NBA DFS Playbook December 21: Top DraftKings and FanDuel Picks

Rarely do I like Luka at this price and we just saw him in this matchup and he failed to hit the mark but we know the Timberwolves are not a good defensive team and it's not often that Luka misses hitting at least his projections so give the matchup and the floor here I don't mind the spot.

NBA schedule again giving us a run-it-back matchup with the Blazers and Thunder on the slate once again. The other night we saw Lillard go for 28 points and 44 FP in 39 minutes against OKC. This feels like the floor when it comes to his fantasy production in this matchup.

On the flip side of Lillard we have SGA who gave us another 50+ FP performance. As long as Josh Giddey is going to be out of the lineup we should see SGA with a higher floor with his rebound and assist totals.

Another double-double and eventual foul out is probably in the cards but hey, that's the “LaMelo Ball Experience". Ball went for 50 FP against the Kings and hasn't gone for less than 40 FP in any game since his return from the ankle injury.

The Lakers have been a bit better defensively this season than initially anticipated and Patrick Beverley is likely a key reason for that. Fox however has really hit his stride of late and if looking for some of that late night hammer exposure I think Fox goes off as a contrarian play with 40+ FP upside.

No Steph Curry, no Klay Thompson, no Andrew Wiggins. Poole is going to get plenty of shot attempts here tonight. There is no discount and the matchup against the Nets isn't stellar but we've seen Poole pop off in these spots before.

Should be a fun game here with a lot of young and exciting players to watch. Love the price here on Porter because he has 40-to-50 FP upside and the Magic are not a great defensive team, especially at the guard position.

Speaking of Magic guards, Fultz is getting full-time minutes right now and has gone for 47 FP in two of the last four games.  We know the Rockets are among the worst defensive teams in the NBA and as long as the shot drops and he can avoid foul trouble then this is a nice price on DraftKings for Fultz tonight.

Marcus Smart is questionable to play tonight with a non-covid illness. If Smart plays I like Brogdon over White here in this matchup against the Pacers.

With Anthony Davis out of the lineup there are extra shots to go around the Lakers starting lineup and Schroder is not someone shy about getting his offense going. Again, better play on DK at under $5,000.

Super expensive price tag but he man has gone for 60+ FP in back-to-back games. Let's not forget he was the no.2 overall pick last season behind Cade Cunningham and his elite upside of late is no fluke. We could be looking at the turning point for Edwards in what may be a breakout sophomore campaign where in the next week we wish he would cost less than $10,000.

If PG is active then we have to be in on this spot here tonight. The Hornets give up a lot of points but also tend to score a lot of points. Those high scoring and fast paced contests are gold for DFS.

While Tatum gets all the love we've seen two 50+ FP efforts from Brown over the past few games with big time double-double efforts. Now, most recently against the Magic there was no Tatum in the lineup but this matchup against the Pacers is one that Brown should have no trouble.

Running up against Paul George and Kawhi Leonard is no easy task but Oubre is going to get his 20+ shot attempts up and he fills the stat sheet a bit here as well. I like him in GPPs because some nights he goes and hits 60% and other nights he is 3-for-20.

All the issues surrounding the Bulls right now and LaVine is still out there putting up points. We got 40 FP from him the other night and with the Hawks getting healthier this is looking like a nice, high scoring and competitive matchup.

Good price point. He should continue to be in the starting lineup and get those 28-to-30 minutes we are looking for. Again, this matchup against the Timberwolves has been a good one to attack given their defensive troubles.

Moody got the start last night and should get the start here once again only this time the team will also be without Klay Thompson. I look for Moody and Jordan Poole to be among the team shot leaders here tonight.

With Kyrie Irving now ruled out tonight Durant moves right up towards the top of the list when it comes to top plays tonight. This game has a 224.5 game total and with Irving off the floor this season Durant has a 33.7% usage rate while averaging 1.51 FP/Min

Price point is safe and he has shown that 60 FP ceiling. The matchup against the Hawks is one that I like going after even as they get healthier. DDR is averaging 44 FP over the last six games and went for 63 FP in an overtime matchup against the Hawks earlier this season.

