Thursday, Dec. 2, leads toward the end of the week with a five-game slate. Let’s look at the player pool and discuss the top NBA DFS picks for DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo lineups. Do not forget to head over to the Awesemo NBA DFS home page for more great written daily fantasy basketball content.
NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks, Thursday, Dec. 2
Yahoo Play of the Day — Dejounte Murray: San Antonio Spurs at Portland Trail Blazers
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 46.17 | DraftKings: 47.06
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 20.8% | FanDuel 25.3% | DraftKings 21.5%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $44 | FanDuel $9,800 | DraftKings $9,800
Dejounte Murray continues to maintain his new level of performance, having posted 40 or more fantasy points in 10 of his last 12 games. In this stretch he is averaging 35.1 minutes and 18.8 field goal attempts, culminating in 20 points, nine rebounds, 7.8 assists and 2.6 combined blocks and steals. Portland has the second-worst defensive efficiency in the league, allowing 110.2 points per 100 possessions, which meshes well from a fantasy perspective with the Spurs’ third-highest pace.
C.J. McCollum: Portland Trail Blazers vs. San Antonio Spurs
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 40.71 | DraftKings: 42.2
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 37.8% | FanDuel 37.1% | DraftKings 30.1%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $33 | FanDuel $8,000 | DraftKings $8,500
Damian Lillard will be out for at least the next 10 days, as he is working through an abdominal injury. While it seems like Lillard has been injured for quite a while, he has only missed one game this year and four last season. In these five games, C.J. McCollum is averaging just over 36 minutes and 23.4 field goal attempts, including 9.4 from behind the arc. This has resulted in 24.4 points, four rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.8 combined blocks and steals. In his time on the court without Lillard since the start of last year, McCollum has seen an increase in his assist share and field goal attempts, though a decrease in his marksmanship on the volume keeps his fantasy efficiency at a similar rate.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Oklahoma City Thunder at Memphis Grizzlies
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 37.56 | DraftKings: 38.92
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 22.8% | FanDuel 27% | DraftKings 21.1%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $32 | FanDuel $7,900 | DraftKings $8,100
This is a back-to-back game for the Thunder, who lost last night to the Rockets. They have now lost seven in a row and nine of their last 10. In this stretch their leading scorers have been Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort. While this is the third game in four nights for Oklahoma City, they were off last weekend and do not play again until Monday. Both teams are running thin, with rookie Josh Giddey and veterans Derrick Favors and Kenrich Williams out for the Thunder. Memphis is missing Ja Morant, plus Kyle Anderson and Ziaire Williams are dinged up. Defense is not going to be a priority for either side, and anything less than 40 fantasy points from Gilgeous-Alexander is going to be a disappointment.
Gilgeous-Alexander is popping all over the Awesemo expert models, projections and NBA DFS lineup optimizer today. Alex Hunter breaks down where Gilgeous-Alexander is ranking in the Awesemo Boom/Bust tool in his NBA DFS Boom/Bust Picks article.
Jaren Jackson Jr.: Memphis Grizzlies vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 39.22 | DraftKings: 37.85
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 40.7% | FanDuel 40.7% | DraftKings 27.6%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $27 | FanDuel $6,900 | DraftKings $7,100
There will be ample offensive opportunities for Jaren Jackson Jr. to fill with Morant on the shelf. Foul trouble is always going to be a risk for Jackson, even though the Thunder do not have any particularly strong frontcourt options. Other than the fouls, the only other frustrating thing about Jackson’s game is that he does not rebound with nearly the ferocity with which he blocks shots. This season he has yet to post a double-digit-rebound game, though he does have multiple blocks in 12 of his last 14.
Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies
Anfernee Simons: Portland Trail Blazers vs. San Antonio Spurs
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 29.26 | DraftKings: 31.37
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 33.2% | FanDuel 32.8% | DraftKings 44%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $14 | FanDuel $5,200 | DraftKings $4,900
Even if Norman Powell returns from his quad injury, Anfernee Simons is going to see a major minutes boost filling in at point guard for Lillard over the next two weeks. Even as other value options appear with continues news leading up towards lock, Simons is going to be one of the best plays on the night.
Derrick Rose: New York Knicks vs. Chicago Bulls
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 25.51 | DraftKings: 25.46
- Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 10.2% | FanDuel 10.2% | DraftKings 16.1%
- DFS Salary: Yahoo $17 | FanDuel $5,500 | DraftKings $4,800
Now that Kemba Walker is out of the rotation, Derrick Rose should see a few more minutes both running the show and alongside newly anointed point guard Alec Burks. While this will not lead to Rose being run into the ground, it is one fewer “hot hand” that who could send him to the bench, and it should also give him an uptick in quality touches.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS picks for the Thursday, Dec. 2 Slate
Do not get distracted by Thursday Night Football and miss any late-breaking news. Keep in mind that salaries and scoring formats differ across the various fantasy sites, and a slam-dunk play on Yahoo may be a below-average NBA DFS pick on DraftKings or FanDuel.
