DraftKings NBA picks December 16: Is Giannis The Best Option Again?

DraftKings NBA picks December 16: Is Giannis The Best Option?

There are eight games on our Saturday, and they are all in the evening this week! That makes for one larger DraftKings tournament. With 19 games over the last two days, we know there are some back to backs going on. Watch out for resting players!

Point Guards

Best Bets:

Russell Westbrook ($11,500): Lost in the resting phenomena is the fact that there is one guy you never have to worry about. Westbrook doesn’t take rest days. He may have to later in his career, but he has yet to take one yet. Just try and get him off the court. See how that goes. Westbrook has another great matchup against the Knicks tonight. He put up 60.5 DraftKings points on them the first time. Expect something similar tonight.

Chris Paul ($8,600): This is a tough matchup for Paul, but I just don’t know how we can fade him right now. Paul has averaged 53.2 DraftKings points over his last five games, and hasn’t been below 30 since his first game back from injury. He fits in very well with this offense. So well that I would considering using him even against the Bucks.

Honorable Mention:

Lou Williams ($7,700): Austin Rivers will likely be out, but Teodosic should be back, which will push LouWill back to the bench. Not that it matters. Williams hasn’t been under 30 minutes in a game since Beverley went down. This is a tougher matchup, but I trust him against the Miami bench.

Jeff Teague ($6,500): Teague has had a hard time returning to his form before the Achilles injury, but if he is ever going to do it, it will be tonight against the Suns. The Suns have improved to third worst in the league against point guards, but this is still a great matchup for Teague. Can he take advantage of it?

J.J. Barea ($5,700): Barea has averaged 34.3 DraftKings points per game in the first three meetings with the Spurs this season. His minutes haven’t gone up much with Dennis Smith Jr. out, but his production has enjoyed a slight increase. A slight increase to what he has already done against the Spurs this year would make him a great value play.

Dark Horses:

Yogi Ferrell ($4,800): Farrell has benefitted the most from the absence of Smith. The Mavs have elected to leave Barea in a bench role and start Yogi. The results have been mixed so far for Ferrell, but this is a decent matchup for him. The Spurs are right in the middle against point guards.

Milos Teodosic ($4,700): His price went up and he didn’t even play last night! I understand the increase though. Teodosic has 49.75 DraftKings points in his two games back. He should be well rested for a game against Miami tonight. This is not a great matchup, but it only takes 23.5 DraftKings points to hit value. Teodosic should be able to do at least that.

Frank Ntilikina ($4,400): Ntilikina put up 58.5 DraftKings points in his last two games. Jack is still starting, but it is clear that Ntilikina is carving out a role on this team. He has played more than 25 minutes in three straight games. Expect his playing time and production to be at this level until he finally claims the job from Jack.

Jawun Evans ($3,200): Evans was the Clipper to play last night, even though more were on Sindarius Thornwell because he started. Evans is going to be highly owned, but he wont drop 40 again. Not against the Heat. However, 6x value is likely with more possible.

My pick: Harrison(PG), Evans(G); Teodosic(PG), Tyler Ulis(G)

Shooting Guards:

Best Bets:

Jimmy Butler ($9,000): Butler continues to play at a very high level. He has two straight games of more than 50 DraftKings points, and has hit at least 5x value at this price in ten of his last 12 games. His average against Phoenix in two games this year is 44.6. I don’t see Phoenix slowing down Butler tonight either. There is a better than 50/50 chance that Butler outscores the Beard against Milwaukee tonight.

Khris Middleton ($7,000): Middleton provides a very solid floor, which makes him ideal for cash games. The fact that that floor is routinely closer to 5.5x value than 5x makes Middleton a solid play in GPP formats as well. His upside is capped beside Giannis, but he has over 30 DraftKings points in nine straight games. That’s good enough for me!

Donovan Mitchell ($7,000): Cleveland is pretty weak everywhere on the perimeter, so Mitchell should have plenty of chances to get open shots in this one. The return of Rodney Hood has cut in on his action a little, but not enough to shy away from him. Mitchell still has at least 5x value in four of the last five games.

Honorable Mention:

C.J. McCollum ($6,800): The Hornets defend the point well, but they are second worst in the league against shooting guards. This is one of the few times where I will choose McCollum outright over Lillard. McCollum should destroy value tonight, especially if Kemba can keep Lillard corralled.

Rodney Hood ($5,300): Hood has been solid since his return, putting up 53.25 DraftKings points over the two games. His minutes were back up to 30 against Boston. Hood has supplanted Alec Burks for backcourt value in Utah. Hood’s price is about the same, and the upside is much higher.

Dark Horses:

Wesley Matthews ($4,700): Matthews destroyed many a lineup with his egg on Thursday night. However, Matthews should continue to see plenty of playing time with Smith out, and he has 76 DraftKings points in three games against the Spurs already this year. Matthews should be good to hit value tonight.

Josh Richardson ($4,500): Richardson put up 30.5 DraftKings points on Charlotte last night, which shouldn’t surprise anyone. He gets a Clippers team that doesn’t defend the shooting guard well either. Richardson put up 29 on the Clippers in the first meeting. He should be well above value again tonight.

Andrew Harrison ($4,400): Harrison has emerged as a solid option for the Grizzlies with Mike Conley out. Harrison has spent the last three games over 6x value, but he could have a problem hitting that against Boston. Temper your expectations, but I still see Harrison hitting near 5x value.

