NBA Fantasy Projections & Optimizer Picks for DraftKings & FanDuel 12/31

There is a large NBA fantasy slate today, with seven games on the main slate and three games played earlier. With this, there is injury news you will need to pay attention to. The Awesemo NBA Starting Lineups page will give you breaking news when starters are announced as well as a full injury report on players who might be missing in action. Below are some NBA daily fantasy options that stand out for tonight’s slate using Awesemo Boom/Bust Tool and NBA DFS projections.

NBA Fantasy Projections & Optimal Lineup Picks Tonight

Boom: Tyler Herro: $7,200 DraftKings/$6,700 FanDuel

72.5% DraftKings Boom/75.1% FanDuel Boom

The Heat are incredibly shorthanded, so much so that this game may not even be played. Luckily, it is the first game on the main slate, so questions should be answered early. On top of the COVID issues, Jimmy Butler sprained his ankle last game. In other words, Tyler Herro may be asked to put 30 shots up tonight. That role and his price give him a high floor. The opportunity ahead of him this evening gives him a ceiling as high as he has ever had. Awesemo projects him as the leading scorer on the slate.

Boom: Caleb Martin: $4,300 DraftKings/$5,800 FanDuel

74.0% DraftKings Boom/55.1% FanDuel Boom

Caleb Martin has filled up the stat sheet when given a large opportunity. Especially if Butler is out or limited tonight, Martin has a large opportunity ahead of him. The last time he played over 30 minutes, Martin totaled 28 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Facing the Rockets tonight, the matchup will allow for a similar performance. Awesemo projects Martin to play 39.5 minutes for the shorthanded Heat tonight.

Latest NBA DFS Content

Boom: Larry Nance Jr.: $6,100 DraftKings/$6,100 FanDuel

26.6% DraftKings Boom/36.9% FanDuel Boom

Facing his former team, Larry Nance Jr. should see a large role in a nice matchup. The Trail Blazers are missing players in the frontcourt, with Jusuf Nurkic and Robert Covington both listed out tonight. That in part has led to Nance playing over 30 minutes in four of his past five games, averaging 9.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.2 defensive stats per game over this stretch. Awesemo projects him to play 35 minutes tonight. Last game, he was a rebound and an assist away from a triple-double. Look for him to keep his individual momentum going against the Lakers tonight.

Bust: Pascal Siakam: $9,300 DraftKings/$8,300 FanDuel

90.9% DraftKings Bust/71.2% FanDuel Bust

A few nice shooting performances have the salary of Pascal Siakam inflated on DraftKings. However, he is still more likely than not to bust at his discounted price on FanDuel. The Clippers are the fourth-best team in defensive efficiency, so the likelihood of him shooting above 50% tonight is not very high. The defensive efforts for Los Angeles should also make it tough for him to pick up easy assists. Awesemo’s projections give him value rankings of -13.36 and -9.00 on DraftKings and FanDuel, respectively. A lot would need to go right for him to simply return value, much less be a boom for lineups.

Thanks for reading to the end of this article! If you appreciate this free content and want to see more of it every day, you can help us out by sharing this article on social media!

Share this on:

X (Twitter) Facebook

[NBAPAGE]

Author

Zach Brunner

Zach Brunner is the founder of FlurrySports and a featured sports betting and fantasy sports expert for numerous outlets. With an education in business, coaching and history education, he has taken a little bit from all of his experiences to give him a well-rounded, unique point of view in the sports industry. Follow him on Twitter @FantasyFlurry to keep up with other things he is doing.