NBA daily fantasy picks: Five players who could help your lineup for Dec. 29
Monday night’s busy slate gives way to a Tuesday with just five games on the docket. The stars-and-scrubs approach is tough on such a night, not because there aren’t enough stars, but because there is a dearth of palatable scrubs. If you don’t do it, somebody else will, and you should probably let them be the person who chooses that approach. A more balanced lineup, with perhaps one five-figure player, is more likely to yield rewards on Tuesday.
All prices are courtesy of FanDuel and based on a $60,000 budget.
PG: Matthew Dellavedova ($4,500) @ DEN:Kyrie Irving will get the night off Tuesday, pushing Dellavedova back into the starting lineup. We know that he’s a lock for 35-plus minutes when he’s the starter, making him an attractive choice at his $4,500-price tag. It doesn’t hurt that the Nuggets have allowed the second-most fantasy points per game to point guards. The last time Dellavedova got 35 minutes, he put up 31 fantasy points (11 points, 10 assists, five rebounds).
SG: Will Barton ($6,800) vs. CLE: Barton’s price climbed $400 since the last time we discussed him, but he’s still a significant bargain. Over his last 10 games, he has averaged 34.5 fantasy points. For comparison’s sake, Kevin Love is averaging 34 fantasy points for the season, and he costs $7,500 on Tuesday. Dwyane Wade, who puts up 30.8 fantasy points on a typical night and plays the same position as Barton, is up at $7,300. Until Barton breaches the $7,000-mark, he’s an autoplay.
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PF: Paul Millsap ($8,300) @ HOU: This selection is in the same vein as the Durant one above. Millsap is as steady as they come and has been at the high end of his production spectrum recently, averaging 45.2 fantasy points in his last two games. The Rockets don’t play any defense and have allowed the most fantasy points per game to power forwards this year. This game has a nice, healthy over/under of 208.5. I’ll gladly take the best player on one of the two teams at just $8,300.
C: Hassan Whiteside ($7,500) @ MEM: There was some concern that an illness would keep Whiteside from playing in Miami’s last game. Not only did he play, he had one of his best games in the last three weeks, putting up 18 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks in a loss to the Nets. In the last six games in which Whiteside has played at least 30 minutes, he has averaged 35.6 fantasy points.
