RADIO
James Harden versus the Magic. James Harden versus the Magic? James Harden. Versus. The Magic. I would have continued this train of thought type of thing, but I felt it was cringeworthy enough. Even at his price, you have to go Harden tonight. He's breaking records and aside from Luka Doncic, no other player has been posting similar stats on a regular basis. Harden destroys the Magic and I'm sure we can find some solid value plays that allows us to roster a few high-tier supporting players.
You can always go the route of taking more mid to high-tier ($7,500+) players at the expense of fading Harden, but if he has one of those nights, which he has done against Orlando before, then you might be paying a brutal price. But hey, don't let me talk you out of playing him, it's not like he's playing like he's trying to break a scoring record or anything.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on 12/13/19. You can also check out today's FanDuel lineup picks. Remember to monitor injury news as the slate can completely change before line-up lock. Find me in the NBA Chat Room or @HalfCourtJester on Twitter.
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DraftKings DFS Guards
Tyus Jones- PG/SG, vs MIL ($3,700)
It's two in the morning and the first name that popped out when it comes to value guards was Tyus Jones. While he has the upside of a poor man's Patty Mills, there is upside there with how consistent he plays and how important he is to the team's offense. He offers stability in the offense, but that usually requires him hitting his shot. Even when he plays well, is able to facilitate and defend, other plays get the minutes if they are hitting their shot that night. It's unfortunate, but that's also why his price is so low. The gamble is there and against Milwaukee he has upside, but it's risky and I'm sorry I even brought it up.
Jarrett Culver - PG/SG, vs LAC ($3,800)
The Timberwolves have been slipping since early in the season, but that isn't on Jarrett Culver so his improvement and development aren't really seeing any drawbacks. Instead, he has continued to get better and we are awaiting a breakout performance. Some in the DFS community are trying to anticipate it and getting burned. I can't predict the future and I won't say this will be his breakout night, but this game is on ESPN and there's a really good chance none of the All-NBA defenders will even bother. He should get plenty of open looks and easy counting stats to absolutely crush his projected even if it's not some type of breakout performance.
DraftKings DFS Forwards
Terrence Ross - SG/SF, @ HOU ($4,300)
After overlooking Terrence Ross at first, it does make sense to roll with the one guy on Orlando who has the green light. As one of the few players to have a REALLY high scoring game, Terrence Ross gets shown the green light once the team starts to struggle to find offense. I shouldn't need to explain his play style and why it works with how the Rockets want to control the game.
Paul George- SF/PF, @ MIN ($8,800)
It's not that the Timberwolves are bad at defending.....ok, they are pretty bad at defending.
But it's simple science really. When you mix Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, ESPN and playing away against a STILL young Timberwolves team, you usually get positive results from the All-Stars. Plus, looking at the value options at power forward were bad. Danuel House Jr. would be another option to consider, but with his price tag you might as well go with Ben McLemore.
DraftKings DFS Centers
Marquese Chriss - C, @ UTA ($3,800)
Rudy Gobert is great and all, but he is totally stopping centers from producing. If Marquese Chriss can see minutes against the Jazz second unit, he is going to crush them in the box score even if the game isn't particularly close. With his price, he contributes across the board and this is the type of game where he can see a lot of possessions start and end with him either finishing it at the tim, dishing it off for easy buckets or just easy outside shots. Chriss really is the perfect all-around player, he just has no consistency and needs to make better decisions. Other than that, he's the perfect value play that literally just needs minutes to produce.