My pick: McCollum(SG), Matthews(UTIL); Butler(SG), Hood(G), Richardson(F)

Small Forwards:

Best Bet:

LeBron James ($11,600): I don’t really like using anyone against Utah, but I have made exceptions before. This will be one of the exceptions. Actually, I have only used Westbrook against Utah among upper tier players. That may change since LeBron has five straight games with more than 60 DraftKings points. Can your stud do that?

Giannis Antetokounmpo ($10,800): I’m kind of in the same boat with Giannis. Houston is mostly bad on defense, but they defend both forward spots very well. How well? They are tops in the league against both small and power forwards. There is risk involved using Giannis tonight, but he still is one of the best players in the league. If anyone can succeed against Houston, it’s him. Do you want to take that chance at a high price though?

Honorable Mention:

Paul George ($7,600): George put up 43.5 DraftKings points on the Knicks in the first meeting. He also broke out of his slump in triple overtime last night. Watch out for resting vets because of last night’s taxing game though. No news has come down yet, but it wouldn’t surprise me. I would think Roberson would be the first to sit fresh off an injury..

T.J. Warren ($6,400): Warren’s production has not increased by as much as I thought with Booker out, but he is still easily the best offensive option on the team. Warren has 71 DraftKings points in two games against Minnesota this year, and Booker was present for both of those. He should see a bit of a lift in production tonight.

Rudy Gay ($5,900): Gay was just starting to get comfortable in his role when Kawhi made his return two games ago. Pops is resting Kawhi on the second night of a back to back tonight, so Gay should be back in that role that he was getting comfortable in. Gay is a pretty strong value play tonight.

Dark Horses:

Al-Farouq Aminu ($5,000): Playing any forward against the Hornets is a pretty good bet right now. The Hornets have struggled against both forward positions this season, falling into the bottom five against both. Aminu is a great way to get cheap exposure to that.

Joe Ingles ($4,800): The personnel may be revolving around Ingles, but he keeps providing the same night in and night out. Ingles is a cash game staple due to his remarkable consistency, but he is also a solid value in GPP formats if you don’t mind using someone with little upside.

Alex Abrines ($3,600): The Thunder said that Andre Roberson would be on a minutes restriction last night. He played 34 minutes in the triple overtime win in Philly. There is a strong chance that Roberson is either limited or rested tonight. If either occurs, I’m using Abrines, who was strong with Roberson out. It not, Roberson is still a good pick for his price.

My pick: James(SF), Aminu(F); Warren(SF)

Power Forwards

Best Bets:

LaMarcus Aldridge ($8,000): Aldridge was huge against Dallas when Kawhi was out. He put up a 50.8 DraftKings point average in those three games. With Kawhi resting, I expect Aldridge to have another big game here. Dallas has already proven that they can’t stop him.

Carmelo Anthony ($7,000): On paper, this is not a great matchup for Melo. That said, Porzingis may not play, which is a huge plus. And Melo is making his return to the Garden. That alone is enough to consider him tonight.

Honorable Mention:

Taj Gibson ($6,200): Gibson put up 73.25 DraftKings points in the two prior games against the Suns this year. Gibson isn’t a consistent producer, but he has proven that he can still put up some good numbers against undersized teams. Taj snagged 26 rebounds in those two games against Phoenix. Expect another strong game for Gibson tonight.

James Johnson ($6,000): Johnson is reasonably priced, and is playing a team that has not defended the interior well with Blake Griffin out. Johnson could be a very nice mid range play tonight. He has averaged 34 DraftKings points per game over his last four outings.

Dark Horses:

Kelly Olynyk ($4,900): Olynyk has been a pretty solid producer with Whiteside out. He finally has another good mathcup against the Clippers tonight, so we can push aside his recent struggles against Charlotte and Memphis. Jordan is much easier to deal with than D12 and Marc Gasol.

JaMychal Green ($4,500): Green put up 65.25 DraftKings points in the last two games against Washington and Atlanta. He gets a Boston team that has really struggled against power forwards again this season. Green could be in line for a huge game relative to his price here.

My pick: Anthony(PF); Gibson(PF)

Center:

Best Bets:

Karl-Anthony Towns ($9,600): Towns has feasted on Phoenix so far this year. Towns has 97 DraftKings points against them in two games. He has also been on fire lately. Towns has four straight games above 50 DraftKings points, including back to back games of over 6x value! Towns could come up huge again tonight.

Dwight Howard ($7,700): Howard has been impressive lately, putting up four straight games with at least 5x value. Portland is fairly tough in the middle, but I don’t see that frontcourt outrebounding Howard. That is where most of his value lies, so Howard should be a fairly safe play.

Honorable Mention:

DeAndre Jordan ($7,300): Jordan put up 41.25 DraftKings points in the first meeting with Miami, and that was with Whiteside in play. The big man should find the going a little easier on the interior tonight. Jordan’s production has been up anyway with Griffin out. 6x value seems likely tonight.

Greg Monroe ($5,300): Monroe has been putting up solid totals lately whether he starts or comes off the bench. He is the more offensively gifted of the Phoenix centers, so even though Monroe wont start, I like him over Chandler due to Towns’ defensive shortcomings.

Dark Horses:

John Henson ($4,500): Henson has three straight games of 5x value or more. With the news that Clint Capela could be out, Henson is looking like a stronger and stronger play. This could be a pretty big night for Henson depending on how many minutes he plays. Thon Maker split time with him last night, but was less effective.

Zach Collins ($3,600): His strong play with Nurkic sidelined has given Collins more minutes even with Nurkic back. That will keep him right around 5x value if you are looking for a really cheap punt.

My pick: Jordan(C); Towns(C)

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