWorld, Daily Fantasy Bootcamp, and RotoGrinders. He is well into his third decade of fantasy sports and has a wealth of knowledge and experience. Follow him on Twitter @EMacDFS or contact EMac by emailing [email protected].

Stokastic +

Premium Data and Tools
PREMIUM TOOLS
Lineup Generator
Stokastic Sims MLB
PREMIUM DATA
Projections
Top Stack %s
MLB Data Central
FREE DATA
SoRare MLB Rankings
DraftKings Night Owl
FANTASY CRUNCHER (ADD-ON)
MLB Lineup Study
COMMUNITY
MLB Discord Server
PREMIUM DATA
Projections
Ownership Projections
PREMIUM TOOLS
Fantasy Cruncher (ADD-ON)
NHL Lineup Study
COMMUNITY
NHL Discord Server
PREMIUM TOOLS
Lineup Generator
Stokastic Sims PGA
PREMIUM DATA
Ownership Projections
Top Golfers Tool
PGA Tournament Models
FANTASY CRUNCHER (ADD-ON)
PGA Lineup Study
COMMUNITY
PGA Discord Server
Ownership Projections
Top Drivers Tool
NASCAR Discord Server
NASCAR Fantasy Cruncher
USFL Projections
USFL Discord Server
Ownership Projections
Top Fighters Tool
MMA Discord Server
MMA Fantasy Cruncher
NFL Betting Tools
Stokastic Discord Server
Best Ball
Best Ball Rankings
Best Ball Stat Projections
Stokastic Discord Server
Season Long Fantasy (Coming Soon)

Premium Data

DFS Winners from the Stokastic Community

Subscribe to the Stokastic newsletter

DFS advice, exciting promos, and the best bets straight to your inbox

Stokastic.com - Daily Fantasy Sports and Sports Betting Data, Tools, & Analytics

Please play responsibly. Only customers 21 and over are permitted to play. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.