DraftKings NBA picks December 5: Can Booker Light Up Toronto As Well?

We only have three games in the NBA on our Tuesday night. It’s going to be tough to find separation on DraftKings, but there are still plenty of value plays so we can afford the stars. Let’s identify those places.

Point Guards

Best Bets:

Damian Lillard ($9,400): Lillard put up 46 DraftKings points in the first meeting with Washington, and that was when they had a (mostly) healthy John Wall. Wall is out, so Lillard could come up with an even bigger score tonight. I like Lillard a whole lot more than Westbrook against Utah. The Utah defense continues to shut down everyone on the perimeter.

Kyle Lowry ($8,700): I’m going to keep this as simple as I know how. Lowry is a point guard playing against Phoenix. 5x value is certain, 6x value is likely, and 7x value is at least a 50-50 chance. Find a way to get Lowry in there tonight.

Honorable Mention:

Ricky Rubio ($5,400): Rubio’s price has finally dropped down to a more manageable price. His defensive prowess gives him a solid floor, but his upside is pretty limited since Rubio is not one of the top options on offense. He is scoring more than he did last year, but a lot of that was before the rise of Mitchell. Rubio put up 31 DraftKings points in the first meeting with the Thunder. If he can do that again tonight, I don’t think any of us would complain.

Dark Horses:

Tomas Satoransky ($4,100): It was a rough night for the entire Washington backcourt last night against Utah. Look for all of them to rebound against Portland. Satoransky is still a much better option than Tim Frazier, but he isn’t going to get you much more than 5x value.

Fred VanVleet ($3,400): VanVleet is a really good shooter and has taken full advantage of the injury to Delon Wright. VanVleet has at least 7x value in four of the last six games. He is going to be able to get good shots on either Ulis or James. Neither are very good. I would rather bank on VanVleet’s value in 24 minutes than take a shot with either Phoenix point against a Raptors team that is third in the league in fantasy points allowed to point guards.

My pick: Lowry(PG), Satoransky(UTIL); Lillard(PG), VanVleet(UTIL)

Shooting Guards:

Best Bets:

DeMar DeRozan ($8,500): This is going to be a high scoring game on the perimeter because for as good as DeRozan and Booker are offensively, they are black holes on defense. I would use DeRozan as a pivot to Booker honestly, and mostly because of the price difference. Booker has a little better upside, but I think we will be pleased with the output of both of them.

Devin Booker ($8,000): That $500 could some in handy somewhere. I do think that Booker will see as many shots as DeRozan, but DeRozan is also a little better passer. Both are capable rebounders. They are pretty much interchangeable tonight, and on a site like DraftKings, you can roll with both of them without much of a problem.

Honorable Mention:

Bradley Beal ($7,600): Beal may be overlooked because Portland is so good on the wings, but Beal put up 45.75 DraftKings points on them in the first meeting. The Wizards are still without Wall, which means there are more shots to go around. Of course, it didn’t matter last night with the team scoring just 30 points in the first half. Washington was ice cold against the stifling Utah defense, so I am nervous to use any of them tonight.

Donovan Mitchell ($7,100): Mitchell has dropped 62 points over the last two games. The Thunder shut him down in the first meeting, but that was early on when the Jazz were just trying to figure out what the had with Mitchell. That was before he was a budding star on the offense. Mitchell has 5x value with potential for more, even against the Thunder.

C.J. McCollum ($7,000): There are a lot of good options at the position tonight, but if you are leaving the upper tier, I feel the safest with McCollum. McCollum put up 37 DraftKings points in the first meeting with the Wizards. He has been cold since then shooting just 19-57 from the floor in the three games since, but maybe a rematch will put him back on track.

Dark Horses:

Alec Burks ($4,500): I doubt that Hood will be in tonight either, which means the white hot Burks will get another crack at this thing. Burks has 79 points in the last three games with Hood out. Fade him. I dare you.

Norman Powell ($4,000): The emergence on VanVleet and the return of MIles have kept Powell’s production down, but I think Powell is due for a good game against Phoenix. The presence of all of the other threats caps Powell’s upside, but I can see him around 6x value here.

