NBA DFS Picks: FREE 12/26 Cash Building Blocks: De’Aaron Fox, Value Plays and MORE

Thursday, Dec. 26 brings a six-game main slate for all the big daily fantasy sites. Before you lock in your NBA DFS lineups and NBA DFS picks on DraftKings, FanDuel, Yahoo and FantasyDraft, make sure to check out check out Awesemo’s NBA DFS rankings and projections. Let’s dig into some NBA DFS Picks, including De’Aaron Fox, Rudy Gobert, and more.

Hey! Check out our Twitter account for loads of FREE giveaways.

Check out Chris Spags’ Switch and Hedge for more NBA DFS picks and analysis HERE.


Don’t forget to check out the NBA Strategy Show featuring Dave “Loughy” Loughran and Adam “ShipMyMoney” Scherer as they break down the NBA DFS slate and give out their thoughts on Andre Drummond, Bradley Beal, Luka Doncic, injury news and analysis.


NBA DFS Picks: Prime Time Players

De’Aaron Fox: Sacramento Kings vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

DraftKings $7,000, FanDuel $6,900, Yahoo $28 Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 22.4%, FanDuel 19.1% Yahoo Fantasy 25.1%

After missing 17 games with an ankle injury, we have seen Sacramento slowly ramp up the minutes and workload for De’Aaron Fox. He has started the last two games, culminating in 36.0 minutes on Dec. 23 against Houston. In the other three games, he totaled 29.7, 24.3 and 29.8 minutes, coming off the bench in the first two and starting the third.

Prior to his injury, Fox was averaging in the mid-30s and that is a fine baseline for today’s expected effort. Over the last 30 days, Minnesota is playing at a top-10 pace with a bottom-five defensive efficiency rating allowing 115.9 points per 100 possessions. Since Fox’s return, the Kings are averaging four more possessions per game over their rolling 30-day average.

This is a 15-20% discount on an appropriate price tag for the former Kentucky Wildcat. He is a core play in all formats today.

NBA DFS Picks: Good Value

Shabazz Napier: Minnesota Timberwolves at Sacramento Kings

DraftKings $3,300, FanDuel $4,700, Yahoo $11 Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 11.1%, FanDuel 1.0% Yahoo Fantasy 10.0%

This is just simply a miss by sites not named FanDuel. Shabazz Napier had moved into the starting lineup at the beginning of this west coast road trip with 20.1 minutes in Denver and then 29.6 minutes in Portland (clearly the boost was a result of the #RememberMe game). Then in Golden State, he was a DNP for Illness, but we should consider him a full go if he is starting again tonight and he should be in the mix for 22 to 24 minutes in a great matchup.

Elfrid Payton: New York Knicks at Brooklyn Nets

DraftKings $5,300, FanDuel $5,400, Yahoo $20 Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 25.3%, FanDuel 13.1% Yahoo Fantasy TBA%

As long as Elfrid Payton remains in the starting lineup, we should at least feel a somewhat confident that he sees 26 to 28 minutes. Remember that coach David Fizdale has been out for nine games now and we have seen a slightly more stable Knicks rotation.

Dennis Smith Jr. is out with an oblique injury and R.J. Barrett is starting, so that leaves Frank Ntilikina and Allonzo Trier to handle the backup minutes at the point. Though they are still playing at a top-five pace over their last six games, the Nets have the second-best defensive efficiency in the league during that stretch, allowing 102.2 points per 100 possessions. That is not going to dissuade me, but it is important to remember that things are ever changing in the NBA.

Yahoo Discount Dandies

Shabazz Napier at SAC – $10

Gary Payton II at DET – $10

Ian Mahinmi at DET – $10

Nerlens Noel vs MEM – $10

NBA DFS Picks: Risky Value

Blake Griffin: Detroit Pistons vs. Washington Wizards

DraftKings $6,800, FanDuel $5,600, Yahoo $21 Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 16.1%, FanDuel 38.2% Yahoo Fantasy 39.8%

First off, this is a very reasonable price point for Blake Griffin when we consider his current level of production. It is clear that he is still recovering from his last combination injury—left hamstring, posterior and knee—which keep in mind, he also had knee surgery on this leg last April. In 75 games of action, all with the Pistons last season, Griffin averaged 1.24 fantasy points per minute. This year, he is at 0.94 in 28.6 minutes per game.

What we get tonight is a lot of uncertainty, so be cognizant of this as Griffin is really popping in optimizers.

Fantasy Cruncher Tip of the Day

With the incredibly user-friendly and flexible rules creation feature on Fantasy Cruncher, we can take our lineup construction to the next level.

After the Robert Covington “not starting, but not getting traded” kerfuffle from earlier, I wanted to remind everyone that we are able to easily make adjustments if we have FantasyCruncher.

Today’s highlighted feature is the Swaptimizer that makes life so much easier on DraftKings when that unexpected news breaks after the main slate action has begun.

Step 1: download your current CSV lineup file from DraftKings (you need to have the current file so the Swaptimizer knows which players have been locked).

Step 2: in FantasyCruncher, select the games that have yet to tip off. Then you can adjust any of your rules, exposures, projections, etc. for the remaining available player pool.

Finally….

Step 3: it’s time to Swaptimize!

Final Thoughts

Tune in to the Deeper Dive/Live Before Lock shows on Twitch and Periscope beginning at 5 p.m. EST tonight for all of the up-to-date information.

As always, you can reach out to me in Awesemo.com Premium Slack or on Twitter @EMacDFS if you have any NBA DFS questions about DraftKings, FanDuel, Yahoo or FantasyDraft.

Good Luck NBA DFS Gamers! ~ EMac


If you haven’t signed up for Yahoo Fantasy DFS, click this link and use the promo code Awesemo when making your first deposit and you will be eligible for $30 of free play, which Yahoo will match through the first $30 of your deposit (this bonus will be received in Yahoo Sports Rewards Points, aka YSRP which can be used to enter any paid contest immediately).

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].

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