Monday’s NBA wraps up the holiday weekend with 20 teams in action on the featured slate, with games staggered throughout the night. The action for the 10-game main slate gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on DraftKings and FanDuel. Let’s look at the player pool to discuss the top NBA DFS building blocks for DraftKings and FanDuel lineups.
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NBA DFS Picks: Monday, Jan. 2
Core Play of the Day — LeBron James: Los Angeles Lakers-Charlotte Hornets
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 56.07 | FanDuel: 54.02
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings 26.7% | FanDuel: 17.0%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $10,300 | FanDuel: $10,800
On Friday, LeBron James celebrated his 38th birthday in style, leading the Lakers to a 130-121 victory over the Hawks in Atlanta. The King narrowly missed out on a triple-double, with 47 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Tonight he has a matchup in Charlotte against the Hornets on three days of rest. Over the last month, both of these teams are playing at a top-five pace while also possessing two of the three worst defensive efficiency ratings in the league during this stretch. This has resulted in a 242.5 projected point total, which is just absurd.
This season, when Anthony Davis is off the court, James is averaging 1.52 fantasy points per minute. Though he is no longer much of a defensive factor, James can essentially play every position and his ability to stuff the stat sheet in every category makes him a fantasy stalwart, even in his 20th NBA campaign. Teammate Thomas Bryant is also worthy of our attention, as the Charlotte frontcourt allows more rebounds and fantasy points than any other team in the league. Though it will cost us a center slot, there is 40-fantasy-point upside in this matchup.
James Harden: Philadelphia 76ers-New Orleans Pelicans
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: 48.94 | FanDuel: 46.79
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: 4.9% | FanDuel: 2.4%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $10,100 | FanDuel: $10,300
The above projections are still inclusive of Joel Embiid, who was downgraded earlier today with a sore back. Considering James Harden received a day off the last time the 76ers took the court, it would seem to reason that Embiid likely will do the same tonight. This season, when Embiid has been off the court, Harden has averaged 1.46 fantasy points per minute and a 32.1% usage rate. If the Cameroonian is out, then Harden should be able to flirt with a triple-double, and he would also see a 10% to 15% boost to his median fantasy projection.
Luka Doncic: Dallas Mavericks-Houston Rockets
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: 62.59 | FanDuel: 60.75
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: 10.3% | FanDuel: 10.6%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $12,400 | FanDuel: $12,400
Yes, at some point Luka Doncic is going to have an off night, but in the meantime, he has 80 or more fantasy points (FanDuel scoring) in four of his last five games. The ridiculous shooting is going to come to an end, as 59.8% on 25.4 field goal attempts per game and 50.0% on eight 3-point attempts are simply unsustainable.
Tonight, with a loaded player pool, there will be plenty of value options appearing throughout the day, so it will not be difficult to build around Doncic. He has already faced Houston twice during this five-game heater, and while they should be very familiar with his moves at this point, the volume should continue to carry Doncic to another stellar fantasy performance.
Additional NBA DFS Picks Building Blocks Picks Today – Sports Betting Opportunities
Mason Plumlee is an interesting option with a 2.5 over/under on his assists prop in his matchup against the Lakers on his home floor tonight. This season, the crafty big man has recorded three or more assists in 31 of 37 (83.7%) of his games, and with Kelly Oubre Jr. out, there are some trickledown minutes available for Plumlee.
The NBA Bet Pro projections have him dishing out 3.4 points for a 57% probability of surpassing this milestone; at -110 on BetMGM, this works out to an expected ROI of 9%. This is the perfect wager to work into a straight or same-game parlays for additional payout potential
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!
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Atlanta Hawks-Golden State Warriors
Both teams in this matchup have injuries to key players. Atlanta is without Clint Capela (calf), and De’Andre Hunter (ankle) has missed the last three games, though he is getting close to a return. Golden State, of course, is missing Andrew Wiggins and Stephen Curry, but now they are running incredibly thin on frontcourt players, with JaMychal Green (leg/health and safety protocol), Jonathan Kuminga (foot) and James Wiseman (ankle) all out as well. Somehow among all this chaos, the Warriors are still favored by a bucket.
John Collins and Onyeka Okongwu should continue to see extra minutes and opportunities to fill the void left by Capela, and they are still at reasonable salaries on DraftKings and FanDuel. Dejounte Murray and Trae Young also are strong options in this game with a projected total approaching 240 points. Bogdan Bogdanovic is worthy of consideration on the late slate, though he can be skipped on the featured slate.
It would seem that Kevon Looney and Draymond Green will be getting as many minutes as they can handle tonight. Green is appealing as a power forward, though Looney is hard to trust, even in this all but perfect matchup, as he will cost us a center slot and we have all been burned by him in similar situations before. If he continues to see his popularity cresting over the 30% to 35% range, leave him for others to take the risk.
Klay Thompson, Donte DiVincenzo and Jordan Poole are all secondary options for the full slate, and they are core building blocks on the late slate. Anthony Lamb and Ty Jerome are worthy of consideration for the evening action as well.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks Building Blocks Today
Tonight should be a fun one, with games tipping off at five different times. Be sure to tune into the Stokastic NBA Deeper Dive and Live Before Lock shows at 5 p.m. ET on YouTube, courtesy of No House Advantage.
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