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The top daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on December 16th, 2022. John Brubaker provides NBA DFS analysis and sleeper picks for building optimal DFS rosters.
Happy Friday, RotoBallers! I hope you all had an excellent week to this point, and a great weekend is forthcoming! Let's get ahead of the weekend by making some nice coin on tonight's NBA slate. Tonight should be a fun one, with a lot of interesting matchups on the board. Let's get after it!
Tonight, we have ourselves a 10-game slate on this lovely Friday. With both FanDuel and DraftKings having multi-position eligibility players, we'll have to attack slates accordingly to make our lineups as optimal as possible. That's where I come in! I'll look to find my personal top plays and values for tonight's slate. Things can also change during the day, so I'll do my best to update you as news comes out!
Here are my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel and DraftKings on 12/16/22. Keep an eye on RotoBaller’s NBA injury news and also our full NBA injury report today to stay up to date before lineups are locked.
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DraftKings and FanDuel Guards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Luka Doncic, vs POR (FD: $12,000, DK: $12,300)
I'll start tonight's slate off at the same place I started it last week, with Luka Doncic. Doncic had a relatively quiet game for his standards, logging 30 points, five rebounds, and six assists. It should be a fun matchup to see him and Damien Lillard go at it tonight, and my model projects Luka to carry a whopping 36.59% usage rate over 37 minutes tonight.
Kyrie Irving, at TOR (FD: $8,700, DK: $8,500)
I'll take a look at Kyrie Irving next, who's been on an absolute heater of late. Over his last three games, he's averaging 30 points, 7.3 rebounds, and just under six assists. While the matchup against the Raptors doesn't seem very advantageous on the surface, Toronto does rank 22nd in point guard efficiency. I'll expect Kyrie to continue his heater and play more minutes tonight with Patty Mills doubtful. My model projects Irving for a 27.03% usage rate across 36 minutes.
Gary Trent, vs BKN (FD: $5,500, DK: $5,900)
I'll finish off the guard portion of the article with Gary Trent. Trent is averaging 16.9 points, two rebounds, and 1.4 assists on the season thus far. He's getting a bit more "run" of late with the likes of Precious Achiuwa, Otto Porter, and OG Anunoby out for the Raptors, and my model projects him to have a 21.74% usage rate across 35 minutes tonight. While he's mostly scoring dependent, he could slot in as a nice mid-price option with a high ceiling in your lineups tonight, should that game go well over the total.
Also consider: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (FD: $10,200, DK: $9,700), Caris LeVert (FD: $5,100, DK: $4,800)
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DraftKings and FanDuel Forwards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Domantas Sabonis, at DET (FD: $8,900, DK: $9,600)
I'll be taking advantage of Sabonis's power-forward eligibility on FanDuel here. Sabonis has been a triple-threat monster this season, averaging 17.5 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 6.4 assists on the campaign. While Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Duren may prove tough for him to log a bunch of rebounds tonight, the Pistons do rank 28th in center efficiency. My model projects Sabonis for a 20.58% usage rate across 33 minutes of game action tonight.
Bojan Bogdanovic, at MEM (FD: $6,100, DK: $6,600)
On the other side of this matchup, we have Bojan Bogdanovic. Earlier this week, the Pistons ruled out Cade Cunningham for the season, effectively making Bogdanovic the "number one" scoring option on the roster. Without Cunningham, Bogdanovic averages 22.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. With a projected 25.8% usage rate across 32 projected minutes, Bogdanovic remains a solid mid-price option at the forward position.
Kyle Anderson, at OKC (FD: $5,500, DK: $5,700)
I'll finish off forwards with Kyle Anderson, who's gotten quite the minutes boost of late with both Taurean Prince and Karl-Anthony Towns out of the lineup. He's played 33.5 minutes on average over his last four games, and projects to play around 31 tonight. His projected usage rate in my model sits around 14.17%, but this game has a projected pace of 107.84, which is by far the highest on the slate.
Also consider: Jayson Tatum (FD: $10,800, DK: $11,100), Aaron Gordon (FD: $6,500, DK: $6,400)
DraftKings and FanDuel Centers - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Onyeka Okongwu, at CHA (FD: $5,200, DK: $4,700)
Last but not least, I'll take a look at Onyeka Okongwu. Okongwu will grab the start with both John Collins and Clint Capela OUT for Atlanta tonight. Okongwu filled in nicely for Clint Capela after he strained his calf on Wednesday night against the Magic, scoring 15 points while adding 11 rebounds across 26 minutes. He's projected just a 14.02% usage rate but is projected to play 34 minutes, against a Hornets team that ranks 23rd in center efficiency. I can't imagine he won't be one of if not the chalkiest players on the slate, but everything is shaping out for him to have a big night.
Also consider: Jarrett Allen (FD: $7.000, DK: $7,000)
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