DraftKings NBA Summer League Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks (7/12/23): Today's Top NBA DFS Lineups

The top DraftKings NBA Summer League Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks to consider on July 12, 2023. Dan Palyo provides NBA DFS analysis and sleeper picks for building optimal DFS rosters.

The NBA Summer League continues today with eight more games in Las Vegas. Only four of these games take place in the evening hours, however, so we are left with a 4-game main slate for DFS purposes on DraftKings.

The Summer League and NBA Preseason are both really fun for DFS because it feels like there is an opportunity for those of us who want to dig a little deeper and do some extra research to find an edge. Instead of referring to myself as a degenerate for finding something to play while baseball is on break, I think of myself as an opportunist instead - someone who is willing to put in the work to find an edge and I want to share what I have learned about these Summer league players, their minutes, their teams' rotations, and their productivity while on the court.

This article will highlight some DraftKings NBA Summer League daily fantasy options to consider for Wednesday, July 12, 2023. Remember to monitor NBA injury news and our awesome new NBA injuries report tool. Good luck, RotoBallers, we only have a few more nights of this sweet July NBA action so soak it up, and let's make some money!

DraftKings Guards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks

Keyonte George, SG ($9,900)

George has been easily one of the brightest stars of the Summer League so far. He trails only Jabari Smith Jr. in scoring per game as he's averaged 29.5 points per contest for Utah in his first two games in Vegas.

59 PTS, 17 AST, 11 3PM 🔥

Keyonte George has been on fire during his first two #NBA2KSummerLeague games! pic.twitter.com/mw6U7vzzz2

— NBA (@NBA) July 11, 2023

The Jazz were without their other main scorer, Ochai Agbaji, on Monday which led to George hoisting up 15 shots, ten of which were from behind the arc. Agbaji had back spasms on Monday and his status for tonight is unknown as of this morning. If he's out, then George is a lock for my lineups and Johnny Juzang (who scored 26 points off the bench on 14 attempts, 4-5 from deep) moves up into consideration as well. But George is a great play tonight even if Agbaji plays, too, so I will likely end up with a lot of him in my lineups regardless.

Justin Champagnie, SG ($7,100)

I'm not sure you can find a better floor at a better price than what Champagnie can provide. The Celtics guard has averaged a wild 11.5 rebounds per game through his first two contests. He's only 6-6, but we get a lot of undersized lineups in the Summer league with a lot of teams playing without a true center. The double-digit boards in both games is impressive and he finally got it going on offense last game, shooting 8-17 from the field for 21 points. He's averaging 1.2 DK points per minute and playing 29 minutes per game, which means his median projection would be 34.8 DK points tonight or right around 5x his salary. I think he's a really safe play with upside if he's making shots.

D'Moi Hodge, PG ($4,900)

Hodge has started at the point for the Lakers in both of their games so far, yet he's still priced under 5k tonight and is one of my favorite values. He played 22 minutes in the opener and then got 25 minutes of run in the Lakers' win over Charlotte on Sunday, scoring 16 points in that one. Max Christie is the lead guard for this Lakers unit, but Hodge's 24.4 DK points per game in 23.5 minutes per game shows that he's able to be productive when he's out there. He feels like an easy 5x here tonight with the chance for more.

Jaden Shackelford, PG/SG ($4,600)

We need some more news from OKC today in order to really know how to tackle this slate. They've definitely shut down Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, and Tre Mann (injury) for the rest of the Summer, but they also sat down Jaylin Williams, Ousmane Dieng, and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl last night, too, which led to a bunch of other young OKC guys getting a ton of run.

One of those guys was Shackelford, who had played only 15 minutes off the bench in their first Summer game and then played 30 minutes last night after moving into the starting lineup. He posted a solid 16-3-4 line with three steals and got up 19 shots in that game! I'm guessing he gets another start tonight and if he shoots it a little better (he was just 6-19 from the floor and 1-10 from deep) he could put up a big number. But even a floor game isn't going to hurt us either at this discounted price.

Also Consider: Andrew Nembhard ($9,800), Max Christie ($8,800), DaQuan Jefferies (if healthy - $7,700), Johnny Juzang ($6,100), Kevon Harris (if healthy - $5,500), Caleb McConnell ($4,000)

DraftKings Forwards/Centers - NBA DFS Lineup Picks

Bennedict Mathurin, SF ($10,000)

There's been no word on the Pacers sophomore getting pulled from Summer action yet, though I am not sure how much more he has to prove as his rookie season in Indiana was pretty darn good. He's averaging 22 points per contest so far and leads the Summer league in minutes per game.

Isaiah Wong lobs it off the glass to Bennedict Mathurin for the slam! 🔥 #NBASummerLeague
pic.twitter.com/mqOUmfdatC

— OutOfSightSports🚀™️ (@OOSSports) July 11, 2023

If he's going to get that kind of run, I am interested in paying up for him in case we get a ceiling game tonight against an OKC team that played a whole lot of nobodies last night and allowed over 100 points to Houston (remember these are only 10 minute quarters, so 100 points in 40 minutes is like 120 points in a full-length NBA game).

Colin Castleton, SF/PF ($8,600)

If I don't pay up for Mathurin, then Castleton is a logical play at the SF position, even though he's a 6'11" center. He's averaging 17-10.5-4.5 through his first two games with the Lakers in Vegas. He crushed his price the first two slates and now is finally priced appropriately. The fact is we need to lock in some raw points plays on these slates, we can't hunt ceilings with every player we roster.

K.J. Williams, SF/PF ($4,000)

I know you might be thinking, "Who the %$&*# is that guy?" I knew nothing about him until last night. But does it really matter? All I know is that this dude started at center and went for 19 points and 13 rebounds in 26 minutes. If we think that OKC rests more of their regulars again tonight, he's probably the best punt on the board at min price.

Dmytro Skapintsev, C ($4,800)

What a name! The Knicks have been deploying the big man off the bench, but he's doing damage at a 1.7 DK point-per-minute rate. He likely won't play more than 16-18 minutes at most, but that might be enough for him to make value. In the G-League last year, his per-36 averages were 15-11-3 with 1.5 blocks so you know he's certainly capable of stuffing the stat sheet with minutes.

Also Consider: D.J. Wilson ($6,900), Charlie Brown ($6,400), Justin Bean ($5,400), Udoka Azuibuike ($5,300) 

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