Fansided

DraftKings NBA picks December 15: Embiid’s playing the Nets!

By Mike Marteny

FanDuel NBA: PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 20: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers celebrates a three point shot against the Orlando Magic at Wells Fargo Center on October 20, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)
FanDuel NBA: PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 20: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers celebrates a three point shot against the Orlando Magic at Wells Fargo Center on October 20, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images) /
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DraftKings NBA
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 11: Devonte’ Graham #4 of the Charlotte Hornets drives past Garrett Temple #17 of the Brooklyn Nets during the second half at Barclays Center on December 11, 2019 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /

DraftKings NBA early slate:

The highest priced player is only $8,500, and he’s questionable. Even if Vucevic plays, I would bet he’s limited. All the return of Vucevic will do against a team like the Pelicans is ruin the value of Birch and Bamba.

Only two other players top the $8,000 mark and both are playing Charlotte. It’s hard to call a double-double a dud, but it is when Sabonis was hitting the upper 40’s every game. I still like Sabonis here against Charlotte. Malcolm Brogdon is the other, and he torched Charlotte for 47.75 DraftKings points in the first meeting. This will most certainly be Brogdon’s third straight game of more than 45 DraftKings points. That means he’s good to build around.

On the other side of this, Devonte Graham smoked the Pacers for 56 DraftKings points. Graham has higher upside than Brogdon, but Brogdon is probably more consistent. However, on a day like this I don’t see a good reason not to run both of them. That’s one of the reasons we play on DraftKings: position flexibility and late swap. This is a slate to take advantage of that.

At forward, I’m looking at attacking the Pelicans with the red-hot duo of Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier. The problem is that if you are running Graham and Brogdon at guard and Sabonis at center, we only have $3,900 each for the last three spots in the lineup. Most times that is a problem, but it may not be here. The loss of Washington, Williams, and possibly Batum opens up the Charlotte front.

I really wish we could afford Miles Bridges. He is playing very well lately, and I’m still considering subbing him over Fournier. If Vucevic is back, I definitely will. That would save us $900, which doesn’t seem like much, but it’s also the difference between $3,900 and $4,200 per slot. I have no desire to play roulette with Dwayne Bacon, but I’m pretty high on Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.

That gives us $8,300 for the last two slots, which is plenty. If you switch to Bridges, it is up to $9,200. On a slate like this, I like stacking the Charlotte-Indiana game and using Magic forwards to fill it out.

Early trifecta: Graham, Sabonis, Brogdon

Now, on to the main slate, and it’s slate ravaged by injuries. Even the King may sit!