My pick: DeRozan(SF), Booker(SG), Burks(G); McCollum(SG), Burks(G)

Small Forwards:

Best Bets:

Paul George ($8,400): George is by far the most consistent player on the Thunder right now. He was under value against Utah the first time around, so I’m concerned that he will be again. Every other DFS player has had their eye on what Utah is going as well. You can get the consistency of George at low ownership tonight, but 5x value is doubtful.

Otto Porter ($6,900): Porter destroyed the Blazers for 49.5 DraftKings points back on November 25th. He was also the lone bright spot for the Wizards last night. Portland couldn’t handle him in the first meeting. With Aminu back they will do better, but I could still see Porter outscoring Paul George against Utah. George was well under value against Utah the first time around, and with the way their defense is playing right now, I’m staying away from most Thunder players tonight.

Honorable Mention:

Kelly Oubre ($4,900): Oubre has been seeing a lot more playing time and shooting more than ever with Wall out. His 11 points last night tied for the team lead. I expect Oubre to keep getting a healthy number of shots, and his price doesn’t really reflect it. Oubre could be a nice value tonight.

Dark Horse:

Jonas Jerebko ($3,800): Jerebko has been logging a lot of minutes with Gobert out, and is getting modest production in the process. Jerebko has four straight games of more than 20 DraftKings points, so don’t be shy about taking your sure 5x value from a punt play. Jerebko doesn’t have much upside, but he has the consistency you want from a roster filler.

My pick: Oubre(F); Porter(SF)

Power Forwards

Best Bets:

Derrick Favors ($6,600): It doesn’t really matter if Favors plays at the four or five tonight. It will be a matchup to his advantage either way. Favors has averaged 35.2 DraftKings points over the last ten games. He has been a force with or without Gobert in there. I want Favors in there against the relatively weak Thunder frontcourt.

Carmelo Anthony ($6,500): I raved about George’s consistency earlier, but it was Anthony who led the team in scoring against Utah the first time around. Melo put up 37.25 DraftKings points in that game. Anthony has still managed to stay a big part of the offense, and is a solid option to get close to George’s production at a much lower price.

Honorable Mention:

Serge Ibaka ($5,000): Ibaka has still been a disappointment this season, but his price is low enough that he may not be to your DFS lineups. This looks like a good matchup for Ibaka against Phoenix. Ibaka still gets double digit shots a game, so his offense alone may allow him to hit value tonight.

Markieff Morris ($4,700): Morris has become more of a threat on offense over the last two games. On a night where the entire team scored just 69 points, Morris still managed to put in 11 of those. I like him for this low of a price against the Portland front.

Dark Horse:

Greg Monroe ($4,500): The Suns just keep throwing Monroe, Chriss, and Len out there with Chandler to see what sticks. So far, Monroe has been the only one to give somewhat consistent value in very inconsistent minutes. If I knew Monroe would play half the game, I would lock him in no questions asked. That has not been the case though. Playing anyone other than Chandler up front is playing with fire.

My pick: Favors(C), Morris(PF); Favors(PF), Morris(F)

Center:

Best Bet:

Jusuf Nurkic ($7,200): Even if the Jazz don’t hold Gobert out on the second game of a back to back, I expect him to play right around 20 minutes again. The chances of Gobert hitting value in that little playing time are about the same of being struck by lightning on the day you win the lottery. Nurkic is a much safer play. He put up 34.75 DraftKings points in the first meeting. Nurkic should be right around that area tonight as well.

Honorable Mention:

Jonas Valanciunas ($4,800): Valanciunas has played his way back into the discussion for DFS consideration. He still doesn’t play enough to have a lot of upside, but Valanciunas is riding a streak of three straight games with more than 20 DraftKings points. I still think his price is too high, but he could get run against a Phoenix team that likes to do just that.

Dark Horse:

Tyson Chandler ($4,300): Chandler is playing a ton of minutes right now. He dominated Boston earlier in the week, and battled well with Embiid last night. Toronto doesn’t have that big body down low, so Chandler’s minutes may be cut, but I still think he plays more than enough to hit 6x value tonight.

My pick: N/A; Nurkic(C)

Next: FanDuel NBA Picks and Pivots

Stay tuned for our FanDuel picks! We even have some EPL picks coming your way! For you college football fans, we have all of the games picked against the spread along with ESPN college pick em picks.