Wednesday clears the middle of the workweek with a robust 7 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. Luka Doncic looks to be among the safer options tonight, as he once again will bey carrying the Dallas offense. If Donovan Mitchell is healthy enough to play, he has a great matchup against his former team. Let’s dig into the NBA DFS picks and core plays.
NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: Wednesday, December 20
Luka Doncic: Dallas Mavericks vs. Los Angeles Clippers
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 67.86 | FanDuel: 63.68
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings: 7.8% | FanDuel: 10.5%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $12,200 | FanDuel: $12,500
Dallas is once again going to be without Kyrie Irving (heel, missed last 5 games), Josh Green (elbow, 8 games) and Maximilian Kleber (toe, 18 games), plus they are now joined by rookie Dereck Lively II (ankle). Over the last 10 games, the Clippers have really turned things around, winning nine of these tilts. During this stretch, it has been their offense that has been amazing, with a league-leading 126.8 points per 100 possessions, giving them a plus-11.5 net rating despite being average on defense and allowing 117 or more points in half of the games in this span.
This season Luka Doncic is averaging a career-best 60.6 DraftKings points and 58.03 FanDuel points per game. In the last six games without Irving and five without Green, Doncic averaged 41 minutes and 25 field goal attempts with a 49.9% conversation rate. This culminated in 37.0 points, 9.1 rebounds, 12.0 assists, and 2.0 combined blocks and steals.
Derrick Jones Jr. is one of the best discount dandies on DraftKings ($5.000), and Dwight Powell has that honor on FanDuel ($3,800), where he has power forward eligibility. Even with the lofty salary, Doncic is the second-best fantasy-point-per-dollar ratio on DraftKings tonight, and he checks in at seventh on FanDuel.
Donovan Mitchell: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Utah Jazz
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 55.72 | FanDuel: 54.21
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings: 21.1% | FanDuel: 34.2%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $10,000 | FanDuel: $10,200
Donovan Mitchell was all set to be the core building block of the day until he popped up on the injury report with an illness. Keep tabs on his status, but if he suits up, he is going to have pretty much all the usage he can handle. Darius Garland (jaw) and Evan Mobley (knee) are out for an extended period of time, so Mitchell is likely to continue to see his salary increase by another 5% to 7% over the next week.
Mitchell is having the best fantasy season of his career, with his production up nearly 10% over last season. There are some rumors swirling that the Cavaliers should look to trade him in what appears to be a lost season, but Mitchell has stated he would like to stay with the team. This season when both Mobley and Garland are off the court, Mitchell averages just over 1.3 fantasy points per minute. This is similar to his production when he plays with the duo, though the compensation of his statistical production is a little different. He should see a few extra minutes, health depending, and get a couple more field goal attempts as he carries the offense. That gives him a strong 50-fantasy-point baseline with readily attainable upside for another 10 to 12 fantasy points.
Jarrett Allen grades out well as one of the better center options tonight, and Max Strus is intriguing on FanDuel ($5.900) with eligibility at shooting guard and small forward.
The Jazz have been in the bottom third of the league from a defensive efficiency perspective over the last fortnight. The team has been dealing with its own injury issues and is coming into Cleveland as a 5.5-point underdog, with the Cavaliers carrying a solid 117 projected point total.
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Additional NBA Building Blocks Pick — Sports Betting Opportunities
Trae Young is someone to target in the sports wagering market with the -124 line on his under 44.5 points + rebounds + assists (PRA) prop. Per the true odds of -126 (how OddsShopper measures the potential expected ROI of a given wager), this opportunity is relatively neutral at this current line and threshold combination.
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 -133 posted at Pinnacle for under 43.5 PRA demonstrates this very concept. We can see that Unibet and BetRivers have under 44.5 priced at -124 for the best combination. Be a savvy shopper!
NBA Bet Pro has Young projected for 36.1 minutes, 27.47 points, 3.36 rebounds and 9.21 assists for 40.04 PRA. The current available wager has a 56% win probability, and we need to remember that range of outcomes is different than the specific median projection.
Though it does look like the Bet Pro figures may be a little light, we need to keep in mind that, over the last 10 games, Houston has the seventh best defensive efficiency rating while playing at the fifth-slowest pace. Young is seventh in the league with 28.1 points per game, and he is second with 11.0 assists. These are lofty numbers, but he also is eighth with 36.0 minutes per game and averaging 3.0 rebounds per game for the second consecutive season, and that is well below his already paltry 3.6 career rate. The slower pace, better defense and him already playing ample minutes means the best way for him to get to 45 PRA is to put the biscuit in the basket. Though, we are talking about someone converting on just 42.9% of their field goal attempts, which is the lowest of the last five seasons.
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Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today
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