NBA DFS action on Saturday, 12/26 locks at 7 p.m. EST with a sizable nine-game main slate. Before you lock in your NBA DFS picks and favorite lineups on DraftKings, FanDuel, Yahoo and SuperDraft, make sure to check out Awesemo’s daily fantasy basketball rankings and projections. Let’s dig into some NBA DFS picks, including Russell Westbrook, Karl-Anthony Towns and more.
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NBA DFS Picks: Key Building Blocks | DraftKings + FanDuel 12/26
Tonight, we could have a wild one in Portland as the Houston Rockets are slated to have just nine active players due to COVID-19 issues. James Harden is rumored to be making his season debut and he has added the Trailblazers to the list of his preferred trade destinations. This is the featured Saturday NBATV game so we should have plenty of news in the event things go sideways. At this time, John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Gordon, Ben McLemore and two other Rockets are out. Harden, Christian Wood and even P.J. Tucker should see tremendous usage. Sterling Brown, Bruno Caboclo, David Nwaba and Jae’Sean Tate are in play on the late slate and potential main-slate discount dandies.
Tune into the Awesemo NBAÂ Live Before Lock show beginning at 6 p.m. EST for all of your up-to-date information and analysis.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Oklahoma City Thunder at Charlotte Hornets
DraftKings $8,300, FanDuel $7.600, Yahoo $33
Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 13.5%, FanDuel 16.2% Yahoo 22.2%
There is a good chance that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to roll under the radar with 18 teams in action. Oklahoma City had their first game postponed after Houston was unable to field enough healthy players. In the three preseason games, the third year guard averaged 1.1 fantasy points per minute. This is in-line with last seasons 1.1 FPPM rate while Chris Paul was off the court. Last year in 138 minutes without both CP3 and Dennis Schroder SGA posted 1.23 FPPM. This information can be found using NBA WOWY on AddMoreFunds.com.
If we look at that production level without worrying about the player’s name, todays salaries are a nice deal. Gilgeous-Alexander should see 34-36 minutes against a Charlotte team that is not particularly interested in playing defense. This estimated playing time should have the Thunder’s lead guard cruising into the forty fantasy point plateau.
Russell Westbrook: Washington Wizards at Orlando Magic
DraftKings $10.300, FanDuel $10,000, Yahoo $45
Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 4.9%, FanDuel 16.5% Yahoo 10.0%
In his debut for the Wizards, Russell Westbrook posted a 21-11-15 triple-double in 36 minutes. Washington coach Scott Brooks has already said that the plan is to hold the 2016 NBA MVP out of back-to-back games. Washington plays Orlando again tomorrow and then hosts Chicago for a Tuesday/Thursday two game set. Their next back-to-back is Thursday/Friday so it seems to make sense that Westbrook plays tonight and sits tomorrow.
This is an easy recommendation and the longer we see the Q-tag next to Westbrook, the better for us. It seems like the plan will be to let him play 36-ish minutes while holding him out of the back-to-back games. The Wizards need him to be a fantasy monster in the games he plays so they can contend for a post season berth. This should make Bradley Beal happy as he will also get around a game per week where he can dominate the ball without his new teammate.
NBA DFS Picks: Good Value
Buddy Hield: Sacramento Kings vs. Phoenix Suns
DraftKings $7,100, FanDuel $5,600, Yahoo $19
Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 21.2%, FanDuel 38.1% Yahoo 52.0%
The salary for Buddy Hield is comically low on Yahoo and FanDuel. It is a little more of a decision point on DraftKings, but his SG/SF make him eligible for five of the eight roster slots and help fill the pesky small forward requirement. This game has a wild 228 projected total with Phoenix favored by a bucket. The Kings offense will be focused on Hield, De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley ,which will be a fun time as long as all three are healthy.
Last year, Hield’s fantasy production was essentially the same with or without Bogdan Bogdanovic on the floor. However, his minutes were often capped in favor of Bogdanovic. We know that coach Luke Walton can be inconsistent with his rotations, but he is going to need to make Hield a part of his plans if they also including winning games.
NBA DFS Picks: Risky Value
Al Horford: Oklahoma City Thunder at Charlotte Hornets
DraftKings $6,100, FanDuel $6,100, Yahoo $18
Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 34.1%, FanDuel 9.2% Yahoo 38.2%
The price is definitely right for Al Horford, however the question of how much he has left in the tank still remains. This will be the 33-year-old’s fourteenth NBA season. Last year with both Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid on the court, Horford took a backseat with 0.61 fantasy points per minute. With either or neither on the court, he was consistently around one fantasy point per minute.
Last season Horford topped 40 fantasy points in 10 of 67 regular season games, with 51 being his best performance. This is a fine play for “cash” builds full stop. However, if we project him for 32-34 minutes — he averaged a tick over 30 last year — and give him a fantasy point per minute, where is our tournament upside?
 Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies
- Darius Bazley: OKC at CHA – $10
- Mason Plumlee:Â DET vs. CLE – $13
- Keldon Johnson: SAS vs. TOR – $14
SuperDraft Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks
- Russell Westbrook:Â WAS vs. ORL – 1.25x multiplier
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: OKC at CHA – 1.50x multiplier
- Al Horford:Â OKC at CHA – 1.65x multiplier
Final Thoughts
There are a lot of moving parts tonight, so be savvy with your player allocations if you are building 20-plus lineups.
Be sure to into the Awesemo NBAÂ Live Before Lock show beginning at 6 p.m. EST for all of your up-to-date information and analysis.
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