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Dan's favorite FanDuel NBA DFS picks for today, Wednesday 12/4/24. His top daily fantasy basketball lineup sleepers and value picks for FanDuel DFS contests.
It's an unusually light slate for a Wednesday tonight with just six NBA games. The good news is we have only projected blowout, with the Celtics being the lone double-digit favorite (-13.5) hosting the Pistons. And while we don't have a complete picture of the injury situation, we can probably take some educated guesses about who might miss their teams' games, so let's get right into it.
I recommend some higher-priced players for cash games and GPPs in today's edition while highlighting some of my favorite value plays and game stacks. If you are looking for DraftKings picks, see who Zach Thompson likes by reading his piece here.
This article will provide my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel on 12/4/24. Remember to monitor NBA injury news and our awesome NBA injuries report tool, as the slate can completely change before lineups lock at 7:30 p.m. EST on FanDuel.
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FanDuel NBA DFS Core Picks
Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL - PF ($12,000)
I think the easiest click tonight is Giannis as this Bucks-Hawks game total of 236 dwarfs everything else on the slate. The Bucks are starting to get it going finally after a slow start with Giannis and Damian Lillard doing most of the heavy lifting while being surrounded by role players.
Giannis poured in 45 FD points on Tuesday night in just 27 minutes against Detroit as that game got out of hand in the second half and he was able to rest the entire fourth quarter. Tonight, the Bucks are favored by just four and Atlanta has enough offensive firepower to battle them. This should draw a ceiling performance out of either Giannis or Dame, and I'll happily click on Giannis first because the floor is so darn high, too.
Kristaps Porzingis, BOS - PF/C ($7,700)
The Boston situation is something we have to monitor tonight. Boston rested a bunch of players on Monday and was still able to cruise to a win against Miami. Porzingis was one of those players and it was pretty obvious that he was going to sit since it was the second half of a back-to-back set.
Tonight it's Jrue Holiday and Jayson Tatum who draw questionable tags and the Celtics likely don't need either of them to dispatch the Pistons, who were blown out by Milwaukee last night. Tatum has yet to miss a game this season, so it would make sense that it's his turn to get a break.
Kristaps Porzingis cashes in from WAY back🔥pic.twitter.com/FNwUqXX7F8
— Celtics Nation (@CelticsNationCP) December 1, 2024
That would thrust both Jaylen Brown and Porzingis into higher usage roles, while Derrick White and Payton Pritchard would benefit the most if Holiday sat out again. I like Porzingis a lot at this price, it's probably the cheapest we will see him for the rest of the year. He played 32 minutes against Cleveland on Sunday so it appears his minutes cap is gone and he's far too good of a fantasy player to be this cheap if he's going to play 30+ minutes.
He had 42 FD points against the Cavs and he could do some serious damage tonight against Jalen Duren who continues to struggle to defend at the NBA level.
Franz Wagner, LAL – SF/PF ($9,600)
Orlando got the doors blown off by the Knicks last night, finally cooling them down as they were the hottest team in the NBA going into that game. Wagner still managed to score 30 points in the loss and log 48 FD points, which was pretty impressive considering the Knicks lead was at 30 points at one point in the third quarter.
Tonight he gets the Sixers, who will likely be without Embiid. And while this game has a crazy low total of just 208 points, it doesn't matter much for Wagner who has been pumping out huge stat lines in low-scoring games for weeks. He went for 62 FD points in the first meeting between these two teams - a game that Philly had both Embiid and Paul George in the lineup.
Others Under Consideration: Jaylen Brown - SG/SF ($8,600), Anthony Davis - PF/C ($11,000), Damian Lillard - PG ($8,900)
FanDuel NBA DFS Tournament Pivots
Paul George, PHI - SG/SF ($7,400)
Are we finally ready to get the PG13 that we were expecting in Philadelphia this season? With Joel Embiid likely out again tonight, it's going to be George and Tyrese Maxey supplying most of the offense for a Sixers team that badly needs to start stacking some wins if they are going to compete for the postseason this year.
