RADIO
After a 10-game Wednesday night, we only have four games for Thursday. As is the case with most small slates, utilizing all of your salary tonight will take a back seat to simply finding the players that will produce the most. Looking at the slate as a whole, we have the teams we want playing on small slates. The Rockets offer a ton of variance in terms of low-tier, high-ceiling players. The New Orleans Pelicans defense has been abysmal in terms of letting up points and lastly, the Wizards are desperate for production so look for players like Jordan McRae, Ish Smith, and especially Ben Simmons to exceed projected in this game.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel on 12/5/19. These DFS lineup picks can vary from higher-priced players and elite options to lower-priced players and value picks on FanDuel. You can also check out today's DraftKings lineup picks.
Find me in the NBA Chat Room or @HalfCourtJester on Twitter if you have any questions and make sure you are checking your lineups before the rosters lock!
Featured Promo: Get any full-season NBA Premium Pass for 50% off. Win big with our exclusive DFS lineup tools, matchup rating projections, powerful Research Station, Lineup Optimizer, daily DFS lineup picks/cheat sheets and more! Sign Up Now!
FanDuel DFS Guards
Ricky Rubio - PG, PHO vs. NO ($7,500)
Initially this seems like a bad pick. Ricky Rubio facing off against Jrue Holiday favors Holiday based on individual skill and defense, but Rubio is still a premier point guard in the league. Rather than getting out-produced or overshadowed, he tends to keep up with big production nights from opposing guards. That should be the case tonight and since you will need the top players tonight, it's hard to see Rubio not having one of his typical high-assist nights against the Pelicans.
Furkan Korkmaz - SG, PHI @ WAS ($3,500)
There should be no reason to explain why this pick could fail, but anyone who plays against the Wizards and is guaranteed minutes is worth the gamble. If he can even have anything close to a decent game, there is a chance he exceeds his projected and playing against an inter-conference opponent should lead to increased upside.
FanDuel DFS Forwards
Cameron Johnson - SF, PHO @ NO ($3,700)
What initially made me want to avoid this pick was the fact that I thought the Pelicans bench players would simply produce more. The more I think about it, the more I think the Pelicans will have more spread out production where the Suns will have to rely on the hot hand. Look for players like Kelly Oubre Jr., Devin Booker, and Cam Johnson to lead to charge through the hustle stats of Johnson and Oubre, supported by the scoring of Booker. Also, there are not many quality, low-priced forward options.
Jerami Grant - PF, DEN @ NYK ($3,800)
Speaking of cheap forward options, you might not find a cheaper option with upside like this. The Knicks rotation is basically hybrid forwards, but that works in favor of someone like Grant, who has the reach to extend over taller defenders, and has the speed to burn smaller ones.
FanDuel DFS Centers
Mitchell Robinson - C, NYK vs. DEN ($5,800)
It's been a bit of a struggle for Mitchell Robinson's production this year, but he still has upside in certain matchups. Since he clearly has an athletic advantage over most of the Nuggets, it's hard not seeing him exceed his projected. He had one of his best games of the year in terms of rebounding last outing, so look for him to build on that. I have a hard time believing he is good for ten points every game, so bank on him out-rebounding the Nuggets and hopefully turning second-chance points into easy makes at the rim.
