DraftKings NBA picks December 8: Can Toronto stop Embiid again?

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Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers loses the ball (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /

DraftKings NBA Centers:

Best Bets:

Karl-Anthony Towns ($10,200): The Lakers have been really tough up front over the first six weeks of the season, which doesn’t bode well for Towns. However, if Wiggins is out, Minnesota is going to keep feeding Towns even if the Lakers are shutting him down. They wont have a choice. Towns has decent upside, and Toronto held Embiid scoreless last time they met. The top of center is weak enough that I want to spend my money elsewhere.

Joel Embiid ($10,000): There are two ways to approach this: First, Embiid is probably still stewing from that game a couple of weeks ago when Toronto completely shut him down. Embiid is going to make damn sure that doesn’t happen again. That said, how much success can Embiid really have against this front? I still don’t think it’s a lot. I’m fading, but I do think Embiid is going to be fired up here.

Honorable Mention:

Hassan Whiteside ($7,500): Whiteside has dominated the Thunder in the two meetings this year, racking up 79 DraftKings points in just 47 minutes. I actually consider Whiteside the best center dollar for dollar on the slate. I wouldn’t be all that surprised if he outscores both of them if Portland lets him play 30 minutes like he has been recently.

Richaun Holmes ($7,200): Holmes has put up 93 DraftKings points over the last two games on Portland and the Spurs. Dallas isn’t much better up front than those two teams. We have seen really good growth from Holmes as the starter for the Kings this year. Is he really starting to take off, or is it just the byproduct of poor post defense? At any rate, I don’t think the strong play stops here.

Steven Adams ($6,800): Adams was horrible in both of the first two meetings against Portland, but this team is so weak up front that Adams at least has to be considered. Adams has at least 38 DraftKings points in four straight games. If he’s on, look out. He could destroy Portland.

Dark Horses:

Montrezl Harrell ($6,300): Harrell looks really cheap here. The Wizards have no one up front that can even slow Harrell down. He abused them for 47.75 DraftKings points in just 27 minutes. Both Williams and Harrell are at very low prices considering what they did to this team just a week ago. Harrell is one of my favorite plays on the entire slate, blowout or not.

Marc Gasol ($4,600): Gasol was the one that shut down Embiid. Ibaka didn’t have a whole lot to do with it. I expect Gasol to see a lot of run here again. He’s not going to put up big numbers on this team anytime soon, but if Gasol plays 35 minutes again, he’ll blow value away at this price.

Meyers Leonard ($3,400): As I stated earlier, I’m going to approach this as if Bam is going to sit. If that happens, Leonard is going to see more minutes. Leonard has been marginally successful when given a little more run and his price is so low that he’s not going to ruin a lineup. There is nice upside if Bam sits, especially if this winds up a blowout anyway.