NBA DFS action on Monday, Dec. 28 locks at 7:30 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 Christian Wood, James Harden and more.
[CARUSO]
[SportsbookAffiliates]
NBA DFS Picks: Key Building Blocks | Dec. 28
James Harden and Christian Wood: Houston Rockets at Denver Nuggets
Harden: DraftKings $11,200, FanDuel $11,500, Yahoo $54
Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 38.9%, FanDuel 52.5% Yahoo TBD%
Wood: DraftKings $7,200, FanDuel $8,100, Yahoo $34
Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 42.1%, FanDuel 43.1% Yahoo TBD%
Once again the Rockets will be without the services of John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Gordon, Ben McLemore, Kenyon Martin Jr. and Mason Jones, who are all on the COVID-19 reserve. Kudos to the sites for proactively increasing the salaries for James Harden and Christian Wood. However, with a short offseason/preseason and several teams with back-to-back games, we already have plenty of value options.
There is not much analysis to add other than these two spots become leverage opportunities in tournaments. I will likely need to get at least 5-10 lineups in before I don’t have this duo that will be wildly popular. Maybe the thin Denver air will have an impact on early-season conditioning. However, I suspect it just means that defense will be nearly non-existent from the Houston side. Denver last played on Christmas, so they should be fresh and ready to go, which makes their key options quite interesting as well.
Caris LeVert: Brooklyn Nets vs. Memphis Grizzlies
DraftKings $6,600, FanDuel $6,300, Yahoo $24
Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 27.7%, FanDuel 30.4% Yahoo TBD%
There is a strong possibility that Kevin Durant will be rested tonight, which makes sense on this back-to-back considering he played 36 minutes yesterday and 33 on Christmas. He has been off the court for the better part of two years, and the Nets should easily handle the Grizzlies without him. Even if Durant plays, Caris LeVert is a strong option off the bench where he has been posting crazy usage through two games. Spencer Dinwiddie has a partial torn ACL, so he is going to be sidelined for the foreseeable future..
On a fun note, per NBA.com, LeVert has a 28.2% usage rate, with Durant and Kyrie Irving at 27.8% and 27.6%, respectively. Keep in mind that who a player is sharing the court with is nearly as important as their overall minutes. Of course, this is a small three-game sample size and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot is technically the team leader at 29.2%, though he has played just 21 minutes. Update, both Durant and Kyrie are out tonight. This brings Joe Harris and Jarrett Allen into play as a potential pivots away from Delon Wright and/or Jerami Grant.
NBA DFS Picks: Good Value
Delon Wright and Jerami Grant: Detroit Pistons at Atlanta Hawks
Wright: DraftKings $4,600, FanDuel $4,200, Yahoo $11
Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 48.3%, FanDuel 3.7% Yahoo TBD%
Grant: DraftKings $5,900, FanDuel $5,700, Yahoo $20
Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 48.3%, FanDuel 3.7% Yahoo TBD%
The Pistons are on the front end of a back-to-back heading home to host Golden State tomorrow night. As such, Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose have been ruled out for load management. Through the first two games, Delon Wright has not been particularly inspiring with a 14.0% usage rate. However, for this game it would be reasonable to see him closer to 20%, which is in line with his production during his time with Toronto and Memphis. The price is right, and there is definitely upside for steals in this matchup with the Hawks.
Jerami Grant should also thrive in this matchup, assuming much of the offensive role vacated by Griffin. He contributes across many categories, which gives him a nice floor with upside that can be unlocked with the extra minutes and opportunities. Mason Plumlee is also a consideration in this matchup. However, that will cost us our center slot, and I prefer Wood or Nikola Jokic. That is likely where the masses will be as well, which makes Plumlee a nice option in tournaments or even as part of a game stack.
NBA DFS Picks: Risky Value
Killian Hayes: Detroit Pistons at Atlanta Hawks
DraftKings $4,200, FanDuel $3,800, Yahoo $10
Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 42.9%, FanDuel 39.9% Yahoo TBD%
We are looking for leverage plays in this section. Wendell Carter had a great game last night, but we found nice leverage against Al Horford and Eric Bledsoe the slate before that. In NBA, chalk is chalk usually for good reason — minutes or expanded role. Unlike the event-based sports such as football (touchdowns) and baseball (home runs), just being on the court allows players to usually contribute something.
Killian Hayes is certainly going to see minutes tonight with Derrick Rose on the shelf. Hayes has extensive experience playing in the French and German professional leagues, as well as in the Euro Cup and various FIBA youth tournaments. He is still just 19 years old, so we can compare him to a one-and-done college player. Though he has started both games this season he has logged only three minutes after the third quarter. This includes not playing after the 4:55 mark in the third quarter of the double-overtime game with Cleveland.
My speculation is that the closing unit will likely be Wright, Grant, Plumlee, Josh Jackson, and then it really could be Sekou Doumbouya over Hayes. Again, this does not mean we shouldn’t play Hayes, but he could see his minutes end up in the 28-31 range based on what we have seen in the first two games, where he averaged just over 20 minutes. While his price point makes it harder for him to fail, there is not much upside potential other than unlocking some other top-end options on a slate already teaming with other value plays.
 Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies
- Kyle Kuzma:Â LAL vs. POR – $10
- Josh Jackson:Â DET at ATL- $10
- David Nwaba:Â HOU at POR – $10
SuperDraft Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks
- Caris LeVert: BKN vs. MEM – 1.65x multiplier
- Dennis Schroder: LAL vs. POR – 1.65x multiplier
- Montrezl Harrell: LAL vs. POR – 1.65x multiplier
Final Thoughts
Once again, we will have plenty of value to facilitate a stars-and-scrubs build. Just keep in mind that it is not necessarily going to be the same players across all of the sites.
Be sure to into the Awesemo NBA Deeper Dive and Live Before Lock show beginning at 5:30 p.m. EST for all of your up-to-date information and analysis.
[NBAContentLinks]
Follow us on all of our social channels! Check out our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for more great Awesemo content.
Looking for more NBA DFS picks content? We have loads of daily fantasy basketball articles, data, cheat sheets and more on the Awesemo NBA home page. Just click HERE.
