Tuesday wraps up the holiday weekend with 18 teams in action, tipping off at 7 p.m. ET on DraftKings and FanDuel. DraftKings is keeping all nine games in their featured contests, while FanDuel has eschewed the two games in the 10 o’clock hour. There are several options in the player pool worth analyzing to find the top NBA DFS building blocks and NBA DFS picks. Devin Vassell and Jeremy Sochan are two of the best fantasy point-per-dollar options in the player pool. There is a fair amount of injury news pending, which should make for a wild night in tournaments. Let’s dig into the NBA DFS picks and core plays.
NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: Tuesday, December 26
Devin Vassell: San Antonio Spurs vs. Utah Jazz
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 35.17 | FanDuel: 33.73
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings: 13.2% | FanDuel: 49.1%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $7,000 | FanDuel: $6,400
Since FanDuel has elected to remove the last two matchups on the docket in order to create a more compact game window, let’s look at who grades out as the best play on the blue site. This matchup will be one to target in most DFS formats, and it has a fantasy-friendly 241.5 projected total, which is the highest on the slate.
Victor Wembanyama (ankle) tripped over a ball boy on Saturday as he was finishing warmups, and he ended up missing the game. Currently he is questionable, though it would not be a surprise to see the Spurs be cautious with the future of their franchise and hold out the rookie again tonight. If he is out, then Zach Collins becomes an outstanding option. If he is in, then the 19-year-old Frenchman is a fine tournament target.
Devin Vassell has had some inconsistent performances over the last few weeks, but it has been a result of hit-or-miss shooting. He is converting his field goal attempts at a career-best 45.7%, with an effective field goal rate of 54.6%. He is just five games removed from serving up a 50 burger to the Lakers, so things are lining up for him to be a core play on FanDuel.
Vassell is a decent play on DraftKings; however, Jeremy Sochan stands out at just $6,000 and holding point guard and small forward eligibility. The second-year player has a decent handle when compared to other forwards, but he is miscast as the co-lead point guard for San Antonio. The team is obviously in development mode, so as fantasy gamers we should not complain, though Wembanyama gets better looks when it is Tre Jones at the helm. Similar to Vassell, Sochan has had varied performances, but he does have 35-plus fantasy points in two of the last three games. That has him on the short list in all formats tonight.
Chicago Bulls vs. Atlanta Hawks
Trae Young (shoulder) and Nikola Vucevic (adductor) are both questionable, so there could be additional moving parts in this matchup. Jalen Johnson will be available after missing the last 14 games with a wrist injury, so he could be slotting into the minutes recently vacated by De’Andre Hunter, who will be out for the next two weeks due to his troublesome knee.
Over the last 10 games, Atlanta has allowed 123.0 points per 100 possessions, which is the third-worst defensive efficiency rating in the league. The Hawks are playing at the 10th-fastest pace during this stretch, which is a bonus for the methodical Chicago offense. To the Bulls’ credit, they have been efficient, even with Zach LaVine on the shelf.
Vucevic, Coby White, DeMar DeRozan and Patrick Williams all rate out among the 15 best fantasy point-per-dollar options on FanDuel, and the first three are in the top 10 on DraftKings. White is in a bit of a slump from behind the arc, but once he is back on track, he should be rattling of 40 fantasy points per night. DeRozan is playing 36-plus minutes per night, and he is still producing just over a fantasy point per minute, even in his age-34 season.
If Vucevic is out, that is a boost for Williams, and, of course, we have been waiting for the moment to ride with Andre Drummond;Â in a game where he gets 24 minutes, he will be a threat for 40 fantasy points.
Young is a fine play, though if he is out, Dejounte Murray will have the backcourt to himself, and Bogdan Bogdanovic should be in line for extra run as well.
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Orlando Magic at Washington Wizards
This is the front end of a back-to-back for Orlando, and Jonathan Isaac has been ruled out. If Jalen Suggs (wrist) misses a third game and Joe Ingles (ankle) sits for a fifth, the remaining Magic will once again be viable options. The injury absences have already been factored into salaries, so if this duo plays, things are a little crowded.
Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero are both top-10 options on FanDuel, while the latter is definitely in play on DraftKings. Washington has the second-worst defensive efficiency rating in the game over the last 10 at 123.6, with the team playing at the fastest pace during this stretch. Sadly, the Wizards have been faltering on offense, with a -10.3 net rating in this timeframe. The Magic are back home hosting Philadelphia tomorrow night, so ideally they will give Suggs and Ingles one more day of recovery. If Suggs is out, Cole Anthony will enter the conversation as a tournament consideration.
Kyle Kuzma was awful four days ago, falling short of 20 fantasy points for the first time this season. That was the fourth and final game of Washington’s four-city West Coast road trip, so hopefully he is raring to go tonight. He is the best option from the Wizards night in and night out though far from a must-play with tonight’s deeper player pool.
Additional NBA Building Blocks Pick — Sports Betting Opportunities
Desmond Bane is someone to consider in the sports wagering market with a -115 line on his under 35.5 points + rebounds + assists (PRA) prop. Per the true odds of -130 (how OddsShopper measures the potential expected ROI of a given wager), this opportunity has a solid 6% expected ROI as a function of the inefficient line.
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% for your ROI, even on perfectly neutral bets, based on how the different books value things. Looking at the screenshot below, the -153 posted at Pinnacle for under 35.5 PRA demonstrates this very concept. The line at FanDuel is even more punitive at -104, with one PRA less than the figure at Unibet.
NBA Bet Pro has Bane projected for 34.8 minutes, 24.77 points, 4.53 rebounds and 4.63 assists for 33.93 PRA. The current available wager has a 59% win probability, which makes getting “shortest” line key and a wide difference of over 3% between Unibet and Pinnacle.
Bane can certainly score a flurry of buckets, as evidenced by his 31 and 37 points each of the last two games. Those were also against Atlanta and Indiana, which are two of the worst defenses in the league. On average, New Orleans has allowed 8% less production per 100 possessions than the other two teams, plus this is a road game for Memphis.
Rooting for unders may not be as fun as rooting for overs, but that is where the line value is more often than not when it comes to player props, as the sportsbooks look to use psychology against casual bettors.
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Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today
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