Saturday’s NBA slate offers some star power on both DraftKings and FanDuel for a medium-sized slate. 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: Saturday, December 17
Core Play of the Day — Zion Williamson: New Orleans Pelicans-Phoenix Suns
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 43.4 | FanDuel: 42.9
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings: 12.4% | FanDuel: 13.7%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $10,000 | FanDuel: $10,100
Tonight is looking very uncertain at the top of the projections. Of course, we will have all the necessary news we need prior to lock, particularly with four games tipping off at the same time. Luka Doncic, Spencer Dinwiddie and Dwight Powell have already been ruled out after playing last night.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is questionable with knee soreness, though if he is starting, he is a priority play against the Jazz. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would be the next man up, but with this being a back-to-back for Oklahoma City and with SGA averaging just over 37 minutes during the last three games, he could get the night off. The budding superstar has missed only two games this season, though both were at home.
Ja Morant is absolutely in play, though he would be better served with Gilgeous-Alexander suiting up to make for a more competitive tilt. Damian Lillard has a great matchup against Houston and he only played 24 minutes last night in a 130-110 drubbing by Dallas, but he too could be a rest candidate.
Then there is Devin Booker, who has been dealing with a hamstring issue that cost him two games and he is currently mired in a dreadful shooting slump. Again, all of these situations should be more clear prior to lock, but it is worth noting each situation.
That leaves us with Zion Williamson against the Suns, who are once again without Deandre Ayton, which leaves Bismack Biyombo and Jock Landale as the centers tasked with handling Williamson in the paint. Williamson is far from a consolation prize and he continues to benefit from the absence of Brandon Ingram, who will miss at least another week with a toe issue.
It’s hard to believe that tonight will mark only the 109th career game for Williamson, but he did miss all of last season and played in just 24 games in his debut campaign. Though he does not rebound as much as we would like, he is a tremendous scorer and a near lock for 20 points night in and night out.
Though he has only four double-digit rebounding efforts this season, in the most recent nine games that Ingram has missed, Williamson has been a fantasy delight. During this stretch, he is averaging 35.7 minutes and 17.6 field goal attempts with a ludicrous 63.9% conversion rate. This works out to 29.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 2.5 combined blocks and steals. The floor is 40 fantasy points and there is most definitely a path to the 50 fantasy point plateau tonight in the desert.
Biyombo and Landale are both fine punt options across the NBA DFS sites. Chris Paul is also in play on DraftKings and FanDuel, though he is particularly enticing at just $28 on Yahoo.
Additional NBA DFS Picks Building Blocks Picks Today – Sports Wagering Opportunities
Tonight Lauri Markannen has a 6.5 over/under line on his rebound prop for his matchup against the Bucks. The Stokastic NBA player projections have him for 7.9 rebounds and a 61% likelihood that he exceeds this threshold.
Markannen has eight or more rebounds in eight of his last 11 games. On the season The ‘Finnisher’ is averaging 8.5 boards and 9.0 per 36 minutes.
This wager does have a semi-heavy -145 juice, which comes with low 4% expected return on investment (xROI) per OddsShopper. These types of wagers with a high likelihood of success but a lower payout upside are best used as a leg in a straight or same-game parlay.
Did you know that you can get two free months of Stokastic Plus Platinum for signing up and making your first bet at BetMGM? Claim here today!
Portland Trail Blazers-Houston Rockets
This is a back to back for the Blazers, though they were so thoroughly shellacked in Dallas last night, none of the starters saw the court after their first rotation of the second half and Lillard logged the most time with just 24.3 minutes. Tonight is a crucial opportunity for a road victory as Portland looks to continue climbing up the Western Conference standings.
Lillard is of course a tremendous option and early projections have Jusuf Nurkic on less than 20% of all lineups. Josh Hart is particularly appealing on DraftKings ($5,900) and FanDuel ($5,700) with Jerami Grant and Anfernee Simons also worthy of our consideration.
Houston should be at full strength with Alperen Sengun and Tari Eason both expected to play, despite dealing with ankle issues. Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. both look like excellent point per dollar options in the mid-range, with Jabari Smith being on the short list of power forwards tonight.
Dallas Mavericks-Cleveland Cavaliers
This looks like a laugher and a schedule loss for the Mavericks who are sitting quite a few players. There is no word on Christian Wood, but with all of the other key players being out, he could be in line for a short run tonight. Even though these teams are among the slowest-paced squads in the league and with Cleveland possessing a fierce defense, anyone drawing a start for Dallas looks to be a strong value option. Kemba Walker is particularly relevant at a near-minimum salary and in his two appearances for the Mavs, he has averaged a fantasy point per minute. If he sees mid-20s minutes, he is a solid discount dandy.
Keep tabs on news closer to lock to see what coach Jason Kidd plans to do with Tim Hardaway Jr., Dorian Finney-Smith, JaVale McGee, Reggie Bullock and Frank Ntilikina.
Cleveland should easily be able to dispatch the ragtag and motley crew put forth by Dallas. Of course, there is a reason that the games are played, so that leaves our usual suspects from The ‘Land as tournament options. Kevin Love stands out at a low salary and we know he can pile up the fantasy points in a lackadaisical game.
The Cavaliers tend to run a tight rotation, but with Lamar Stevens dinged up and Dean Wade out, Cedi Osman and Raul Neto are likely to benefit from potential mop up duty. So too should Isaac Okoro, but it is difficult to give him any sort of recommendation.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks Building Blocks Today
Tonight is a condensed five-game slate with four games tipping off at 8:00 p.m. and the New Orleans Pelicans at Phoenix Suns serving as the proverbial late night hammer. Four of the teams also played on Friday, which means we are likely to see additional injury and rest situations, so tune into the Stokastic NBA Deeper Dive and Live Before Lock shows on YouTube at 6:00 p.m. ET for all of the up-to-date analysis.
Thanks for reading to the end of this article! If you appreciate this free content and want to see more of it every day, you can help us out by sharing this article on social media!
