Friday is finally here! Eight games greet us as we kick off December and head into the weekend. Unless some value pops up later in the day, it’s shaping up to be a tricky slate in terms of roster construction as some of the higher priced options find themselves in tough matchups. Let’s look at a tournament lineup for FanDuel tonight.
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Point Guard
Russell Westbrook (OKC): $11,300 vs. MIN
Minnesota provides an above average matchup for opposing point guards and with Westbrook locked into a groove right now, it makes sense to target him in what should be a competitive game. Westbrook is averaging an absurd 62.4 FDP over his last five games, which is 12 FDP above his current value threshold. He continues to contribute to all statistical categories, which provides a high floor coupled with nice upside.
Tomas Satoransky (WAS): $4,600 vs. DET
It appears Satoransky will be the beneficiary at the point guard position while John Wall is out as the second-year player has outplayed Tim Frazier thus far. There’s nothing spectacular about the overall matchup here as both teams play above average defense while playing at a below average pace. However, the salary relief is meaningful given the nature of tonight’s slate so don’t be afraid to give Satoransky a look this evening.
Friday is finally here! Eight games greet us as we kick off December and head into the weekend. Unless some value pops up later in the day, it’s shaping up to be a tricky slate in terms of roster construction as some of the higher priced options find themselves in tough matchups. Let’s look at a tournament lineup for FanDuel tonight.
Create FanDuel lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool
Point Guard
Russell Westbrook (OKC): $11,300 vs. MIN
Minnesota provides an above average matchup for opposing point guards and with Westbrook locked into a groove right now, it makes sense to target him in what should be a competitive game. Westbrook is averaging an absurd 62.4 FDP over his last five games, which is 12 FDP above his current value threshold. He continues to contribute to all statistical categories, which provides a high floor coupled with nice upside.
Tomas Satoransky (WAS): $4,600 vs. DET
It appears Satoransky will be the beneficiary at the point guard position while John Wall is out as the second-year player has outplayed Tim Frazier thus far. There’s nothing spectacular about the overall matchup here as both teams play above average defense while playing at a below average pace. However, the salary relief is meaningful given the nature of tonight’s slate so don’t be afraid to give Satoransky a look this evening.
Other Notables:
Shooting Guard
Justin Holiday (CHI): $5,800 vs. SAC
Shooting guard is a tricky position to fill tonight, so it might make sense to go the cheaper route when constructing rosters. The Kings are one of the worst defensive teams in the league right along with the Bulls, so despite this game featuring two slower paced teams, the scoring should still be there. Holiday has sandwiched two mid-20s FDP outings around a 51.1 FDP outing on Tuesday, so the upside is certainly there. While he’s not overly efficient (0.74 FDP/min), his playing time is usually over 30 minutes and the opportunities are all we can ask for at this price.
Buddy Hield (SAC): $4,400 @ CHI
There’s all sorts of risk wrapped around picking someone like Hield as he not only comes off of the bench, but he’s dependent on scoring for his fantasy value. The matchup itself is a great one, so if there were ever a time to roll the dice in the hopes that he gets hot, it’s tonight.
Other Notables:
Small Forward
Kevin Durant (GS): $10,100 @ ORL
Durant logged 42 minutes on his way to 44.9 FDP in his return from an ankle injury and assuming there are no setbacks, he should be good to go tonight in Orlando. This is a plus matchup for Durant in a contest that features two teams ranked inside the top six in terms of pace. The Warriors are double-digit favorites, but Durant should be able to get his before (or if) the game gets out of hand.
Joe Ingles (UTA): $5,600 vs. NO
While it would be nice to see Ingles playing 30+ minutes per game when targeting him, I still think there’s some merit in utilizing him tonight. The Pelicans are vulnerable on the wings and I don’t mind utilizing the savings at the position as a result. He doesn’t possess 40 FDP upside in his current role, but if we can get him close to 30 FDP then it’s worth the risk.
Other Notables:
Power Forward
Aaron Gordon (ORL): $7,900 vs. GS
Gordon exploded for 78 FDP on Wednesday against the Thunder and while we won’t start seeing 40-point outings from him regularly, he still is worth targeting in positive situations. The Warriors haven’t been playing their best basketball as of late and while a team of that caliber can always flip the switch, I don’t mind picking on them with a player or two like Gordon.
Taj Gibson (MIN): $5,500 @ OKC
As long as he stays healthy and with Coach Tom Thibodeau, Gibson is a good bet to get run into the ground for 35+ minutes per game. This should be a competitive game which will likely afford Gibson another outing of heavy minutes tonight. While he’s not been overly efficient (0.76 FDP/min), the extra court time helps to give him a solid floor while still maintaining some upside.
Other Notables:
Center
Bam Adebayo (MIA): $4,700 vs. CHA
While a matchup against Dwight Howard could wind up being less than ideal, I prefer to go the cheaper route at the position given the matchups some of the higher priced options are in this evening. With Hassan Whiteside on the shelf, Adebayo stepped in and logged 30 minutes in a start against the Knicks on Wednesday. If he can continue to see 28-30 minutes of playing time, he would be a solid source of salary relief at this price.
Other Notables:
My Lineup
PG- Russell Westbrook (OKC): $11,300 vs. MIN
PG- Tomas Satoransky (WAS): $4,600 vs. DET
SG- Justin Holiday (CHI): $5,800 vs. SAC
SG- Buddy Hield (SAC): $4,400 @ CHI
SF- Kevin Durant (GS): $10,100 @ ORL
SF- Joe Ingles (UTA): $5,600 vs. NO
PF- Aaron Gordon (ORL): $7,900 vs. GS
PF- Taj Gibson (MIN): $5,500 @ OKC
C- Bam Adebayo (MIA): $4,700 vs. CHA
Create FanDuel lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool
Adam Sutton is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Adam, follow him @DraftStars_Adam. You can find more of Adam’s work at DraftStars.net.
