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The top daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on December 2, 2018. Jake Finnen provides NBA DFS analysis and sleeper picks for building optimal DFS rosters.
With six games total and four on DraftKings main slate, we don't really have many choices. Bigs are far and few between tonight so make sure you find those one or two value plays and combine it with certain consistency. There are not that many overpriced superstars so look for Damian Lillard and Joel Embiid to be the go-to guys. I support you playing both if you can afford it and if you need value, check the Heat-Jazz game.
The game to watch will be the 76ers-Grizzlies. Embiid is facing still competition on defense and it will be a true test to Jaren Jackson Jr. and his upside. Jackson's floor is fairly high so he should be a solid contributor going forward, but he is nowhere near at the level that Embiid is at, so tonight will be important for his development. Embiid is too talented for the Grizzlies defense so even with a slower pace, there is still plenty of upside.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on 12/2/18. 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 before the opening tip.
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DraftKings DFS Guards
C.J. McCollum - PG at SA ($6,900)
Not necessarily a cheap option for tonight and Damian Lillard is just as good of an option if not better, but McCollum offers a bit of salary relief and the Spurs backcourt is going to struggle defensively. He's coming off his second-highest scoring game of the season and hopefully he can turn this into a trend. To be completely honest I do not have all that much faith in McCollum, especially after he posted a fairly big game. It's not that he doesn't respond well, he just needs to be hitting for him to really contribute and generating offense for the rest of the team has taken an obvious backseat to shooting. Not a problem and it fits his style better, but we still have to be aware when rostering him.
DeMar DeRozan - SG/SF vs. POR ($7,800)
I usually try to even out my picks with some value but tonight will revolve around the Spurs-Trail Blazers game. The big three of scorers this game all have enough upside to justify playing them, and honestly you might as well look to stack this game. The Trail Blazers have Al-Farouq Aminu as their defensive playmaker so look for him to try and be in DeRozan's pocket all game, but not limit him. DeRozan has made a career on isolation offense against top-tier defenders. There will be only so much the Trail Blazers will be able to do to keep DeRozan out of the paint.
DraftKings DFS Forwards
James Johnson - SF/PF vs. UTA ($3,900)
It's kind of difficult to not play James Johnson every night despite his fluctuating minutes, so look for him to sail past his projected. The Jazz will slow the game down but that will fit directly into Johnson's team-first mindset. He knows when he should shoot and when to give it up so don't expect an explosion from him, but he does have upside being a playmaker against a slower team. They will look to get him involved because his size and athleticism should be enough to open up room for the rest of his teammates.
Danilo Gallinari - SF/PF at DAL ($6,400)
The Clippers offense is dictated by how well Tobias Harris and Danilo Gallinari are playing. The Mavericks defense is not bad, but they do not have the players that are capable of stopping automatic scorers. Dallas ranks in the bottom half of the league when it comes to guarding opposing small and power forwards, so basically Gallinari has his work cut out for him. Even if he is tasked with guarding Harrison Barnes or a bigger forward, he will still be able to get to his spots and he should be seeing more threes than usual tonight.
DraftKings DFS Center
Bam Adebayo - PF/C vs. UTA ($4,300)
Still not the biggest fan of picking players that will go up directly against Rudy Gobert, but it's hard not to pick a big from this game when you know they will be the focus. Kelly Olynyk has plenty of upside, as does Hassan Whiteside, but I don't know how any DFS player can watch him and confidently say they want him in their lineup. If Whiteside goes for 20-20 then my bad. He should be doing that every night but he plays will little to no effort and it's annoying watching him leaving production on the table every night, even when he has big nights. Bam on the other hand is the complete opposite. More hustle than anything and it can get underwhelming in the box score. Playing Adebayo and Olynyk tonight could prove to be value plays that could save the night.