Any time we get a matchup against Houston most of the opposing roster is going to be in play. Banchero gave us 48 FP against the Celtics on Sunday and he is averaging 43 FP over the past five games.

Just too cheap for the player he is and has been showing that he is still capable of being.

Good cash game play. Better on DK because of the price but we love going at this Pistons front court given their defensive struggles. Detroit is going to have their hands full with Harden and Embiid like most teams and that leaves for some easy looks for Harris.

Opposite side of this matchup is Bojan who is having one of the best scoring seasons of his career. He is the primary go to guy in this offense with Cade Cunningham shut down for the season and Jaden Ivey going through his rookie ups and downs. 

As long as he is healthy we have to play Hayward because the Hornets are going to play him all the minutes he can handle. Hayward is showing that he can still score and fill the stat sheet just know that he is almost as fragile if not MORE fragile than Anthony Davis.

Good value for a guy who has been producing for the Lakers all season long regardless of who has been in or out of the lineup and often times goes overlooked in DFS.

Starting and playing 30+ minutes a night. I like his scoring upside more when SGA or Dort are out of the lineup but as he proved against the Blazers the other night he can still get the fantasy points we need because he isn't just scoring dependent. 

When on the floor the man is still a menace and showing his name deserves to be in the conversation of best in the league still even at his age. Against the Wizards he dropped 57 FP and had 63 FP against Boston.  With Anthony Davis out of the lineup he is still  more than capable of paying off the price tag.

When the man gets minutes he scores. Jason Kidd needs to look past his defensive deficiencies and get more offensive players on the floor to surround Luka Doncic and Luka has been championing for Wood to play more. This matchup becomes much better if Rudy Gobert is again ruled out.

Good price and good matchup against a bad Thunder front court. With Dame Lillard back the shots for Grant aren't nearly as available but I don't mind the GPP play because he showed the upside in this matchup the other night.

Playing around 25 minutes a night right now but at some point that could increase. Even on the minutes limit we are still getting 25-to-30 FP because he fills the stat sheet.

The Timberwolves could be really shorthanded here tonight with Taurean Prince already ruled out and Kyle Anderson questionable as well along with Rudy Gobert who was already mentioned. We've seen McDaniels have some good games before and he remind us a little of Jarred Vanderbilt in a sense that he can fill the stat sheet but he also often finds himself in foul trouble that will limit his playing time. If he can stay on the floor he may see 40 minutes.

My favorite play on the slate. If the Pistons can manage to keep this game competitive we may honestly see 80 fantasy points here out of Embiid. Right now the Pistons are starting rookie Jalen Duren at center and Isaiah Stewart at power forward with Marvin Bagley off the bench. None of those three guys stand a chance at defending Embiid in the paint without committing a foul.

Sabonis is coming off a monster game against the Hornets and there is no Anthony Davis standing in his way here tonight. Great pivot option from Embiid as Sabonis himself just gave us 71 fantasy points with a 28 points, 23 rebound and seven assist game.

No Clint Capela and Vuc is averaging 50 FP over the past two games. I've often avoided playing Vucevic because he was too expensive and on FanDuel I think I probably pass as well but on DK at just $7,100 there is some nice potential there.

If he plays I have interest. The Thunder are another team that just can't defend opposing centers.

He makes every playbook I write because he is just so damn consistent. You can pretty much pencil him in for 30+ minutes and 30+ fantasy points a night and the Clippers could once again be without Ivica Zubac which would make the matchup that much better for Plumlee.

Reid has been breaking slates with Rudy Gobert out of the lineup and Gobert is again questionable to play tonight. Against Dallas the other day Reid went for 52 fantasy points, scoring 27 points with 13 rebounds, one assist, one block and two steals.

Filling in for Anthony Davis, Bryant continues to show that fantasy point per minute upside we saw from him when he was starting for the Wizards. Always an exciting player, Bryant looks to be past his injury issues and in a good spot to be a key contributor on this Lakers team.

Gotta love this man in GPP's. If he can just avoid the foul trouble he can basically give you what we expect from Rudy Gobert which is 10-15 points, 10-to-15 rebounds and a couple of blocks. Robinson is averaging 29 FP over the past five games and even more importantly he has just one game with more than three fouls this entire month.