NBA DFS Picks Building Blocks: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Big Game

Tuesday’s NBA schedule features a frontloaded 10-game main slate tipping off at 7:00 p.m. ET on DraftKings and FanDuel. Let’s look at the player pool to discuss the top NBA DFS building blocks today for DraftKings and FanDuel lineups. Be sure to check out the Stokastic NBA DFS & Fantasy Basketball home page, where you can find NBA DFS picks and analysis for each slate of games.

NBA DFS Picks Building Blocks Today: Tuesday, Dec. 27

Core Play of the Day — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Oklahoma City Thunder-San Antonio Spurs

Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 51.04 | FanDuel: 51.11
Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings 13.0% | FanDuel: 13.9%
DFS Salary: DraftKings: $10,000 | FanDuel: $10,600

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has had four days to recover from his 43 minutes played on Friday when the Thunder had a heartbreaking 128-125 overtime loss to the visiting Pelicans. Tonight brings another tasty match, this time against the Spurs, who have the third-worst defensive efficiency in the league, allowing 119.1 points per 100 possessions over their last 10 games.

Gilgeous-Alexander is posting career highs in most categories while averaging a tick over 50 fantasy points per game. Most impressive is the 50.2% success rate on 20.1 field goal attempts per game. He is driving to the rim more frequently, and it is also paying off with 10.2 free-throw attempts per game, which he is converting at a sterling 92.5% rate.

Teammates Luguentz Dort, Aleksej Pokusevski and Josh Giddey are fine options across the various DFS sites as well. San Antonio has been giving steady minutes to rookie Jeremy Sochan, and he stands out as one of the better value options if he remains in the starting lineup. Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell can be utilized as tournament options or put together with a couple other players from this game for increased synergistic potential.

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John Collins: Atlanta Hawks-Indiana Pacers

Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 29.99 | FanDuel: 30.15
Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings 18.9% | FanDuel: 14.9%
DFS Salary: DraftKings: $5,400 | FanDuel: $6,300

Trade rumors are once again heating up around John Collins. and with Clint Capela ruled out with a calf issue, now is the perfect time for a showcase game against the mediocre Indiana frontcourt. This season, Collins has played in four games without Capela, and he is averaging around 1.1 fantasy points per minute. Though he is a better option on DraftKings, his FanDuel salary leaves some potential upside.

Onyeka Okongwu, of course, is the direct beneficiary of Capela being out, and he should be in the mix for around 30 minutes of action. However, even though he is averaging just over a fantasy point per minute, he is only eligible as a center, and with Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid in the player pool, it is hard to look at other pivotmen.

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Tonight Dejounte Murray is an intriguing option with a 5.5 over/under line on his rebound prop in his matchup against the Pacers. Murray is one of the best rebounding guards in the game, but that has taken a backseat now that he is playing alongside Capela, Collins and Okongwu. However, with Capela out, that leaves more rebounds up for grabs.

This season, Murray is averaging just 5.3 rebounds per game, which is a dramatic drop off from his career-best 8.3 rebounds in his final year with San Antonio. In 17 of his 28 games, the former University of Washington stalwart has five or more rebounds. If he sees his usual minutes tonight, the Stokastic projections have him corralling 6.7 rebounds for a 59% probability of surpassing his threshold; at -118, this works out to an expected ROI of 7%.

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Charlotte Hornets-Golden State Warriors

Somehow this game with a ridiculous 240.0 projected point total is just the second highest of the night. The Denver Nuggets taking on the Kings in Sacramento has a 240.5 total. The twin late-night-hammer games should provide for some wild tournament finishes.

Last night, the Hornets lost 124-113 to the Trail Blazers in Portland, with most of their key players seeing mid-30s minutes. This is the final stop of their six-game West Coast road trip, and they have a chance to even things up at 3-3 for their nomadic existence over the holidays.

Over the last 10 games, Golden State is playing at the second-fastest pace in the league, behind only Charlotte. The Warriors have the fifth-worst defensive efficiency rating in this stretch. For those wondering, the Hornets have the worst.

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LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, PJ Washington and Kelly Oubre Jr. are all strong tournament options for the main slate and core plays for the two-game late slate.

Jordan Poole was tossed from the Christmas Day game against Memphis, and though he has reached the 40-fantasy-point plateau only once in his last eight games, that should be his baseline tonight, with another 8 to 12 points in attainable upside. Donte DiVincenzo can still return some profit on tonight’s salary, and he is a fine option in this matchup. Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are neutral plays, but this is the type of game environment in which they both can thrive and reach their respective “boom” score ranges.

Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks Building Blocks Today

Tonight is a frontloaded slate with seven games tipping off in the first hour. Be sure to tune into the Stokastic NBA Deeper Dive and Live Before Lock shows at 4:45 p.m. ET on YouTube, courtesy of No House Advantage.

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Author

Eric MacPherson

Eric "EMac" MacPherson won the 2007 Fantasy Baseball grand prize (trip for two to the MLB All-Star game) in the Roto format on ESPN. He won again in 2008, this time in the H2H format. As one of the early adopters of daily fantasy sports, EMac has been providing content for baseball and basketball as well as both professional and college football since 2012 for a variety of websites including DraftKings Playbook, FanVice, RotoWorld, Daily Fantasy Bootcamp, and RotoGrinders. He is well into his third decade of fantasy sports and has a wealth of knowledge and experience. Follow him on Twitter @EMacDFS or contact EMac by emailing [email protected].