Monday jump starts the week with an exciting 11-game featured slate with a 7 p.m. ET tip off 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. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is an under-the-radar option who is not getting a lot of traction with the expansive player pool. Charlotte and Memphis are providing the value plays, and there should be more popping up as additional injury reports are filed. Let’s dig into the NBA DFS picks and core plays.
NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: Monday, December 18
Vince Williams Jr.: Memphis Grizzlies at Oklahoma City Thunder
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 25.06 | FanDuel: 24.36
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings: 60.1% | FanDuel: 39.1%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $4,600 | FanDuel: $4,600
Second-year wing Vince Williams Jr. is the clear core building block for Monday’s action. The 23-year-old was the 47th overall selection in the 2022 NBA Draft after four seasons at VCU. Last year he played in 15 games with Memphis, including one spot start, and eight games in the G-League. This season he has appeared in 16 games and is in line for a third consecutive start.
Ja Morant is serving the final game of his suspension. Derrick Rose (hamstring) could miss a couple of games, but Luke Kennard (knee) and Marcus Smart (ankle) are close to a return. Finally, Bismack Biyombo is doubtful with a sore back.
This week Williams will likely move back to the bench and potentially fall out of the rotation, but we can roll with him for one more game as long as he is in the starting lineup. In the last three games, the two most recent as a starter, Williams averaged 27.9 minutes, 10.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.4 combined blocks and steals. These are not sexy numbers, but at his affordable salary and reasonable chance to reach 30 fantasy points, he is a nice option on DraftKings at small forward and on FanDuel as a shooting guard.
Xavier Tillman could draw the start for Biyombo, but there are a lot of good center options tonight. Santi Aldama is inconsistent, but he has upside and should be on our radar as we see how things shake out for Memphis closer to lock.
Last but not least, Desmond Bane is a fringe core play himself, having posted six 40-fantasy-point efforts in his last seven games, including outings of 50 and 70 fantasy points.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Memphis Grizzlies
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 54.02 | FanDuel: 55.19
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings: 5.5% | FanDuel: 7.1%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $10,500 | FanDuel: $11,500
Memphis has lost four straight, allowing 117 or more points in three of these tilts. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been outstanding this season and he has 14 games of at least 50 fantasy points in his last 18 appearances. The trio of Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic will be all the rage as gamers build out the coveted stars and scrubs lineups, which means players like Gilgeous-Alexander will be overlooked in tournaments.
Each year Gilgeous-Alexander has improved his production and this season he is averaging nearly 55 fantasy points per game, which is a 10% bump. He leads the league with 2.7 steals per game, while also scoring 30.7 points, corralling 5.5 caroms and dishing 6.4 dimes. Best of all is a personal-best 54.2% success rate from the field on 20.7 attempts per game.
Charlotte Hornets at Toronto Raptors
There are a lot of open items with the Hornets at the moment, and depending how the chips fall, there could be some fantasy assets worthy of our attention. Mark Williams (back) is likely to miss his fifth game, and LaMelo Ball and Frank Ntilikina remain out. PJ Washington (shoulder) has missed the last two games and Gordon Hayward (illness) was out on Saturday, with both player questionable tonight. Finally, Miles Bridges is having some issues clearing customs, so he may be heading back to the US before the game even starts.
Terry Rozier dropped an epic dud on Saturday, though he did only play 20 minutes prior to being hit on the nose and being forced from the game. He also is dealing with a thumb issue on his left hand but is expected to play. In the seven games prior to that, he had been racking up some tremendous fantasy production, with 38.7 minutes per game and a 50.1% success rate on 20.1 field goal attempts. This culminated in 28.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 9.4 assists, and 2.1 combined blocks and steals. Clearly he is an option in all formats tonight, and we will have to see who else is joining him when the dust settles.
Jaren Jackson Jr. is a neutral option at his current salary, though he is always in play for tournaments, particularly on FanDuel which award three points for blocks and steals. Just be wary as the reigning Defensive Player of the Year has been racking up the fouls over the last fortnight.
Over the last 10 games, Charlotte is allowing 122.9 points per 100 possessions, which is the second-worst defensive efficiency rating during this timeframe. The team is also the worst rebounding club in the league in this stretch, which bodes well for Jakob Poeltl, Pascal Siakam and do-everything Scottie Barnes, who has officially taken the leap this season.
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Additional NBA Building Blocks Pick — Sports Betting Opportunities
Cam Thomas is an intriguing option in the sports wagering market with a +105 line on his under 29.5 points + rebounds + assists (PRA) prop. Per the true odds of -111 (how OddsShopper measures the potential expected ROI of a given wager), this opportunity has a strong 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 -125 posted at Pinnacle for under 29.5 PRA demonstrates this very concept. We can see that DraftKings has under 29.5 priced at +105. Additionally this wager is available with a 30.5 PRA on Tipco, with a -125 line. Be a savvy shopper!
NBA Bet Pro has Thomas projected for 30.2 minutes, 22.45 points, 3.23 rebounds and 2.60 assists for 28.28 PRA. The current available wager has a 53% win probability, so snagging the favorable +105 line on DraftKings is key.
In his last seven starts, Thomas has averaged nearly 31 minutes with 20.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists for a 25.7 PRA. The playing time has been inconsistent during this stretch ranging from 27 to 37 minutes of run. Thomas is very scoring dependent and while he dropped 40 points in his last game, he has posted 20 or less in five of the seven outings in this sample size. If he is not putting the biscuit in the basket, it is hard for him to cobble together double-digit combined rebounds and assists.
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Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today
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