DraftKings NBA picks December 6: Is Durant the best option?

We are back up to ten games for our DraftKings tournaments. It’s a busy Wednesday with value all over the place. Curry is already out. Who benefits the most from that? Let’s find out the value plays!

Point Guards

Best Bets:

Kyrie Irving ($8,500): Irving has been better on the road for some reason, averaging eight more DraftKings points per game away from the Garden. However, I am still on him for his home game against Dallas. Dallas does defend the wings well, but not the point. Irving lit them up for 62.75 DraftKings points in Dallas in the first meeting. If you follow his scoring pattern of home vs. away, Irving still puts up 54.75 DraftKings points. He could be a great play tonight, but his inconsistency is offputting to those of you in cash games.

Dennis Schroder ($8,200): If you don’t trust Kyrie at the Garden, Schroder is a suitable pivot. The Magic are awful defending the point no matter how you look at it. They have been jockeying with Phoenix for most fantasy points allowed to point guards all season. Any starting point guard is a good bet against Orlando.

Honorable Mention:

Kemba Walker ($7,800): Kemba has arguably more upside than anyone not price in five digits. He has several 50+ DraftKings points games to his credit. Walker could see another against the Warriors tonight with Curry out. His output of 50.5 DraftKings points on Monday against Orlando was actually tame compared to what he did to them earlier this year. Walker has 50 point upside again with Curry out. Livingston is a solid player, but I don’t think he can guard Walker.

Eric Bledsoe ($6,600): Bledsoe racked up 43.5 DraftKings points on Detroit in the first meeting. Both Jackson and Ish Smith have had trouble guarding opposing point guards. Boston was the only team besides Memphis that held Bledsoe under 30 DraftKings points when playing more than half the game since the trade with the Suns. Both of those teams are strong defensive units. Detroit is, but not against the point.

Jrue Holiday ($6,600): Holiday has played 38 or more minutes in each of the last five games. It no surprise why hit output has been well over 5x value against everyone except Utah. Holiday gets a Denver team that is gutted by injuries up front, and hasn’t defended the perimeter all that well anyway. This could be another strong game for Holiday.

Dark Horses:

Rajon Rondo ($5,500): Rondo’s minutes still haven’t crossed the 30 threshold, but he has 117.75 DraftKings points over the last three games, and one of those was against Utah. Rondo is playing at a very high level right now against a Denver team that allows a ton of points. Most of Rondo’s output comes from his superior passing, but he has also scored in double digits in each of the last three contests. It will likely happen again tonight. Rondo is a very strong value play at this price.

J.J. Barea ($4,500): Barea is still a favorite value play of mine. He has little upside, but his floor is high because Barea is a really good passer and a consistent shooter. Barea has only been held under 5x value twice in the last ten games. He picked up 27.75 DraftKings points in the first meeting with Boston, so I like him for 6x value again tonight.

Shaun Livingston ($4,400): It’s a good thing for the Warriors that Livingston already served his suspension for bumping a ref since Curry is down for at least two weeks. That means Livingston is going to be a chalk play for at least the next few nights while his price adjusts. Don’t expect Livingston to suddenly be a star, but he is good for at least 6x value at this price while starting.

Shooting Guards:

Best Bets:

Victor Oladipo ($8,900): I’ll be honest. It still feels weird to pay this much for Oladipo. However, Oladipo has four games of over 50 DraftKings points in his last eight contests. He also put up 45 n the first meeting with the Bulls this year. The Bulls cant guard him, but the one thing that does make me nervous about Oladipo is the prospect of this game turning into a blowout. It can always happen with a young team like Chicago involved.

Tyreke Evans ($7,600): I’m going Evans over Oladipo for one reason: Evans has been a beast playing the point with Conley out, and the Knicks are terrible defending the point. Not as quite as Orlando, but hey, few are. Evans has 106.5 DraftKings points over the last two games starting at point guard. The Timberwolves and Cavs are in the bottom ten of the league allowing fantasy points to point guards. The Knicks are in the bottom five. I’m locking Evans in at least one lineup.

Jimmy Butler ($7,600): Butler put up 53.5 DraftKings points in the first meeting with the Clippers on Sunday. This is just another in a long line of games in which Butler has outperformed his price. Butler has at least 45 DraftKings points in five of the last six games. Only the Pelicans held him under, but Butler only played 33 minutes the 18 point win. Butler looks like a lock to terrorize the Clippers again.

Honorable Mention:

Will Barton ($6,900): All of the injuries up front have forced Denver to go smaller with Barton in the starting lineup. Us DFS players aren’t complaining. Barton has 132 DraftKings points in his last three games. The Pelicans are not great defending the perimeter, so Barton should be able to keep up his hot play in this one.

Evan Fournier ($6,100): The Hawks have allowed the most fantasy points to shooting guards this season. Fournier is not the kind of guy who will have a truly great game since he is almost exclusively a shooter, but he hits a bunch of open shots. He should see those in abundance tonight against Atlanta.

