NBA Fantasy: DraftKings lineup selections & tips for Dec. 12

Welcome to the Thursday NBA DFS slate. I hope you’ve had a successful week and a fantastic season as we enjoy the holiday spirit. Perhaps a substantial cash win is on your wish list. If you plan on playing NBA DFS, remember to pay attention to lineup announcements and be prepared for late swapping. This strategy will give you the best chance to outperform the competition and finish in the money.

We have a limited three-game slate on Thursday, so obviously options are slim. In the end, it’s about making the right choices and picking your spots, which is why I’m here. Let’s break down the top plays for tonight.

NBA DFS Core Plays

Jayson Tatum (SF, PF – BOS)

DraftKings: $9,800FanDuel: $10,100

After dealing with a right patella injury and missing the last game against Detroit, Jayson Tatum should be good to suit up tonight without any limitations after missing the last two contests. With that questionable tag next to his name and coming off a sub-par outing, I expect his rostership to be relatively lower than usual, making me like him even more.

Tatum’s price tag hasn’t dipped below $10,000 on DraftKings for a while now. I’m not sure it will again after tonight. Even coming off a game where he only scored 17 points, he still managed just shy of 50 DraftKings points in the effort against Memphis.

He’s playing at home and offers the ideal high floor/high ceiling output you look for in DFS plays. The Duke product has only dipped below 40 on DraftKings twice all season (barely) and has a ceiling north of 65, making him one of my favorite plays tonight.

Domantas Sabonis (C, PF – SAC)

DraftKings: $9,500FanDuel: $9,500

Domantas Sabonis may likely be the highest-scoring player on the slate today, and it would come as little to no surprise if that is what winds up happening. The Kings big man has averaged 49 DraftKings and 45 FanDuel points this season. He is as consistent as they come, scoring more than 40 DraftKings fantasy points in 11 straight games and going for 50+ in four of those.

The matchup is what aids Sabonis. The Kings will likely be the highest-rostered team on the slate as they will play in a game with a total of around 231 points with a team total just shy of Boston’s. The Pelicans rank as a bottom-five defense on the season and have allowed the fourth-most points to opposing big men in the league. Sabonis should peak at 50 here tonight as he’s seen a scoring uptick in the last few weeks with a slightly higher usage rate.

Sabonis will be the popular center and I imagine will see a rostership increase with dual eligibility on FanDuel, but he still makes for a great play.

NBA DFS Cash Game Targets

Dejounte Murray (PG – NOP)

DraftKings: $8,300FanDuel: $8,100

With the Pelicans suffering from an influx of injuries, Dejounte Murray has shouldered the load. Even with

CJ McCollum

back, Murray still has a 26% usage rate with increased scoring, rebounds, and assists in the last two weeks compared to his seasonal averages. Murray is also on the floor for longer and has been on fire of late, posting 52 and 47 DraftKings points in his last two games.

I’m not sure if those numbers will persist but he’s projected for around 45 tonight, which is great value at his price point. With the slight pace-up spot, high usage, and Sacramento ranking as a middle-of-the-pack defense, I’m comfortable the Pelicans guard will return a high floor output at home tonight.

Bam Adebayo (C – MIA)

DraftKings: $8,100FanDuel: $8,000

Facing off against the Toronto Raptors — a team that’s allowed the third-most fantasy points to opposing centers — is going to give Adebayo high ownership tonight but that slots him in as an excellent cash play. The Miami big man has been cooking as of late, averaging 45 fantasy points in his last five games against some not-so-easy opponents.

Toronto vastly outpaces the Heat and comes in with the 22nd-ranked defense, so Adebayo will see increased opportunities with presumed higher efficiency and is priced down on DraftKings. That equation adds up to an easy roster spot in your cash lineups and potentially some GPPs as well.

NBA DFS GPP Targets

Cade Cunningham (PG – DET)

DraftKings: $9,600FanDuel: $9,600

As the highest-priced point guard and second-highest-priced player on the slate, I don’t imagine Cade Cunningham will garner much rostership tonight, especially on the road in Boston. But we saw his ceiling Saturday with a 71-fantasy point effort in New York in quite the unfriendly fantasy matchup. He has the same chance for another such ceiling effort tonight and even showed the capacity for just that with 61 DraftKings points last week in this same matchup.

The Oklahoma State product is becoming one of the more impressive NBA players and his usage across the season sits above 31%. Despite Boston’s high-ranked defense, they’ve allowed the 15th-most fantasy points to opposing point guards, which is a big increase to their ranking of the fourth-fewest fantasy points in total on the season. Monitor rostership projections as the slate gets closer. If I’m correct, Cunningham will make for one of the better GPP plays this

entire

season.

Jakob Poeltl (C -TOR)

DraftKings: $7,500FanDuel: $7,700

With the other two centers mentioned in this article, I imagine Jakob Poeltl will fall through the cracks and see rostership below 15%. Seeing a 106 implied team total is concerning but the Toronto big man has averaged 40 fantasy points over the last five games. He has a similar output over his last 10 contests.

Poeltl is playing more minutes and Miami is allowing over 55 fantasy points a night to opposing centers. Poeltl has shown a ceiling of 60+ points. While this will be a pace-down game, the salary savings will allow you to get different and spend up elsewhere to construct a solid GPP lineup.

NBA DFS Value Plays

Jrue Holiday (PG, SG – BOS)

DraftKings: $5,000FanDuel: $5,800

This is a little bit of a stretch in terms of pure value considering Jrue Holiday’s price differences on DraftKings vs. FanDuel, but Holiday still lines up well on both sites. The Boston guard is averaging just shy of 30 DraftKings points over the last five games and projects similarly tonight.

Holiday has consistently performed better at home this year and has seen a slight minutes increase over his last four games, despite dealing with an injury. He’s scored 20+ points in each of his last two games since returning from injury. I’m willing to ride that hot hand, especially if he isn’t seeing a price increase, with $5,000 sitting as the lowest he’s been priced all year on DraftKings.

Yves Missi (C – NOP)

DraftKings: $5,000FanDuel: $5,600

For another not-so-low-priced-value option, we have Pelicans center Yves Missi, who is coming off a monster 43-fantasy point performance. His price tag on DraftKings

decreased

. The rookie from Baylor was essentially thrown into the flames early on, starting nearly every game since early November. But Missi has done well for himself, playing nearly 30 minutes a game over the last two weeks with 14 points and 11 boards a night.

In his last 10 games, he’s averaged over 30 fantasy points. I imagine that number will continue increasing as he grows into his own. Projecting him similar to his recent averages puts him over a 6X multiplier. Even if he doesn’t reach the 30-fantasy point mark he still projects as a solid value play.

Herbet Jones

(

$5,000 on DraftKings; $5,300 on FanDuel

) also slots as solid value if you’re looking to fill a forward spot as he has been playing north of 37 minutes since returning to the lineup.