There are eleven NBA games tonight, and this one has a lot of moving parts with all the injury stuff. We already know that a ton of key pieces are going to be sidelined here, with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Jimmy Butler, LaMelo Ball, and Ja Morant among the names listed out. On top of that, there are a ton of questionable tags that can really shake up where the priorities are. In our free content for today, we will cover two plays that look great with all the news we have now, as well as one top-end fade. Our premium content will focus on who becomes a priority if certain guys are ruled out.
Here’s Two Core Plays For DFS Basketball 12/15/21 (using DraftKings Values)
| Point Guard | |||
| Shooting Guard | J. Holiday | $3,800 | |
| Small Forward | |||
| Power Forward | |||
| Center | N. Jokic | $12,200 | |
| Guard | |||
| Forward | |||
| Utility |
Whenever we get the news that Antetokounmpo is not going to play, our priority from the Bucks is typically Jrue Holiday at the top end. Holiday takes a massive usage bump when Antetokounmpo sits, and we see him set up a lot of the offense for this team. We also know that Khris Middleton is questionable tonight. If Middleton sits Holiday will be an absolute lock for us, but he looks fantastic either way.
The price is really getting up there for Nikola Jokic, who is all the way up to $12,200 for this slate. However, the price tag on Jokic is more than warranted, as he has been producing at a level that is incomparable to anyone else in the league. Jokic has gone over 60 FPTS for five straight games, and he has gone over 70 FPTS in three of the last five. He must do a lot more offensively for this team than he did last year, and he was the most productive producer in the league last year. Jokic has a good matchup tonight against the Timberwolves, and it won’t be hard finding the salary for him tonight.
Here’s a Fade DFS Basketball 12/15/21 (using DraftKings Values)
Russell Westbrook is just priced ridiculously at this point. It is very clear that he is not the primary ball-handler for the Lakers, and that means he is a lot less productive than in seasons past. When LeBron James plays, Westbrook has almost always disappointed in terms of production. At this point, Westbrook typically scores between 27 and 40 FPTS, so this $10,600 tag makes no sense.
Now, what do you get if you sign up now for $99?
• A stud guard with a dream matchup.
• A budget priority with the injuries in Milwaukee.
• A cheap center that is hot right now.
• Our strategy for dealing with all the potential news.
Point Guard
Darius Garland – PG ($7,900 DK) Garland has been a much better DFS producer since he has been the clear primary ball handler with Collin Sexton injured. He has a high amount of variance in his production, which means his upside is fantastic. He has gone for over 50 FPTS in three games recently, and we are betting on a big game here. The Houston Rockets are emerging as one of our favorite teams to target this year, as their fast pace and terrible defense have allowed for some huge games.
Shooting Guard
Grayson Allen – ($4,000 DK) Allen looks nice here, as he is already cheap for all the minutes he plays. With Antetokounmpo out there is a lot more usage going around, so Allen should get a few extra shots up. Allen looks good for value if Middleton plays, but he will be an absolute priority if Middleton is ruled out here.
Khris Middleton – ($7,200 DK) Middleton is probably the most important piece of news on this slate. If he plays, he is going to be another priority from Milwaukee. He is already cheap for his usage and upside, and we expect him to see a nice boost without Antetokounmpo. If Middleton ends up out, the Bucks become a crazy source of value. As we mentioned we love Holiday and Allen. We will also like anyone else that winds up in the starting unit.
Evan Mobley – ($6,900 DK) We mentioned how we really like getting to Garland because of the matchup with Houston, and the exact same thing goes for Evan Mobley. Mobley is another guy who shows a ton of variance in his production, as each of the past five games have either been over 40 or under 30 FPTS for him. We really like betting on him against this Houston frontcourt, and this is a pretty good price for him.
Alperen Sengun – ($4,500 DK) Sengun has been seeing increased floor time for the Rockets recently, as he has played well over 20 minutes the last two games. He has gone for 38 and 30 FPTS in the last two respectively, so he already looks solid at this price. We also know that Christian Wood may end up out tonight, if that is the case, he is going to be a priority here.
General strategy
We are going to use this space to discuss some of the questionable tags we have for this one, as well as some news that just came out. We just found out that Tyler Herro will be sidelined tonight for the Heat, who were already missing Butler and Bam Adebayo. Kyle Lowry looks good here with this news, and we also have some nice value from the Heat in Gabe Vincent, Max Strus and Duncan Robinson. We already mentioned how important the Middleton news here, another key we are waiting on is what happens with Wood. There is going to be a ton of usage on the table here if Wood Sits, so Jae’Sean Tate, Armoni Brooks, KJ Martin all look good along with Sengun. Keep an eye on the news tonight folks, as we have no idea what this slate might look like come lock.