Gary Harris ($6,000): Harris has been mostly overshadowed by Will Barton as well, but he is still putting up 5x value on a nightly basis. Harris ended up with 34.75 DraftKings points in the first meeting with the Pelicans this year. He played 30 minutes in that game, but has hit more than 40 minutes twice in the last three games. This looks like a nice place to use Harris tonight.

Dark Horses:

Dwyane Wade ($5,800): Wade has done a good job helping to run the point for Cleveland lately. His best days are clearly behind him, but Wade has still hit over 32 DraftKings points in six of the last nine games. Sacramento has a whole stable of guards, but none of them defend well. Wade looks like a solid middle tier play once again.

Bogdan Bogdanovic ($3,800): The Cavs are weak out front defensively, but trying to pick which Kings guard is most likely to have a decent night is like trying to decide which wire to cut to defuse a bomb. You almost have to cut all of them to make sure you get it right. Well, we can’t play all of the Kings guards. There aren’t enough roster spots. So I am approaching this by minutes. Bogdanovic has played 57 minutes in the last two games, and has responded with over 25 DraftKings points in each game. Buddy Hield has the most upside, but it also the most volatile. Bogdanovic looks like the safest option right now.

Damyean Dotson ($3,600): Dotson started in place of Tim Hardaway on Monday, and picked up 26.25 DraftKings points. That makes Dotson a huge value so long as his price is this low. Not to mention that the Grizzlies are one of the five worst teams in the league in allowing fantasy points to shooting guards. There is a lot of potential here as long as Dotson starts again.

Small Forwards:

Best Bets:

LeBron James ($11,600): LeBron cooled off a bit against the Bulls, and small forward is actually the position the Kings give up the least points to. It’s all relative though. The Kings still aren’t in the top ten, and they really aren’t equipped to deal with LeBron’s skill set. There is major blowout potential here, so I am guessing that we will be lucky if James sees more than 30 minutes in this one. I’m probably staying away tonight, but I still think LeBron gets at least 40 DraftKings points.

Kevin Durant ($10,100): I left Giannis off of here on purpose. In two matchups with Detroit this year, he has failed to top 50 DraftKings points in either of them. I much prefer Durant against a Charlotte team that is the worst in the league allowing fantasy points to small forwards. When you add in the fact that Curry is out as well, Durant is in line for a monster game tonight.

Honorable Mention:

Harrison Barnes ($6,300): Barnes came up big against Boston in the first meeting, putting up 43 DraftKings points in that game. The Clippers are the only team that has held Barnes under 30 DraftKings points in the last eight games. Boston has issues guarding either forward position, so Barnes is a strong play once again in this price range.

Thaddeus Young ($5,900): Young’s consistency makes him a cash game staple, but his constant 5x value translates well to any type of game. Young is more refined offensively than anyone else in the frontcourt, so his minutes are safe. His consistency has planted Sabonis firmly as a backup. More importantly, it’s working for the team, so Young will continue to see a healthy minutes load and continue to be a big part of the offense.

Justin Holiday ($5,800): Holiday is the main scoring threat for the Bulls. That status alone makes him worth a look in just about any matchup. Holiday seems to be back up to his normal minutes, and has topped 25 DraftKings points in each of the last five games. The upside is here since Holiday is the main component of this offense, so he could be a bargain at this price.

Dark Horses:

Jonathon Simmons ($5,200): Simmons has at least 5x value in four of his five games as the starter. He only missed against Oklahoma City, but the Thunder are the best in the league against shooting guards. Simmons has another strong matchup tonight against Atlanta. It doesn’t matter if he is playing the two or the three. The same for Fournier. Atlanta is weak at both positions.

Rudy Gay ($5,200): Many, myself included, believed that Gay would be the man and put up big numbers replacing Kawhi Leonard. That did not play out early on. However, over the last five games, Gay has averaged 29 DraftKings points per game. He is playing well right now, and gets a Heat team that in in the bottom third of the league defending small forwards.

Bojan Bogdanovic ($4,800): Yes, Bojan and Bogdan are two separate people. This Bogdanovic put up 34.25 DraftKings points in the first meeting with the Bulls this year. Bogdanovic is mostly reliant on scoring, so he has the point fluctuations that come rom being just a scorer. However, the Bulls aren’t really good on the wing, so Bojan should see plenty of good perimeter shots tonight.

Darius Miller ($4,000): Brow is out again, and Miller has played 34 minutes in each of the last two games with him out. Miller has held his own so far, and has helped out on offense a lot more than Dante Cunningham. Cunningham is a good defender, so if the game goes that direction, Miller may lose some time. I wouldn’t count on that happening. Denver gives up points like nobody’s business.

Power Forwards

Best Bets:

Aaron Gordon ($8,100): Gordon has been a little quiet since blowing up on the Thunder last week. However, he will have his way against the Atlanta frontcourt. They were not very strong to begin with, and now they are decimated by injuries. John Collins Mike Muscala, and Dewayne Dedmon are all out. The outlook isn’t as grim as it was late last week, but this is a depleted unit that lacked talent anyway. Gordon could have a monster night even if this turns into a blowout.

