RADIO
We are back up to three games for our Thursday night NBA DFS slates. Hey, it's better than the one-gamer last week, right? It's not like there aren't stars on this slate, though I would be completely shocked if Kawhi Leonard played after playing in last night's game. The same could be said for Paul George as well. Still, John Wall and Luke Kennard will be back, so...yay? Load management sucks, but we are learning to deal with it.
With both FanDuel and DraftKings having multi-position eligibility players, we'll have to attack slates accordingly to make our lineups as optimal as possible. That's where I come in! I'll look to find my personal top plays and values for tonight's slate. Things can change during the day as well, so I'll do my best to update as news comes out!
Here are my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel and DraftKings on 12/8/22. Keep an eye on RotoBaller’s NBA injury news and also our full NBA injury report today to stay up to date before lineups are locked.
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DraftKings and FanDuel Guards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Anfernee Simons - vs. DEN (FD: $8,800, DK: $8,700)
Look, I'm a huge Damian Lillard fan. He's a great person and has a great passion for the game. That's also part of the reason why I won't use him at his price. Lillard cares more about the good of the team than his personal stats and success. He loves seeing the younger guys succeed and devotes a lot of his energy towards that. The numbers took a bit of a hit for Simons in Dame's return on Monday, but not enough to chase me off. Both can and will be successful with the way Portland plays, but one is still $1,000 cheaper.
Kyle Lowry - vs. LAC (FD: $7,300, DK: $6,800)
Lowry is finally with a team that will use him again. He's still got something left in the tank. Only Boston has held Lowry under 30 fantasy points since his disaster in Cleveland back on November 20. Lowry isn't going to break a slate with the Heat at full strength and with Herro playing the way he is playing, but it also makes Lowry one of the best floors on the entire slate. He's great for cash games thanks to the consistency.
Luke Kennard - at MIA (FD: $3,500, DK: $4,000)
Look, I know that Kennard is going to be on a minutes restriction, but there is absolutely no reason for him to be free on FanDuel. Kennard can do a lot of damage in 20-25 minutes, especially with Kawhi and Norman Powell out of action. Even if PG13 plays, Kennard should still get plenty of looks in his time on the court. There is enough upside to use Kennard as a value play in any format tonight.
Also consider: Tyler Herro (FD: $8,400, DK $7,700); Jalen Green (FD: $6,800, DK $6,900); Tre Jones (FD and DK: $6,400); John Wall (FD and DK: $5,900)
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DraftKings and FanDuel Forwards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Jerami Grant - vs. DEN (FD: $8,200, DK: $7,400)
I really love the discount on Grant on DK. Monday marked his first game under 40 DraftKings points since Thanksgiving, but Grant was barely under. Lillard returned and the whole team still produced. That's the mark of a great player. Lillard's presence will take some numbers away, but it also gives some back in ways you might not expect, such as Lillard making the pass for an easy deuce that no one else on the team could make. I'm still high on Grant at this price until he proves I shouldn't be.
Josh Hart - vs. DEN (FD: $6,400, DK: $6,100)
Yes, I'm a broken record, but the same as I said for Grant and Simons holds true here. Josh Hart still has value at this price with Dame back. Justise Winslow is the only one that significantly loses value. This is a plus matchup for the Blazers and it's only a three-game slate. Most of the Blazers feel too cheap across both sites. I likely will limit exposure to two or three per entry, but that doesn't make the plays any less good.
Tari Eason - at SA (FD: $4,600, DK: $4,300)
If Kawhi plays for some reason, use him at that price on FanDuel. He's way too cheap. If Kawhi is out, RoCo remains in play with Marcus Morris likely out again. I'm backing Eason here in a great spot though. Smith still plays more minutes, but Eason is a high-energy guy that has scored in double figures in each of the last two games. Yeah, the Rockets want Wembanyama. Who doesn't? I don't think they can punish Eason for his strong play though. Even if his minutes don't keep increasing, he should still continue playing as much as he has over the last 10 days or so.
Also consider: Keldon Johnson (FD: $7,500, DK: $7,600), Aaron Gordon (FD: $6,900, DK: $6,300), Jabari Smith (FD: $5,800, DK $5,000); Robert Covington (FD: $4,600, DK: $3,700)
DraftKings and FanDuel Centers - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Bam Adebayo - vs. DEN (FD: $9,000, DK: $8,400)
I really like this play if Jimmy Butler somehow misses this game. If not, Bam is still going to clean the glass (yes, even with Zubac there) and throw in around 20 points. He's not a slate-breaker by any means if Butler is in there, but Bam should still put up good enough numbers for his price.
Jusuf Nurkic - vs. DEN (FD: $7,200, DK: $7,000)
Yep, another freaking Blazer, but hear me out! Nurkic put up a better stat line than Jokic when these teams met in October. Jokic had his worst game of the season due to foul trouble, but that's part of the reason why I'm not paying top dollar for him here. Jokic won't play less than 30 minutes unless the Blazers get him in foul trouble again, but Nurkic has proven that he can hold his own with his former teammate and he is more than $4k cheaper! You can do a lot with that money!
Also consider: Nikola Jokic (FD: $11,500, DK: $11,300); Ivica Zubac (FD: $6,300, DK: $6,500)
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