NBA daily fantasy picks: Five players who could help your lineup for Dec. 22
Tuesday offers a unique slate in terms of the challenges and options it presents to daily fantasy owners. There are just four games from which to choose, but that, in and of itself, is not remarkable. What is, however, is the caliber of player available. There are zero five-figure players and just one, Andre Drummond, who costs more than $9,000. Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan and Brandon Jennings are the only other players who join him north of $8,000, and Jennings may not even play after just being recalled from the D-League, where he was rehabbing an Achilles injury. We really haven’t seen an evening like this all season.
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PG: Kyle Lowry ($8,700) vs. DAL:Tuesday’s schedule almost forces you to fill your roster with the top two players in terms of salary. Lowry should be nice and rested after getting ejected while playing just 25 minutes in Toronto’s last game. His 38.6 fantasy point average is the second highest of any player in action on Tuesday night.
SG: Will Barton ($6,400) vs. LAL:Barton has turned into one of the best players, if not the very best, on Denver, and remains a steal if his price tag is in the mid-$6K range. He’s averaging 15.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game, and has a great matchup with a Lakers team that has surrendered the fourth-most fantasy points per game to shooting guards this season.
SF: Jeff Green ($4,400) @ PHI:The minutes will be there for Green. In his last five games, he has averaged 37.4 minutes and 22.9 fantasy points per game. Rarely do we see starters priced at less than $6,000, let alone $1,600 lower than that threshold, and that alone makes Green a worthwhile play on Tuesday. There’s also the fact that the Sixers have allowed the second-most fantasy points per game to small forwards.
PF: Kenneth Faried ($6,500) vs. LAL:Faried’s ankle injury is a thing of the past, but his price remains depressed because of it. He has three double doubles in his last five games, and is starting to get more playing time now that the risk for re-injury has lessened. The Lakers really aren’t interested in playing defense anywhere on the floor, allowing the eighth-most fantasy points per game to power forwards, to go along with their poor track record against 2-guards.
C: Andre Drummond ($9,600) @ MIA:There is no way to build a cash game lineup and not include Drummond today. He’s clearly the best player regardless of position, and his salary isn’t prohibitive when all but four players are priced under $8,000. Drummond is more than a double-double machine. He leaves no doubt in his stats, reaching 18 points and 15 rebounds in five of his last eight games. His 43.8 fantasy points per game are the most of any player in action on Tuesday.
