NBA DFS Picks: Value, Stud & Fade for 9/12

NBA playoff action is underway, and there is NBA DFS on DraftKings and FanDuel. Greg Ehrenberg looks at some NBA DFS Picks to build around for the Saturday, Sept. 12 slate.

Odds shopping is the best way to make sure you’re finding the best bang for your betting buck. Please enjoy our new, FREE website that shows you what each sports betting odds are in real-time. You can sign up, track your bets, get notifications when a line moves and see how much money your’e making over time. Check it out right HERE.

NBA DFS Picks: Values + Fades for Sept. 12

Value Pick: Rajon Rondo

DraftKings $5,200, FanDuel $5,000

It’s really frustrating that DraftKings barely changed any of the pricing for this slate. After scoring 38 DraftKings points at a $5,200 price tag on Friday, Rondo once against has a $5,200 price tag. Given his current role, this is egregiously cheap. Rondo is playing a massive role for the Lakers in the playoffs and, in this series, he’s the third most valuable player on the team. As a Rondo hater of sorts, this is massively painful for me to admit. I don’t expect this to last deeper into the playoffs, but for now, it’s the truth. He’s averaging 38.08 DraftKings point in his last three games. Even though he’s chalk, the price tag is too good for me to pass up.

Stud Pick: LeBron James

DraftKings $12,400, FanDuel $11,000

With the Lakers a game away from moving to the Western Conference Finals, I expect LeBron to put his foot on the gas and knock the Rockets out of the playoffs tonight. Something odd with all the stars in this series, James is the only one to display much upside. Between Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, James Harden and LeBron, there aren’t nearly as many big games as I expected. LeBron scored over 60 DraftKings points in two of the first four games and no other player has hit that mark. In Game 1, I expected at least one monster game, if not two, per game.

The reality here is that the Lakers’ defense is awesome. They finished the regular season with the best defensive efficiency in the Western Conference and it looks like they are stepping up in the playoffs. Harden has scored over 51 DraftKings point just once in this series and is failing to live up to salary expectations. This is what leads me to thinking LeBron is the top option on the high end.

Contrarian Pick: Austin Rivers

DraftKings $4,000, FanDuel $8,200

There aren’t many viable contrarian plays for a one-game slate. This is particularly true when these two teams play their core players so many minutes and they eat up so much usage. There isn’t much production left for the role players. With that said, there is reason to like Rivers. I don’t need to rehash the Danuel House situation, however, I will note that the NBA kicked him out of the bubble for breaking COVID protocols. He gets to go home to his less than thrilled family. Without him, Houston turned to Rivers to play 28 minutes last game. He scored 29.25 DraftKings points and I expect he will garner less ownership than cheap plays like Markieff Morris and Rondo.

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’ve got loads of articles, data, cheatsheets and more on the Awesemo NBA home page, just click HERE.

Author

Greg Ehrenberg

Greg is a former stand up comedian who quit telling jokes to pursue a career in the world of DFS. He started playing fantasy sports in 6th grade when Greg and his friends would skip classes to meet in the bathroom for 20 team fantasy basketball drafts. Considering his current career path, it was the best education he could have asked for.