Happy hump-day ladies and gentlemen and welcome to a little NBA DFS Wednesday. That should say big NBA DFS Wednesday, rather, as we have a packed slate tonight of 10 games, the earliest of which tip off at 7:00 EST this evening. These are my daily fantasy NBA lineup picks for FanDuel on 12/7/16.
Before I get into any player analysis, let's take a look at a few Vegas over/unders and spreads that could be of interest to us - especially if you plan on using a stacking strategy. I feel like stacking on almost any given night is a solid strategy, but tonight there is an abundance of games with high projected point totals, so there are tons of routes to choose from if you go that route. Of those games, we have the Lakers at Rockets (221), Warriors at Clippers (224.5), Pacers at Suns (219), Nuggets at Nets (222) and the Blazers at Bucks (217). Those are all very high point totals, but the one that sticks out to me as a favorite is the most is the Blazers and Bucks, as it has the low, low spread of just 1.5 points. Let's get to it, shall we?
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FanDuel DFS Guards
Goran Dragic - PG, at ATL ($7,000)
The fire-breathing Dragic has been steadily heating up in December, eclipsing the 38 FanDuel point total in each of his last three contests. Despite the impressive production, he remains a lower-to-mid tier priced guard, and he has a very good matchup tonight against the reeling Atlanta Hawks. This season, the Hawks have allowed more points to opposing point guards than any other team taking the floor tonight. Dragic and his 26.5 usage rate should be able to exceed salary implied expectations in the 30+ minutes he's on the court.
Lou Williams - SG, at HOU ($6,100)
You would be very hard pressed to find a better bargain tonight with a higher ceiling than Mr. Williams of the Lakers has. The two-guard has been trending upward lately, exceeding salary based expectations in five of his last six games and in his past 10, he's done so by an average of nearly eight fantasy points per night. The thing I really like about Lou - outside of his low price - is that he has an incredibly high usage rate (29.8) and he's efficient in production with his time on the court (24.2 PER). On top of that, his 30+ minutes a night creates a solid floor and the matchup against the Rockets - one Vegas predicts to be a high scoring affair - is a good one.
Giannis Antetokounmpo - PG, vs POR ($10,200)
If you're playing tournament formats tonight, you need to take a strong look at The Alphabet. For my liking, he's a little too expensive to play in cash games tonight considering the matchup isn't a stellar one. The flip-side of that thinking is that his price and matchup may scare other entrants away, and he could be an under-owned player this evening. There aren't many players in the NBA with his skill set, and therefore few have the ability to put up tournament-like numbers like he has a chance to do night in and night out. For the season, he has an incredibly high usage rate of 28, which means he's going to have tons of opportunities to score, and his fantasy point production per minute (1.38) is exceeded only by James Harden - who is priced $1,500 more expensive.
Also Consider: Kyrie Irving - PG, at NYK ($7,300)
FanDuel DFS Forwards
LeBron James - SF, at NYK ($9,600)
All things considered, LeBron available for under a five-figure salary is a steal. His fantasy production hasn't been immaculate, but he has a chance to shine tonight against the Knicks and their somewhat porous defense. For the season, James owns a super high usage rate of 30 and a PER of 24.6. The only forward to top either of those two figures is Kevin Durant, who edges him in PER but not usage rate. Durant also happens to be $600 more expensive this evening. I like this matchup for a rested James, who should exceed salary based expectations tonight and then some.
Serge Ibaka - PF, vs BOS ($6,500)
I was going to make a terrible pun/joke about how Ibaka has been surging of late, but I'll refrain. In all seriousness, though, Ibaka has been looking more comfortable in the Orlando offense and seems to be carving out a nice role. In the past 10 games, he has exceeded his value seven times - by an impressive margin of nearly seven FanDuel points per night. He has the ability to fill the stat sheet in a number of ways, and his usage rate has been climbing, too. Tonight, he has a good matchup against the Celtics that not only operate at a fast pace, but also have been very kind to opposing power forwards this season.
Also Consider: Wilson Chandler - SF, at BKN ($6,200)
FanDuel DFS Centers
Myles Turner - C, at PHX ($6,100)
Despite a little dip in production his last two games, Turner has been strong throughout the past two weeks. In that time span, his price has stayed consistent, and he's exceeded salary based expectations in six of 10 games, by an average of more than three fantasy points per night. At this price points, he's quite the bargain, and in this salary range there aren't many centers with the usage rate he owns (19.4) or efficiency when on the court (20.1). What I like most about Turner tonight, though, is the matchup. Not only do the Suns operate at a fast pace, which equates to more possessions for the Pacers, but they also allow more points to opposing centers than the average for the season.
Also Consider: Hassan Whiteside - C, at ATL ($8,900)
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