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The top daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on December 12, 2018. Jake Finnen provides NBA DFS analysis and sleeper picks for building optimal DFS rosters.
After yesterday's dinky, three game slate, we get the chance to really flex our options with 11 games on on Wednesday's schedule. Out of all 11, only three are out-of-conference games so make sure you are targeting the more competitive matchups tonight. The Grizzlies and Trail Blazers should be close, especially seeing how Portland is on the second night of a back-to-back. Another game to target is the Brooklyn - Philadelphia game. The Nets can keep the game close, but I doubt it will be enough to beat the loaded 76ers team at home. I wouldn't say avoid the Warriors - Raptors game, but if Kawhi isn't playing then there is moreorless no upside in this game. The Warriors should win handily. As much as I respect Steven Adams defense, Anthony Davis is going to be hard to fade if he plays. Hopefully Oklahoma City's defensive rating versus centers will be enough to keep most players away...hopefully.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on 12/12/18. These DFS lineup picks can vary from higher-priced players and elite options to lower-priced players and value picks on DraftKings.
You can also check out today's FanDuel lineup picks. As always, don't set your lineups to early and check player statuses prior to opening tip. Find me in the NBA Chat Room or @HalfCourtJester on Twitter.
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DraftKings DFS Guards
Dennis Schroder - PG, at NO ($5,300)
We can't really view Dennis Schroder as a typical backup point guard for multiple reasons. He plays a ton of minutes every night, he get more than his fair chances to shoot and make plays for his teammates, but most importantly, Russell Westbrook doesn't kill his upside. My hope is that Westbrook plays and Jrue Holiday is stuck absorbing consistent drives to the paint, leaving Schroder to operate on a switching defender or someone like E'Twuan Moore. His price is more middle of the road and you could go uber-risky by playing Langston Galloway against the 24th ranked Charlotte Hornets. My advise would be to find a way to roster Jrue Holiday, Dennis Schroder, and Anthony Davis tonight.
Garrett Temple - PG/SG, vs. POR ($3,400)
Yeah, Garrett Temple doesn't really work for players consistent output, but he does have plenty of upside tonight. He needs to be hitting his threes to be a valuable option but his price gives us a decent bit of leniency. The Trail Blazers struggled to guard the permiter last night and hopefully playing two days in a row will give Temple a slight boost. There is risk here, but it's not like Temple won't get the minutes and he will be able to get plenty of shots up, if he decides to take them.
DraftKings DFS Forwards
Damyean Dotson - SG/SF, at CLE ($4,100)
So for this game, the production will be spotty. Granted, each team knows who they want to be their main sources of production, but it still doesn't guarantee much. Collin Sexton is coming on strong and will be the main generator for the Cavaliers, but on the opposing side it's literally a crap-shoot. What makes me confident in Dotson is his attention to hustle and ability to score against passive defenses. He is a drive-first guard who makes the easy pass and that should be pretty clear after the game. I doubt the Cleveland defense will be stingy enough to keep Dotson from at least hitting his projected tonight.
Jerami Grant - PF, at NO ($4,100)
Jerami Grant always has upside against teams that struggle to rebound, not to mention he will be able to extend the floor against the Pelicans. The Thunder defense and Grant's ability to thrive on defensive stats give him just THAT much more upside tonight and even going against the likes of Julius Randle shouldn't limit his ceiling whatsoever. His size might cap his rebounding ceiling, but as far as general production is concerned, I have plenty of faith in Grant to be able to show off his athleticism and outside scoring.
DraftKings DFS Center
Kevon Looney - C, vs. TOR ($3,700)
This isn't the safest pick, but it's not like Kevon Looney won't play against the Raptors. As one of the few core rebounders on the Warriors, he gets more than enough run against teams who tend to run big. Serge Ibaka, Jonas Valanciunas, and Pascal Siakam are all forwards that tend to dominate matchups, but bank on them being too busy switching and trying to guard the superstars, that it will open the foor for players like Looney to produce. His price is low and his ceiling is capped at about 25 FPTS, but that's still more than enough from a player that is providing pure cap relief.
