DraftKings NBA picks December 31: Sweet VanVleet

DraftKings NBA early slate:

We have a couple of injuries to watch in the early one. Jaylen Brown and Victor Oladipo are out for sure. Malcolm Brogdon says that he’s playing, but he has yet to be cleared by the team.

This isn’t a showdown, so we don’t have to worry about the captain nonsense. Boston has a great matchup in Charlotte, so I think many will flock to Kemba. I wont. He has had two poor games against Charlotte this year. Ben Simmons is the logical place to start. He put up 55 DraftKings points in the first meeting with the Pacers and has at least 40 DraftKings points in five straight. That’s the kind of floor I want.

Devonte Graham is still cold from the floor, yet he has still topped 40 DraftKings points in three straight and has 85 DraftKings points in the two games against Boston this year. I’ll use Graham in the hopes that he finds his shot and breaks the slate.

SG is easily the weakest position on the slate. Smart is a decent option with Brown out, but I find myself gravitating against towards Josh Richardson. The consistency and price fit. Jeremy Lamb is a decent but inconsistent option.

I tend to think the absence of Smart favors Gordon Hayward more, and he has torched Charlotte this year. So has Jayson Tatum. A Celtics stack sans Kemba seems to be the way to go, but this is only viable if you are willing to fade Embiid. He put up 58.75 DraftKings points against Indiana in the first meeting.

If we want Embiid though, were going to have to pass on either Graham or Simmons. I chose to pass on Simmons and lock in Hayward and Tatum. With a starting five of Graham, Richardson, Hayward, Tatum, and Embiid we still have $4,100 for the last three slots. That’s doable if you’re willing to take a shot on the enigmatic Marvin Williams.