Tuesday brings a festive four-game featured slate with a 7:30 p.m. ET lock time on DraftKings and FanDuel. There are several options in the player pool worth analyzing to find the top NBA DFS building blocks and NBA DFS picks. Devin Booker is a fine centerpiece in tonight in all formats, and there are some intriguing plot lines to delve into. Let’s dig into the NBA DFS picks and core plays.
NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: Tuesday, December 19
Devin Booker: Phoenix Suns at Portland Trail Blazers
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 49.25 | FanDuel: 47.51
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings: 7.8% | FanDuel: 10.5%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $9,700 | FanDuel: $10,200
Devin Booker is getting lost in the shuffle tonight, and he is likely to be on fewer than 20% of all tournament rosters once the dust settles. Bradley Beal (ankle) is going to miss the next couple of weeks, and Josh Okogie (hip) is out as well. Phoenix is only two games above .500, and the Suns have lost six of their last nine games. They are 8.5-point road favorites, though do not expect Portland to gift them an easy victory.
Booker should see 37 to 38 minutes in this matchup, making him one of the more secure options on the board. While he has topped 50 fantasy points only twice in his last six games, anything less than that will be a disappointment tonight. Kevin Durant is also a strong option, and he too should flirt with the 50-fantasy-point plateau in this matchup.
Jusuf Nurkic and Deandre Ayton are likely to have a spirited rematch, this time with Nurkic heading back to his old stomping grounds. Both were motivated in the last game, with Ayton actually attempting 14 shots for his second highest total of the season, and Nurkic dropped in 40 fantasy points in 29 minutes.
Memphis Grizzlies at New Orleans Pelicans
Ja Morant will make his debut this season after serving his 25-game suspension. This is a back-to-back for the Grizzlies, who were easily dispatched by the Thunder 116-97 in Oklahoma City, with Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane not taking the court in the final frame.
Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard are getting closer to a return, but it will not be tonight. Derrick Rose will be out through Christmas with his hamstring injury, and Bismack Biyombo is still questionable after missing Monday’s game with a sore back.
The Yahoo Fantasy salary algorithm missed Morant, and he is listed at the $10 minimum, so lock him in if you are dabbling there. FanDuel and DraftKings have Morant at a reasonable salary, which definitely makes things more fun.
Targeting the trio of Morant, Jackson and Bane is fine, and Vince Williams Jr. and Santi Aldama are still viable tournament options, even though they disappointed last night. If Biyombo returns, Aldama loses some luster.
Zion Williamson popped up on the afternoon injury report with an illness, so keep tabs on his status. If he is in, we know what we are getting with the Pelicans. If he is out, Jonas Valanciunas gets an upgrade with minutes, rebounds and more low-post scoring opportunities. Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum will also be more appealing, as would Herb Jones and whoever gets the spot start.
San Antonio Spurs at Milwaukee Bucks
Rookie Victor Wembanyama (ankle) is not available for tonight, which has the Bucks as 16.5-point favorites in Milwaukee. That means there are 30 minutes and 16.3 field goal attempts that will be redistributed to the rest of the San Antonio rotation. The direct beneficiaries will be Zach Collins, who is likely to draw a spot start, and Sandro Mamukelashvili will serve as the backup center.
Mamukelashvili was with Milwaukee after being drafted and traded by the Indiana Pacers. His rookie season with the Bucks saw him play in 41 games with three starts; he appeared in 24 games in 2022 before being waived and then claimed and signed by San Antonio. Last year in seven starts with the Spurs, he posted some mercurial results, bouncing between 20 and 40 fantasy points. When given the chance, he can produce around a 0.9 to 1.0 fantasy point per minute, so at the minimum salary on both DraftKings ($3,000) and FanDuel ($3,500), he is an interesting punt play. The real trick will be for him to see more than 15 minutes.
Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson get an uptick in their projections with the additional opportunities being made available by Wembanyama’s absence. Since this is a short slate, Jeremy Sochan, Tre Jones and Malaki Branham are reasonable tournament options as well.
Giannis Antetokounmpo has a median fantasy point projection that is 10 points higher than anyone else in the player pool, but he may not see his full complement of minutes if Milwaukee takes care of business. Damian Lillard, Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez are also potential candidates for in-game rest if this game becomes wildly lopsided.
Bobby Portis probably has the safest allocation of regular playing time, and he could pick up some extra fourth quarter run. Knowing the Bucks, it would not be a shock if one of their regulars got the night off, which would make the remaining players more appealing.
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Additional NBA Building Blocks Pick — Sports Betting Opportunities
Stephen Curry is someone to target in the sports wagering market with the -104 line on his under 39.5 points + rebounds + assists (PRA) prop. Per the true odds of -123 (how OddsShopper measures the potential expected ROI of a given wager), this opportunity has an outstanding 8% expected ROI.
It is crucial to take advantage of OddsShopper to look at all the available lines since that can easily be worth another 2% to 3% ROI, even on perfectly neutral bets, based on how the different books value things. Looking at the screenshot below, the -126 posted at Pinnacle for under 38.5 PRA demonstrates this very concept. We can see that FanDuel has under 39.5 priced at -104 for the best combination. Be a savvy shopper!
NBA Bet Pro has Curry projected for 35.3 minutes, 29.33 points, 5.23 rebounds and 5.02 assists for 39.61 PRA. The current available wager has a 55% win probability, and we need to remember that range of outcomes is different than the specific median projection.
Curry is not as efficient or effective without Draymond Green, and tonight he is facing one of the better defenses in the league. While Curry can still drop 40 on any team in the league if he is dialed in from downtown, those performances are not as frequent as they were five years ago. In his 10 games this season without Green, he has failed to post 40 PRA on seven occasions. In his last game, he scored just 7 points and failed to make a 3-point shot, ending his historic streak at 268 games. Perhaps that will motivate him tonight, but with all other factors, the under is looking good.
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Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today
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