NBA DFS Picks: Tuesday 12/10/24

If you're looking to have some fun this basketball season, NBA DFS on FanDuel has you covered.

With NBA DFS, you can put your hoops knowledge to the test and ride with players you think will go off in a given night.

To help you along the way, we've got a bunch of tools here at FanDuel Research. Specifically, our NBA DFS projections, powered by numberFire, update throughout the day to reflect current news.

On top of all that, here at FanDuel Research, we'll come at you each day with this NBA DFS primer, which breaks down some of the day's top plays at each position.

Let's dive into today's main slate on FanDuel.

Betting lines via the NBA odds at FanDuel Sportsbook. Projections and betting odds may change after this article is published. All injury news comes from the NBA's official injury report.

NBA DFS Picks for Today

Guards

Top Priorities

Luka Doncic ($11,800)

On just a two-game slate for the NBA Cup, three of the four teams in action fit the description of a do-it-all, heliocentric MVP candidate, his right-hand man, and random role players around them. The other squad is wrecked by injury. Stars and scrubs it is.

Luka Doncic is one of those marquee MVP candidates to roster against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He's joining Nikola Jokic at the new standard for NBA DFS, eclipsing 69 FanDuel points (FDP) in three of his four games since returning from injury.

Doncic has combined a 29.5% usage rate with 14.8 rebound chances and 13.3 potential assists in this stretch, nearing the top of the league in all of those categories. The result will be explosive triple-doubles.

There's no issue from me setting and forgetting the star against an OKC squad that sits 10th across the NBA in pace.

Cole Anthony ($4,600)

The team wrecked by injury I mentioned earlier? That's the Orlando Magic after losing both Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner to oblique tears.

As a result, Cole Anthony is back to a significant role in the team's rotation. Wagner's offensive leap had the team choosing more defensive-minded options, but Anthony logged a season-high 29 minutes without Wagner on Sunday in Phoenix.

While likely still coming off the bench, Anthony posted 39.3 FDP per 36 minutes with Banchero and Wagner off the floor from his sixth man role last season behind a team-best 27.8% usage rate.

It's not crazy to think he leads Orlando in scoring tonight at a sub-$5,000 salary.

Others to Consider

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($10,800)

Sunday's game was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's first time below 50 FDP since November 15th, so he makes plenty of sense as an alternative if assuming Doncic cools off. Unfortunately, he doesn't fit with both Doncic and a player that fills an extreme positional need to come.

Gary Trent Jr. ($4,000)

Beyond Anthony, Orlando has a lot of guys who will log minutes tonight but don't do very much. The same can be said for Gary Trent Jr., but at least he's tied to a much better offense. Our NBA DFS projections expect 20.3 FDP in 29.0 minutes from him.

Wings

Top Priorities

Luguentz Dort ($4,900)

For now, the timeshare at wing for the Thunder seems to be swinging Luguentz Dort's way.

Dort is starting at the three ahead of Alex Caruso, but the pair just seem to be phasing out Cason Wallace and Isaiah Joe as one would have expected before the season. Dort led in minutes Sunday (31) followed by Wallace (27), Caruso (24), and Joe (14) in a game where Gilgeous-Alexander struggled.

We probably wouldn't go here at all on a full slate, but Dort's pace of 28.5 FDP per 36 minutes is a quality one if he's getting this sort of opportunity.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ($4,400)

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has played just 71 minutes all season without one of Wagner or Banchero on the floor, creating uncertainty how he fits into the new-look Magic lineup.

Chances are he'll be out there. KCP has logged at least 29 minutes in six of Orlando's last seven, and that likely won't decrease down an additional wing.

His defense will keep him engaged, but the low-usage option just doesn't really get a ball-handling boost like Cole Anthony or Anthony Black ($4,200) will in the Orlando backcourt. In the tiny sample without the two stars, his usage rate is a pitiful 9.0%.

It would surprise no one if he duds entirely, but the minutes are still justifiable for a roster spot as we pay ultimate mind to the slate's studs.

Others to Consider

Khris Middleton ($5,700)

Making his season debut two games ago, Khris Middleton has yet to top 23 minutes on the floor, and the Milwaukee Bucks are likely going to take extreme caution with the veteran's workload all season. Small forward is so poor today that he's in the mix, but I can't get here myself.

Klay Thompson ($4,700)

Well, that was fast. Mark Cuban's "missing piece", Klay Thompson, hasn't topped 25 minutes in seven of his last eight games due to injuries and/or general ineffectiveness. However, PJ Washington (illness) and Naji Marshall (illness) are questionable, so the Dallas Mavericks may end up looking his way Tuesday.

Bigs

Top Priorities

Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,900)

For as bad as small forward is, it's a sizzling hotbed of value plays compared to power forward. Any court time at all is a struggle, which further amplifies the decision to roster Giannis Antetokounmpo on this small slate.

Giannis is Giannis, but three straight sub-55 FDP performances before Sunday's battering of the Brooklyn Nets didn't felt very much like the former MVP recently. This also likely won't be an ideal matchup to score when the Magic's pace should be brutal. Orlando also allows the fourth-fewest paint points and sixth-fewest fast break points per game -- two categories where "Greek Freak" shines.

In a positionless world, I'd love to go Luka and SGA to leave him behind, but the options at the four are quite literally Antetokounmpo, an oversalaried duo of Jalen Williams and Bobby Portis, and whichever of Dallas' sick guys might end up playing. It's tough sledding.

Wendell Carter Jr. ($4,600)

One thing Orlando still does have is big men.

Goga Bitadze ($6,200) and Wendell Carter Jr. started together in the Magic's first game without Wagner, and Bitadze was the one you wish to have rostered. He had 45.2 FDP in 31 minutes, but this is still truly a hot-hand scenario.

Goga hasn't topped 30 minutes in six of his last eight, and Carter Jr. (21) and Moritz Wagner (17) were the odd men out on Sunday. If either one has it going, they could just as easily dispense those minutes.

At everyone's relative salaries, FDR's projections best endorse a dart at Carter Jr., projecting him for 25.0 FDP in 26.2 minutes. He averaged 42.3 FDP per 36 minutes with Wagner and Banchero off the floor last year fighting this same competition; I'm leaning to chalk the last game up as a fluke.

Others to Consider

Isaiah Hartenstein ($7,700)

Dallas commits to playing a center, which could bump the minutes for Isaiah Hartenstein in this matchup. Hart made his season debut eight games ago but has already made his presence felt with 46.6 FDP per 36 minutes. A full role could be deadly.

Naji Marshall ($4,500)

Marshall has missed four straight games with an illness, but now PJ Washington is a first-time listing for an illness heading into tonight's game and might have caught the bug. If Marshall is able to return, he'll have to shore up a huge hole in the Mavs' frontcourt.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author’s advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.