Paul George had arguably his best game as a Sixer last night:
- 29 PTS
- 10/16 FG
- 6/9 3PT
- 8 AST
- 2 REB
- 2 STLA terrific showing in his 2nd game back. Despite the slow start, the Sixers are only 2.5 games out of the play-in & 4.5 out of the 6 seed.pic.twitter.com/qsOrBX5Xq4
— Josh Reynolds (@JoshReynolds24) December 4, 2024
The good news is that George looked like his old self on Monday, piling up 29 points and dishing out eight assists in 37 minutes against Charlotte. The matchup against Orlando is significantly tougher, but this is a bargain price for a player like George who can stack stats across the sheet. I love going after players in the mid-tier range in GPPs and his rostership should be lower than a lot of other star players on this slate.
Clint Capela, ATL – C ($5,800)
Capela is playing some excellent basketball for Atlanta right now and has been able to fight off Onyeka Okongwu for his starting job and minutes yet again. He played a season-high 28 minutes against New Orleans on Monday and crushed it with 40 FD points. It was his third game in a row over 30 FD points and sixth in his last eight.
Last year, Capela averaged 36 FD points in three meetings with Milwaukee. I think he's a good bet to play 25+ minutes tonight as the Hawks will need his size and rebounding against Brook Lopez and Giannis. He's my favorite GPP play at the center position.
James Harden, LAC - PG ($9,600)
We knew that Harden would be having a big statistical season in L.A. this year with Paul George gone and Kawhi Leonard set to miss a huge chunk of time. But who knew he would have this Clippers team playing such solid basketball? At 14-9, the Clippers have one of the best records in the Western Conference and they have been competing on a nightly basis despite not having any real star power in this lineup other than Harden (sorry, Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac don't count).
Harden has super steady and it seems like he saves his best fantasy performances for games that are close and his team really needs him to score more and not just pass. He had a monster game against Denver on Sunday and a big performance against his opponent in tonight's game - the Timberwolves - when they met last week. The Wolves won that game by a single point, but with Norman Powell back to flank Harden on offense, I like the Clippers to get revenge on their homecourt tonight and Harden to go for 50+ FD points.
Others Under Consideration: Tyrese Maxey - PG ($8,700), Dennis Schroder - PG ($7,800), Bam Adebayo - C ($8,200), Tyler Herro - SG/SF ($7,500)
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FanDuel NBA DFS Value Picks
Rui Hachimura, LAL – SF/PF ($4,900)
Hach has been starting lately with the Lakers banged up, but could slide back to the bench if Austin Reaves returns. I don't mind him coming off the bench either, he's going to get shots up either way. As long as he's playing 25+ minutes he's in play at this price.
T.J. McConnell, IND - PG ($5,000)
T.J. Hustle has played 20+ minutes in three straight and six of his last seven games. We all know he's a stat stuffer and perfectly capable of 1+ FD points per minute. It's not a sexy play, but if you need to punt, McConnell has a pretty safe floor of around 20 FD points with the potential to go for 30+ if he's getting those steals.
Guerschon Yabusele, PHI – PF ($5,500)
My lock button value play of the day! Yabusele is getting NO RESPECT with this price, despite being the starting center for Philly and having 30+ FD points in three of his last five games. The big man can do a little of everything and should play 30+ minutes with Andre Drummond out and Joel Embiid doubtful.
Moritz Wagner, ORL – PF/C ($4,600)
Wagners is a better play if Goga Bitadze misses for Orlando again tonight, but either way, he should be on your radar as he continues to be the most productive bench player for Orlando lately. He had 20 points and 12 boards last night against the Knicks and continues to pile up stats in a hurry in his current role off the bench.
Others Under Consideration: Mike Conley - PG ($4,800), Tyrese Martin - SF/SG ($4,700), Jaime Jaquez Jr. - SG/SF ($5,100), De'Andre Hunter - SF/PF ($5,500)
My Favorite NBA DFS Picks for Today
Here is where I leave you with some of my favorites.
- My favorite OVERALL play on the slate: Giannis Antetokounmpo
- My favorite CASH play on the slate: Franz Wagner
- My favorite GPP play on the slate: Paul George
- My favorite VALUE play: Guerschon Yabusele
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