Friday brings back one more day of standard action, with a MASSIVE 13-game slate locking at 7 p.m. ET 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 and Anfernee Simons are strong options tonight as well as being joined by some teammates and some opponents in their matchups. Let’s dig into the NBA DFS picks and core plays.
NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: Friday, December 8
Devin Booker: Phoenix Suns vs. Sacramento Kings
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 56.77 | FanDuel: 54.5
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings: 23.3% | FanDuel: 10.5%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $10,100 | FanDuel: $10,800
This is a relatively easy recommendation, particularly with Kevin Durant (ankle) and Grayson Allen (groin) are joining Bradley Beal (back) on the sidelines tonight. Though it is a small sample size of 182 minutes, when Booker is on the floor sans Durant and Beal, he averages 1.5 fantasy points per minute this season. If we extend this back to last season and also remove Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton, Booker is averaging just over 1.4 fantasy points per minute.
Over the last 10 games, Sacramento has allowed 116.8 points per 100 possessions which is the eighth worst defensive efficiency in the league during this timeframe. The Kings also hare logging 102.4 possessions per 48 minutes in this stretch which is the sixth fastest pace. Even without three key players, the Suns are only home-dogs by a bucket. This game has a 235.5 projected point total, so there are other players to target in this matchup.
Sacramento is mostly healthy, aside from Chris Duarte who is questionable. Still with the minutes and usage going to De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, they are strong tournament options most days. Jusuf Nurkic looks good with a median fantasy projection of around 40 in most DFS scoring formats, though the usual caveat about centers and opportunity cost still applies. Eric Gordon is far from a spring chicken, but the soon-to-be 35-year-old can still put the biscuit in the basket and he should see around 15 field goal attempts.
The Suns still have plenty of bodies, just a major talent void tonight. Jordan Goodwin is the fourth and final option on the featured-slate from Phoenix, though he will need to produce 30 fantasy points to be much of a factor with his DraftKings ($5,200) and FanDuel ($4,600) salaries. That is a mark he has surpassed just once this season, but he reached it a dozen times last year with the frenetic-based offense of the Washington Wizards.
Anfernee Simons: Portland Trail Blazers vs. Dallas Mavericks
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 37.88 | FanDuel: 35.26
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings: 25.7% | FanDuel: 26.1%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $6,800 | FanDuel: $6,600
Anfernee Simons came back from his thumb injury for 37 productive minutes on Wednesday, launching 27 field goal attempts. He ended the night with 28 points, four assists and one rebound, but that is a great indication that he is ready to log heavy run tonight. Jerami Grant (concussion) is out again and Deandre Ayton (knee) is doubtful. Malcolm Brogdon managed just 12.5 minutes in the last game, before exiting with knee soreness.
Shaedon Sharpe has 40-plus fantasy points in his last three outings and he is an interesting tournament option on the featured-slate and he elevates to a borderline core play on the two-game late-slate. Neither Dallas nor Portland has much of an emphasis on defense, so Luka Doncic is poised to tally 60 fantasy points for the fifth time in the last six games and Kyrie Irving is similar to Sharpe’s outlook.
Grant Williams is out for the Mavericks as is Maxilian Kleber, though there are enough able bodies and usage going to Irving and Doncic, that it is hard to be excited for anyone else on the main-slate. Dereck Lively, Dante Exum, Derrick Jones Jr. and Tim Hardaway Jr. are differentiation options for the two-game nightcap, though their viability varies across the different NBA DFS sites.
Orlando Magic vs. Detroit Pistons
Depending on your DFS site of choice, various Orlando players are popping up in the matchup against the visiting Pistons. Over the last 10 games, Detroit has allowed 119.9 points per 100 possessions, which is the fourth worst defensive efficiency rating during this period. Jalen Suggs is out after tweaking his ankle twice on Wednesday as is oft-injured Jonathan Isaac. Wendell Carter Jr. and Markelle Fultz are still out, so we know that should prop up Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero as strong options on both DraftKings and FanDuel.
Cole Anthony should be good for 30 minutes either coming off the bench or as a starter, while Goga Bitadze and Moritz Wagner are added to the growing pile of center options. Joe Ingles could potentially start, with Anthony remaining in his reserve role, but he too is in play since he shapes up as a secondary offensive facilitator.
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Additional NBA Building Blocks Pick — Sports Betting Opportunities
Mikal Bridges is looking intriguing in the sports wagering market, with a -110 line to reach the over 35.5 points + rebounds + assists (PRA) prop. Per the +103 “True Odds” (how OddsShopper measures the potential expected ROI of a given wager), this wager does have a -6% expected ROI. Looking across the various sportsbooks offering this bet, we can see a variety of lines ranging from -110 to -135, which just shows how important it is to let OddsShopper do the heavy lifting when looking for wagers as the books themselves can be quite penalizing to those who are not paying attention.
What is not displayed, however, is that there are several “pick’em” sites offering the same over 35.5 wager at a 50/50 proposition. Of course, we need to add in a second leg to take advantage of that wrinkle, which sort of evens things back out to around a -110 line.
NBA Bet Pro has Bridges projected for 34.5 minutes,24.88 points, 5.95 rebounds and 4.14 assists, which works out to 34.95 PRA. Keep in mind that this is a median outcome and the matchup tonight is against Washington, with the visiting Wizards 10.0 point underdogs, but hanging tough into the fourth quarter which keeps opposing teams running starters longer than expected in such a lopsided matchup.
Over his last seven games, Bridges is averaging a 40.1 PRA, with four games of 37 or higher as well as one at 30 and one at 35. He should be in the mix once again tonight with Washington posting a league worst 124.7 defensive efficiency rating over the last three weeks, while playing at a top-five pace.
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Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today
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