It’s Friday, December 20. We have just three NBA games scheduled, so the pickings are a little slim for DFS purposes.
View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our NBA Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
NBA DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Primer
NBA DFS Core Plays
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (PG – OKC)
- DraftKings: $10,300
- FanDuel: $11,100
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander appears rather frequently in the ‘core plays’ section. While his salary is huge, and one of the biggest on the board, he has the most favorable matchup of the limited group of studs. He has an opponent rank of 15 at DraftKings for the game in Miami.
Gilgeous-Alexander went for 35 points against Orlando Thursday night, while also posting six assists, four rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots. He is like the Energizer Bunny — just keeps going, and going, and going. The last time he played with no rest he dropped 28 points on the Trail Blazers on November 20th.
- DraftKings: $9,000
- FanDuel: $9,100
We’re all in on Tyrese Maxey, hoping he can replicate the results from last time out. He went for 40 points on 12-of-28 from the field, while knocking down 6-of-12 from behind the three-point line. He also added five rebounds, five assists and four steals in 40 minutes. The most important thing was that it came against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night in a 121-108 victory.
He also faced the Hornets in an NBA Cup group play game on December 3rd, going for 21 points and seven assists. He is averaging 23.3 points per game with 6.0 assists, 4.7 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 2.3 three-pointers made per game in six games in December.
Donovan Mitchell (PG, SG – CLE)
- DraftKings: $8,700
- FanDuel: $8,900
Donovan Mitchell is a strong play against the Bucks, especially on a short slate. He is averaging 22.0 points, 4.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 three-pointers per game in two meetings this season against the Bucks. Spida is coming off an 18-point showing on Monday in Brooklyn. He should be rested and raring to go.
NBA DFS Cash Game Targets
- DraftKings: $7,200
- FanDuel: $7,100
Darius Garland has an opponent rank of 24 at DraftKings, making him a tremendous value at this price point. Garland struggled in the team’s 130-101 victory in Brooklyn on Monday, so he is likely champing at the bit to get untracked.
Garland managed just 11 points with six assists and six turnovers in 24 minutes before grabbing some pine. The 11 points were his lowest production since laying an egg on a 3-of-21 shooting night in Boston in an NBA Cup group play game on November 19th. The last time he faced the Bucks he went for 39 points on 15-of-22 shooting, including going 7-of-11 from the three-point line on November 4th. He is averaging 25.0 points, 9.0 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game in two meetings against Milwaukee this season.
- DraftKings: $8,100
- FanDuel: $8,400
Bam Adebayo has piled up 40.9 FanDuel points per game, which is a pretty strong return at this price level. He is coming off a little bit of a stinker by his standards, posting 15 points with eight boards in 41 minutes in an overtime loss in Detroit. Before that, he had managed four straight double-doubles. He is averaging 17 points, 12.4 rebounds, 5.9 assists and one three-pointer per game in seven games this month.
- DraftKings: $7,700
- FanDuel: $8,500
Evan Mobley is a strong play against Milwaukee despite the fact their opponent rank is four. However, he averaged 15.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.5 blocks per game in two meetings with the Bucks back in early November, hitting 13-of-28 from the field in the two games.
NBA DFS GPP Targets
- DraftKings: $5,200
- FanDuel: $6,200
Caris LeVert is a far better value on DraftKings, but he is a solid play at this low DFS salary on both sites. He has scored 13+ points in three straight games, while also dishing out at least four assists in the span. He missed the first two meetings with the Bucks back in October.
- DraftKings: $6,300
- FanDuel: $7,100
Again, Miles Bridges is a little better of a value on DraftKings. He lit up the 76ers for 24 points with six rebounds, four assists and a pair of three-pointers in 28 minutes on Monday. In three games in December, Bridges is averaging 18 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.
- DraftKings: $6,000
- FanDuel: $6,300
Andre Drummond is a decent play but he’d be a stronger play if Joel Embiid is sidelined by his nasal fracture again. He carries a questionable tag into Friday’s battle.
Drummond snagged 15 boards last time out in Charlotte, finishing with nine points in 28 minutes. He is averaging 10.3 rebounds per game in four December contests while playing as a starter sometimes and coming off the bench in others.
NBA DFS Value Plays
- DraftKings: $3,600
- FanDuel: $4,000
The former UNI standout has been a consistent contributor for the Bucks. AJ Green has posted exactly nine points, while making exactly three triples, in each of the past three games in the NBA Cup.
Who would have thought Green would be a giant part of the team’s In-Season Tournament championship run? With Damian Lillard (calf) out, Green could have an expanded role.
- DraftKings: $4,900
- FanDuel: $5,400
Mark Williams made a start on Thursday in Washington. He was good for 16 points with eight rebounds, while also contributing an assist, a blocked shot and a steal in his 19 minutes. He was a very efficient 7-of-12 from the field, too.
Williams has 12+ points in three of the past four outings. Williams swatted three shots in the most recent meeting on Monday with the Sixers, too.
- DraftKings: $4,100
- FanDuel: $5,000
KJ Martin should take advantage of the fact Caleb Martin (shoulder) is expected to miss a third consecutive outing due to a pinched nerve in his shoulder. He’ll be trying to hold off Ricky Council IV for playing time.
Martin went for just two points in 21 minutes with five personal fouls against Charlotte in Monday’s game, so hopefully he can do much better than that.
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