NBA DFS: Studs, scrubs, and duds for December 31

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Top star players, best value picks, and guys you should stay away from on December 31 in NBA DFS on DraftKings and FanDuel.

Welcome to Studs, Scrubs, and Duds; FanSided’s NBA DFS lineup helper.

Here’s what’s on the slate for tonight:

7 p.m. ET: Denver at Houston, Golden State at San Antonio, Cleveland at Toronto
8 p.m. ET: Dallas Mavericks at Oklahoma City Thunder

How this works:

Studs: Top high salary picks that you can build your lineup around.
Scrubs: Value players looking for a big night or consistent options to help fill out your lineup.
Duds: Players to avoid given their high salary and/or poor matchup.

Five players are picked on each slide, positions are not applicable, and both DraftKings and FanDuel salaries are listed.

Studs

Kristaps Porzingis (at OKC – $7,800 on DK; $8,400 on FD): If Luka doesn’t play then it’s Porzingis’ team once again. Then extra opportunities are going to lead to a big game once again for him with a double double being a real possibility. If nothing else, there should be a big scoring output for him. If Luka plays, he should still get you value but his ceiling will be lower.

Fred VanVleet (vs CLE – $8,400 on DK; $8,200 on FD): You can go with FVV or Lowry in this position. I like FVV more just because Lowry is more likely to fall back a bit and allow the rest of the team to shine against a weak matchup. And FVV is at a lower salary. The Raptors have a great matchup so stacking them is a wise idea.

Nikola Jokic (at HOU – $9,300 on DK; $9,300 on FD): The Rockets are great against the position but if Capela doesn’t play then takes away a good defender they can throw at Jokic. The Nuggets always seem to play well against the Rockets and Jokic always leads the way. He’s a triple double threat and the Rockets are going to have some issues with his size on the inside if Capela is out.

Shai Gilgeous Alexander (vs DAL – $7,000 on DK; $7,400 on FD): SGA is on a scoring tear right now and if Schroder is out once again, it means more ball handling opportunists for SGA and CP3. It’s a tough matchup but he’s at a great salary compared to the rest of the field. Fatigue could be real for the Mavericks as well as they’re on their third game in four nights.