It’s almost like the NBA Cup was never here. We started to get back to normalcy last night with a four-game slate, and on Friday we get a nice six-gamer. Not a bad time to unveil Free Friday, where we give everyone free access to the NBA Core.
NBA DFS picks are only good if they hit, but they’re extra fun when they’re free. We hope everyone comes along for the ride to get access to all our content (just $5.99 per month), but you get a taste of it on Friday.
With that, let’s get into the NBA DFS picks I want to build around at DraftKings and FanDuel tonight:
DraftKings NBA Core
- Jock Landale ($3.7k)
- Paul George ($6.1k)
- Kon Knueppel ($6.6k)
- Borderline: Joel Embiid (don’t really want to lock your C/UTIL in the core, but strong play)
Zach Edey busted up his ankle and is out for the next month probably. Insert Jock Landale, who is coming off a 30-point fantasy outing and should start with a clear path to 30 minutes. He’ll also be facing Utah, who is abhorrent defensively and 5th in pace. This is a price play and he’ll be owned, but Jock looks like a solid core play.
Tyrese Maxey got the mid-day Q tag, as he is battling an illness. Both Paul George and Joel Embiid are going to be viable even if Maxey plays, but if he’s out they are smash plays against the Pacers. Indy does a good job limiting threes, but they can’t stop mid-range or inside scoring to save their life. Joel and PG-13 both look excellent, but George is the preferred play between the two due to price.
KJ Simpson ($4.5k) is a really good value that I’ll have in a lot of lineups, but I’d really like to get to Kon, who is lights out from long range (40%) and faces a fast-paced Bulls team that doesn’t defend the paint and also doesn’t contain the three. Charlotte looks good across the board here, but Kon is the cheapest of the Big 3 the Hornets have tonight and he’s also their best marksmen from long range.
FanDuel NBA Core
- Jock (4.2k)
- Tre Jones ($5.5k)
- PG-13 ($6.6k)
- Brandon Miller ($6.5k)
You get one more game and need to fill one more slot on FD. I will say Jock is C only there, so if you want guys like Duren or more specifically Embiid, you’ll have to find value elsewhere. On FD I value Jock more than getting to those guys, but someone like Nurk ($5.8k) would also be in play. That said, he is too cheap on both sites for his expected role and matchup.
You don’t get points for made threes on FD, so Kon falls out of favor for me there. His teammate, Brandon Miller, is cheaper on FD and still gets me exposure to the Hornets vs. Bulls. PG-13 still checks the necessary boxes on FanDuel as well.
Tre Jones is a fine value on both sites, but I prefer him to KJ Simpson ($5.2k) on FD. They are basically the same price, he is also in a terrific spot, he projects better, and unlike KJ, he can be used at both PG and SG.
NBA DFS Strategy for Friday, 12/12
This doesn’t feel like a slate where we absolutely need to force expensive studs on either side. Cade and Jalen are the two obvious choices, while there is already more than enough value to get you there comfortably.
I prefer a more balanced build, however. The core gets us started off on the right foot, as we get $6.7k per player to work with after those three guys. We don’t have to force it too much to go get a slew of really nice mid-range options, while clear values such as KJ Simpson, Ryan Kalkbrenner, and Justin Cjampagnie stand out as cheaper options that can help open up even more salary.
I would just be picky as far as what other values I hitch my wagon to. Landale is totally fine, but should we be blindly firing up all of Landale, KJ, and Champagnie? My guess is that would be a mistake.
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