FanDuel NBA Picks For December 17th

Nov 2, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets fans cheer against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Toyota Center. Rocket won 110 to 105. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports

It is a light night in the NBA with only four evening games going on. There are still plenty of high priced options to build a winning team. Who are the best options? Let’s take a look at how injuries and price can affect your lineups!

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To finish in the money, you need to choose the best high priced players, and the best cheap options to let you afford some high priced players. I will give you some of each option at each position and let you choose from there.

Here are my FanDuel NBA Picks for December 17th:

Next: There Are Bargains At PG

Dec 9, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (7) dribbles past San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker (9) during the first half at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Point Guards:

Best Bets:

Russell Westbrook, Thunder ($10,800): Those who paid for Westbrook last night were well out of the money, as he posted just 29.1 FanDuel points. That is fine if you pay $5,400 for a player. It is not if you pay double that. Cleveland is really beat up once again in their backcourt. Westbrook could feast on the combination of Matthew Dellavedova and J.R. Smith tonight.

Kyle Lowry, Raptors ($8,900): If you want the higher floor guy, Lowry is the one you pay for. He doesn’t have the upside of Westbrook, but he has not been under 25 FanDuel points this season. It happened to Westbrook twice in December.

Honorable Mention:

Kemba Walker, Hornets ($7,900): Walker always seems to be a notch under the elite, but that doesn’t make him a bad player. Walker has averaged 34.8 FanDuel points per game in December, and has done a nice job of picking up some of the slack with Al Jefferson still out. It will be a little tougher for him to produce against Toronto, but he is still the most reliable mid-range price option.

D’Angelo Russell, Lakers ($5,700): Russell’s production could take a bit of a hit with the return of Jordan Clarkson, but that didn’t stop him from putting up 39.3 FanDuel points on Tuesday night even with Clarkson playing 33 minutes. Both of them are solid options for around the same price, but Russell has the higher upside. You can use them both if you really need to save money for the SF’s.

If You’re Cheap:

Patrick Beverley, Rockets ($4,200): Beverley continues to provide really good value for his price. He has not had less than 4x value since before Thanksgiving, and is often above 5x value since it only takes him 21 points to get there. He should have no problem reaching that mark against the Lakers tonight.

My picks: Lowry and Russell

Next: Is There A Cheap Option At SG?

Dec 12, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) warms up before a game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Shooting Guards:

Best Bets:

James Harden, Rockets ($10,800): Harden has had just one clunker all season, a 26.1 point disappointment against Brooklyn on December 8th. Otherwise he has been at or above 40 in every single game. He put up 42.1 FanDuel points on the Lakers on Saturday. Expect much of the same tonight, which is right around 4x value.

DeMar DeRozan, Raptors ($7,700): DeRozan has been hot lately, putting up at least 33 FanDuel points in each of his last four games. When he is scoring like this (100 points in the last four games combined), he is a huge asset in daily games.

Honorable Mention:

Kobe Bryant, Lakers ($6,800): His days of 50 and 60 points (regular or FanDuel) are long gone, but Bryant has scored more than 20 regular points in each of his last two games, and does enough other things to make his FanDuel point total rise even more. He has 81 FanDuel points in his last two games combined, including a 48.4 point outburst against Houston on Saturday. Ride him while he’s hot!

Lou Williams, Lakers ($5,200): With so many mouths to feed in the Laker backcourt, Williams is always a risk. That said, Nick Young seems to have fallen out of the rotation. The extra minutes have gone to Williams so far. He has played over 30 minutes in each of his last eight games, averaging 30.3 FanDuel points per game in that span. He is producing well above his price right now. He put up 25.5 against the Rockets in Houston on Saturday, so he should have a solid game once again.

If You’re Cheap:

Jeremy Lamb, Hornets ($4,400): Lamb shined after Nicolas Batum left the game last night with an illness. The chances that Batum is still feeling under the weather are very good, so Lamb is a great punt play. He put up 34 FanDuel points with Batum ailing last night. He has a great chance to come close to that if he absorbs some of Batum’s minutes again.

My picks: DeRozan and Lamb

Next: Should You Spend On LeBron?

Dec 11, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts and walks off the court after an apparent injury against the Orlando Magic during the first quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Small Forwards:

Best Bets:

LeBron James, Cavaliers ($10,300): LeBron has been consistently brilliant all year long. He has only been below 40 FanDuel points once (36.9) in his last ten games, and is averaging 45.2 FanDuel points per game over that span. If you are looking to buy one stud tonight, James is the safest bet.