Kristaps Porzingis ($8,100): Memphis has certainly felt the departure of Zach Randolph. Last year with Randolph there, even though he didn’t start, Memphis was a top ten interior defense. Now they are dead last against power forwards. Porzingis will play, but if he is under some sort of minutes restriction, I’m not that crazy about him, even against Memphis.

LaMarcus Aldridge ($8,100): There is going to be plenty of parity at PF will all of these guys being the same price. Aldridge is the only one of the three that has played tonight’s opponent this year. Aldridge put up 46.75 DraftKings points on Miami in the first meeting. We can expect somewhere close to that tonight. As for who I would take, Gordon has the highest upside, LMA is the cash game play, and Porzingis is a suitable sub for Gordon. Or because of position flexibility, you can play all three.

Honorable Mention:

Draymond Green ($7,900): Green has a great matchup against Charlotte. I mean great. However, Green isn’t that much of a scorer. Of course, he put up 19 on the Pelicans on Monday just to make me look like a liar. Green will have more chances with Curry out, and while 19 points is a pedestrian output for most, Green parlayed that into 53.25 DraftKings points. He has tons of value without scoring, but if he is scoring too, look out!

Taj Gibson ($6,200): Taj took it to the Clippers without Griffin over the weekend, putting up 34.75 DraftKings points. That is a great return on the investment if he can do the same thing in L.A. There are so many options on this Timberwolves team that it seems likely that GIbson wont score 20 points again. Adjust your expectations accordingly.

Lauri Markkanen ($5,800): Markannen racked up 37.5 DraftKings points in just 28 minutes in the first meeting with the Pacers. Markkanen has more upside as the starter, but Bobby Portis could be a solid play as well if you need to go cheaper. Oh, and Portis put up one more DraftKings point in the first meeting than Markkanen.

Dark Horse:

James Johnson ($5,500): Johnson put up 38.75 DraftKings points in the first game against the Spurs. It’s hard to trust Johnson because he can be very inconsistent, but there is a track record of him performing against this team. Lots will be off of Johnson because of his horrible game on Monday. If you are willing to take the risk tonight, you could have him at low ownership as well.

Zach Randolph ($5,300): Randolph has seen his role expand a little recently with Willie Cauley-Stein out. WCS is out for the next couple of games, so expect to see Randolph get a few more minutes. Cleveland has been among the league’s worst against power forwards, and we know that Randolph still has game left. He is a great bargain play tonight.

Kenneth Faried ($5,000): Faried still got good minutes, even with Wilson Chandler back in limited capacity. Maybe Mike Malone is finally freeing Faried from purgatory. Faried has at least 20 DraftKings points in all five games since he returned to more than 20 minutes per game. Utah was the only team to hold him under 28. I’m a little worried that Malone will have a dumbass attack and cut Faried out of the rotation again, but this is a good matchup with Brow out.

Dante Cunningham ($3,600): Cunningham has started the last two games with Davis out, and put up 7.5x value in both games. He is the golden egg of bargain plays tonight, but he will certainly come with high ownership.

Center:

Best Bet:

DeMarcus Cousins ($11,300): I’m on the fence about this one. The first time Davis missed a few games in a row, Cousins was absolutely dominating opponents. This time around, the Pelicans are letting Holiday and Rondo light it up outside. Cousins was shut down by Denver in the first meeting, but both Millsap and Jokic were healthy in that game. I do really like Cousins against the depleted Denver interior.

Andre Drummond ($9,100): Arguably the best rebounder in the league gets another crack at the undersized Bucks up front. Yes please! Drummond has 92 DraftKings points in just 56 minutes against the Bucks this year. You know you are getting value from Drummond tonight if you roll with him.

Honorable Mention:

Nikola Vucevic ($7,500): Vucevic has struggled against larger teams on the interior, but all of Atlanta’s size is out for this game. Like the rest of his teammates, Vucevic has a great matchup tonight. The risk here is of other positions taking more advantage of the Hawks and/or a blowout. There is a lot of upside, but considerable risk as well.

DeAndre Jordan ($6,900): Jordan put up 36.5 DraftKings points on the Timberwolves the first time around. On top of that, he held Towns to a subpar game as well. Jordan is a lock for another double-double tonight. Towns’ defensive struggles are well known, even though he has shown improvement over last year.

Dark Horses:

Mason Plumlee ($4,700): There will be only one Plumlee in the article tonight. I promise. I will admit that I’m not crazy about this matchup, but Plumlee is one of the few able bodies Denver has up front. The Nuggets will need his size. If Plumlee plays 30 minutes again, he will his 6x value in spite of himself.

Kelly Olynyk ($4,700): Olynyk is inconsistent and doesn’t start, but he has outplayed Bam by a large margin over the last three games. Olynyk has 83.5 DraftKings points in 83 minutes over the last three games. He is going to reach value against the Spurs tonight. The only question is how far over he will go.

Dirk Nowitzki ($4,400): Dirk blasted the Heat for 35 DraftKings points in the first meeting. Now the bad news: Dirk has only played more than 30 minutes once in the last ten games. He won’t do what he did the first time around, but the Heat are without Whiteside, so Nowitzki may have a little less resistance when he is in there.

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