NBA DFS Picks Today (12/18): DraftKings & FanDuel Top Plays, Sleepers
Happy Monday! I guess! We’re back with an 11-game NBA DFS slate to start the workweek, and it’s a slate with a little bit of everything. We’ve got injuries, high-total games, low-total games, games with huge spreads, and games with tight spreads.
Below, you’ll find a few NBA DFS picks that stand out on DraftKings and FanDuel as of the early afternoon hours. If you’re looking for more in-depth analysis, sign up for RG Premium.
Top NBA DFS DraftKings Lineup Optimizer Value
C Nic Claxton ($6,600)
The Nets’ western road swing will continue tonight in Salt Lake City, where they’ll take on a Jazz team that ranks near the bottom of the league in most defensive metrics. We’ve only got a 4-point spread here, so Vegas isn’t too confident in Brooklyn’s chances of running away with it. Hopefully, the regulars will see a full complement of minutes as a result.
Nic Claxton is rarely a core play at what is usually a stacked center position, but he’s quietly putting together another solid campaign. Claxton is supplying 1.17 FP/min. on the year, and the minutes should be fairly secure in this spot. The Jazz run a big frontcourt featuring Walker Kessler, Lauri Markkanen, and Kelly Olynyk, so the Nets will need some size to patrol the paint in this matchup.
30-plus minutes of Claxton is more than enough to make him grade out as a strong midrange value viable in all formats at $6,600 on DK.
Top NBA DFS FanDuel Lineup Optimizer Value
SF/PF Deni Avdija ($5,800)
The Wizards nearly pulled off an impressive road upset in Phoenix last night, and they’ll look to bounce back tonight when they face the Kings in Sacramento. Washington is a sizable 13-point underdog here, but their 117.25 implied team total is still among the highest on the slate. The Kings are just 18th in D-rating on the year, and both of these teams are among the 8 fastest-paced teams in the league.
Deni Avdija is happy to do the dirty work for the Wizards, as he’s still averaging a useful 0.97 FP/min. despite a middling 17.9% usage rate on the season. That limited scoring upside does give Avdija a low floor – as we’ve seen over the past couple of games – but he’s now down to just $5,800 on FanDuel as a result. He’ll cost you $1,000 more over on DraftKings.
This is one of the better game environments to target on this slate, and Avdija fits nicely into builds at that depressed price point.
NBA DFS Sleepers
SG/SF Desmond Bane ($8,900 DK, $8,600 FD)
Remember just a couple of years ago when we were paying $6,000 for Desmond Bane? What a time to be alive. Nowdays, the TCU product is pushing $9,000 on both DraftKings and FanDuel, yet I’ll hear the argument that he’s still a little underpriced. Bane’s Grizzlies are fairly big underdogs (+10.5) in Oklahoma City tonight, which is presumably one of the reasons he’s projected for under 10% pOWN% on both sites.
Bane’s role is exceptional, though. With Ja Morant still sidelined, Bane’s leading the Grizzlies in usage (30%), while his 25.5% assist rate is second among the team’s starters behind only Derrick Rose. If you take the injured Rose and Marcus Smart both off the floor, Bane’s usage and assist rate both jump to around 32%.
Will the Grizz get crushed tonight? It’s certainly possible, but Bane is averaging nearly 1.4 FP/min. with Rose and Smart on the bench this season. I will gladly fire him up in tournaments at what should be very limited rostership.
PF/C Anthony Davis ($10,400 DK, $11,300 FD)
Anthony Davis is questionable to suit up tonight against the Knicks after sitting out of Friday’s loss in San Antonio. I think the Lakers just took the opportunity to give him some rest in that one, though, so I’m expecting AD to return this evening. This is the final game of the night tipping at 10:30 PM ET, so there’s a decent chance we won’t have clarity on this situation until well after the slate locks.
That’ll just keep Davis’ ownership incredibly low despite the decent spot. We know the Knicks are a slow-paced, defensively-sound outfit under Tom Thibodeau, but they’re not nearly as formidable on that end of the floor with Mitchell Robinson out of the lineup. Robinson was quietly in the midst of a stellar season before going down with an injury. Needless to say, New York isn’t as stingy around the rim with Isaiah Hartenstein and Jericho Sims splitting the center minutes.
Davis should feast in this spot, as he’s been doing all year. Davis is up to 1.47 FP/min. on the year while ranking second on the Lakers in usage and leading the team in both rebound and block rate. The Knicks won’t have an answer for him, which makes AD a very alluring late-night hammer spend in tournaments.
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