Fantasy

NBA DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Primer: Dec 5

FantasyPros breaks down the top DraftKings and FanDuel daily fantasy players for Tuesday's NBA In-Season Tournament slate.

Joel Bartilotta, FantasyPros

December 5, 2023 7:33 PM

Anthony Davis has been dominant, scoring at least 57 DK points in four of his last five outings.

We had two quarterfinal games yesterday, and we’re seeing the other two here. Watching elimination games in December is something we’ve never seen as NBA fans, and if yesterday was any indication, we’re in for a tremendous Tuesday card. With that in mind, let’s dive into these two Tuesday games!

Core Plays

Devin Booker (PG/SG – PHX): $10,100 DraftKings, $10,400 FanDuel

The Phoenix point guard has scored at least 44 DraftKings points in all but one game, generating a 52-point average in those outings. He’s thriving in this expanded role without Bradley Beal, and it’s likely to continue against an LA team allowing the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing point guards.

Anthony Davis (PF/C – LAL): $10,000 DraftKings, $11,400 FanDuel

AD can be frustrating at times because he looks like the best player in the league when he’s right. We’ve been seeing glimpses of that recently, with Davis scoring at least 57 DK points in four of his last five outings. He’s actually surpassed that total 11 times this year and has one of the highest ceilings in the NBA. Facing an undersized Phoenix team only adds to his intrigue, with AD averaging 63 DK points per game against them in their four matchups since the start of last season.

Cash Game Considerations

Giannis Antetokounmpo (PF/C – MIL): $11,400 DraftKings, $12,200 FanDuel

The former MVP has scored at least 52 DK points in 10 of his last 12 games, cracking 59 fantasy points in eight of those. That’s the stud we’ve become accustomed to, and we know this guy will be motivated in an elimination game against the Knicks. Antetokounmpo scored at least 66 fantasy points in two of his three meetings with NY last year!

Kevin Durant (SF/PF – PHX): $9,900 DraftKings, $10,100 FanDuel

It’s hard to believe that KD and Book can play like this together, but they’ve developed into one of the best duos in the NBA. Durant has scored at least 39 DraftKings points in every game this year, posting a 51-point average. His playmaking and usage make him one of the most reliable options on every slate, and KD has traditionally been even better when opposing LeBron James. In their one matchup earlier in the year, Durant dropped nearly 60 fantasy points!

GPP Targets

Julius Randle (PF/C – NYK): $8,700 DraftKings, $8,700 FanDuel

Randle can be an elite DFS producer because of his role. The big man has been locked into 35 minutes and 20 shots over the last three years and is starting to get hot. Randle has scored at least 37 fantasy points in 13 of his previous 14 outings, providing a 44-point average in that span. Milwaukee is a tough matchup for most, but Julius has a 50-point average in their last two matchups.

Khris Middleton (SF – MIL): $6,000 DraftKings, $6,100 FanDuel

Outside of a setback last week, Middleton averages 26 minutes a night across his last four fixtures. We expect him to get to 30 at some point, and we’ve seen Middleton be an $8K player in a 30-minute role in the past. He’s still providing that per-minute production, so the fantasy numbers should rise along with the minute total! Don’t be surprised to see him play his first 30-minute outing in this elimination game.

Value Plays

Jusuf Nurkic (C – PHX): $6,900DraftKings, $7,600 FanDuel

Nurkic doesn’t get enough credit for what he’s doing. The big man has locked up the center position for the Suns and is playing some of the best basketball of his career. Nurkic has scored at least 34 DraftKings points in seven of his last eight outings, scoring 41 or more DK points in half of those. We love that in this matchup because LA has been getting wrecked by big men over the last week. That was clear when Nurkic had 38 fantasy points against them a few weeks ago.

D’Angelo Russell (PG/SG – LAL): $6,700 DraftKings, $6,800 FanDuel

Everyone talks about LeBron, AD, and Austin Reaves in LA, but Russell is an unsung hero. The starting point guard has scored at least 27 DK points in 18 of 21 games, providing 37 or more fantasy points in 10 of those. We also saw him show a 61-point ceiling just last week, and D-Lo needs a price bump behind these surprising numbers. Not to mention, he’s got at least 30 fantasy points in five straight matchups with Phoenix, averaging nearly 40 DK points per game.