Kevin Durant, Thunder ($10,300): Durant against LeBron is must-see TV, but it could hurt each of their respective fantasy outputs. Of course, “hurt” is a relative term. A hurting score for Durant and James is under 40. There still aren’t many players out there who can get you 40 with any kind of consistency. If you are choosing between the two, Durant has topped 50 more than the King has this year, and that is with Durant missing some games. He has the higher upside, but LeBron is more consistent.

Honorable Mention:

Trevor Ariza, Rockets ($5,600): Ariza has scored 80.4 fantasy points in his three games since returning to action. That makes him well over a 4.5x value and approaching 5x. He is a solid play against a Laker team that he scored 24 FanDuel points against in his return to the court on Saturday.

If You’re Cheap:

James Johnson, Raptors ($3,500): Johnson is still working his way back from a sore Achilles, but with DeMarre Carroll out again, Johnson should be able to pick up a few more than his usual 15 minutes per game. He has scored 32 FanDuel points in his last two games. A minor uptick in playing him could get him close to 20 FanDuel points, which would make him an incredible bargain.

My Picks: Durant and Ariza

Next: Is Love The Best PF Option?

Dec 11, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) high fives forward LeBron James (23) against the Orlando Magic during the second half at Amway Center. The Cavaliers won 111-76. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Power Forward:

Best Bets:

Kevin Love, Cavaliers ($8,200): Love is no longer the kind of player that is going to hit 60’s in FanDuel points. He rarely hits the high 40’s anymore, but he is consistently in the mid 30’s, which makes him a decent 4.5x value. Love doesn’t have the huge upside that he had in Minnesota, but he is a more consistent producer in Cleveland, and a much lower risk at this price.

Serge Ibaka, Thunder ($6,200): Ibaka has racked up ten blocks over his last two games. It is better for us FanDuel players if Ibaka goes back to concentrating on defense instead of scoring points. He could be a force in the paint tonight against Cleveland.

Honorable Mention:

Julius Randle, Lakers ($6,000): Randle was cruising along until back to back lackluster games over the weekend against San Antonio and Houston. Now he has to tangle with Greg Monroe and the Bucks, which could keep him down yet again. Still, keeping Randle down to 4x value isn’t such a bad thing when faced with the inconsistency Terrence Jones. He only put up 21 FanDuel points against Houston on Saturday, but his nice game against Milwaukee on Tuesday gives me hope.

Marvin Williams, Hornets ($4,800): Williams hasn’t been over 20 FanDuel points since December 9th against the Heat. Part of that has to do with the schedule. The other part has to do with the emergence of Frank Kaminsky. Still, his matchup against Toronto is good enough that he should see around 20 FanDuel points tonight, and the price is right.

If You’re Cheap:

Frank Kaminsky, Hornets ($3,800): Kaminsky has played more than 25 minutes in five straight games, and his production has picked up because of it. With Al Jefferson still out, he should be able to play those type of minutes, and he has been over 20 FanDuel points in three of those five games. He still presents a bit of a risk, but he is well worth a dice roll at this price.

My picks: Ibaka and Kaminsky

Next: Who Is The Best At C?

Dec 14, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) reacts during the first half against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Center:

Best Bet:

Dwight Howard, Rockets ($7,400): Howard put up a staggering (for him this year) 39.4 FanDuel points on the Lakers on Saturday in Houston. There is no reason to think that a repeat wont happen tonight.

Honorable Mention:

Roy Hibbert, Lakers ($5,000): Hibbert put up 24.4 FanDuel points against Howard and the Rockets on Saturday, so if you need to save some cash, that is solid production for his price. He is not the dominant force that he once was, but he is still a solid player.

If You’re Cheap:

Bismack Biyombo, Raptors ($4,000): The prolonged absence of Jonas Valanciunas has allowed Biyombo to refine his game lately. He has played more than 30 minutes in three of his last five games, and is aveaging 23 FanDuel points per game in that span. If you want to spend on studs tonight, Biyombo will get you to 4.5x value at his price.

Timofey Mozgov, Cavaliers ($3,800): Mozgov has tallied 48.3 FanDuel points in his last two games, and finally had his first double digit rebounding game of the season last night. He could do it again against Oklahoma City’s somewhat soft rotation of Enes Kanter and Steven Adams at center.

My Pick: Howard

Next: Picks For Capital One Bowl Mania!

Good luck out there!