Happy Holiday's everyone! Below I have broken down tonight's three-game mini slate for everyone. Any questions you have feel free to hit me up on the forums or on Twitter @The_Real_Grande! Here we go!

 

UPDATE #1 --> With Joel Embiid ruled out, lineups will be adjusted and posted by 6 PM ET

UPDATE #2 --> Lineups were created with the idea Otto Porter would be ruled out. That has officially become the case.

  • DK GPP 1 - Updated
  • DK GPP 2 - Updated
  • FD GPP 1 - Updated
  • FD GPP 2 - Updated 

 

New Orleans @ Washington

Total: 219 / WAS -3

Injury News: Otto Porter Jr. (hip) QUEST

New Orleans

Over the last 10 games, the Pelicans haven't played consistently at all. They are just 4-6 over that span, despite scoring 108-plus points in nine straight contests. What does that say to me? Attack the Pelicans with anyone and anyone you can. But let's focus on NO offensively. This spot against Washington is a pace down spot, although it's not too bad. New Orleans is playing at the sixth fastest pace in the NBA while Washington checks in at number 14.  

Elite Plays - E'Twaun Moore, Anthony Davis. Before last game's clunker, Moore had been really coming into his own. He even put together a monster 46 DK point performance two games ago against the Rockets that probably won everyone that rostered him a bunch of money. Moore is very undersized for his position -- starting small-forward -- but the Wizards do not defend SF well as they rank 25th against the position this season. Let's not forget that Otto Porter may miss this game, which only improves Moore's chances at putting together a big game. At his current salary on DK we're looking for 23 points to hit 5x, which is more than a reasonable number to think he hits as long as he gets the minutes.

When it comes to Davis, I'm looking past the tough matchup he has against the number one team against power-forward's because Davis is rollin'. He has 25-plus points, eight plus rebounds and four plus blocks in each of his last three games. Davis is $600 cheaper than DeMarcus Cousins and has a similar floor and similar upside as well. There is no reason to think Davis won't see close to 40 minutes if it's a close contest in this one. Based on the matchup, we could get Davis at a small-ish ownership despite the fact it's only a three-game slate. 

Other Option(s) - DeMarcus Cousins, Rajon Rondo. I'm more on Davis than Cousins due to price, but Cousins is always an option. He has an outstanding floor and his upside is as good as anyone else's in the game. Cousins 35.2-percent USG rate puts him in play on any slate in any matchup in any situation if we're being honest. I DO NOT want to pay 6K for Rajon Rondo and the volatile minutes he's played the last two games, but he's a double-double threat and could hit value, so if you have 6K left when doing your build and he just falls into your lap, I understand the merit. 

 

Washington

Elite Plays: John Wall, Bradley Beal, Kelly Oubre Jr. John Wall is still priced fairly and he continues to see an uptick in minutes since his return from injury. He exceeded value last game and he had only six assists, something he does with his eyes closed on a regular basis. Something of note is when Otto Porter sits, Wall seemingly crashes the glass far more. His rebounds on a per 48 minute basis rise from 4.67 to 7.41 with Porter off of the floor. That tells me we should consider Wall as a triple-double candidate as long as he's given a full compliment of minutes. 

We mentioned earlier that Wall is improved with Porter off the floor but it's not just him. Bradley Beal see's a big bump in USG; nearly a four-percent bump over 34-percent. If you look up safety in the dictionary Beal's name might be right next to it because over the last seven games he's scored 36-plus DK points. On small slates like Tuesday's we want to take some risk, but we want safety and Beal provides us with exactly that.

We're really relying on Otto Porter sitting again in this spot but Kelly Oubre is an elite play if he does. Oubre was decent the Wizards last game and has consistenly been scoring in the 20's in terms of fantasy points on a regular basis. The Pelicans, however, are the worst team in the NBA against small-forwards and could yield a monster game to Oubre in this spot.

Other Option(s): Mike Scott. Ride the hot hand? Scott is rollin' right now as he played a season-high in minutes last game (33) and put up 37 DK points. He's sub 5K and I would like him a lot more if, shocker here, Otto Porter were to sit. Scott has scored in double-figures in four-of-five games and has scored 19-plus in three-of-five. He could be a tournament dart if you're feeling saucy. The Pelicans' don't guard anyone.

 

 

Sacramento @ Philadelphia

Total: 208 / PHI -9.5

Injury News: Joel Embiid (rest) PROB, De'Aaron Fox (quad) PROB, Trevor Booker (ankle) OUT, George Hill (illness) OUT

This is the second night of a back-to-back for Philly as they're coming off a loss to Chicago from Monday night. Sacramento gets a huge pace up spot here as the 76ers rank fourth in pace and the Kings are 28th. Both teams have quite significant injury news to watch that will likely tilt this small three-game slate.

Sacramento

Elite Plays: I just can't in good conscious consider anyone on the Kings an elite play.

Other Options: Garrett Temple, Buddy Hield, De'Aaron Fox. All three of the names mentioned I could envision being in a tournament winning lineup, but if I scroll to the bottom of that same contest I could also envision seeing the other two in the lineup that finishes dead last. On a three-game slate, everyone is in play. George Hill has already been ruled out on Tuesday so De'Aaron Fox could be in line for a heavy dose of minutes if he suits up. He only missed one game so he shouldn't be on any real restriction. Hield could also be a beneficiary to Hill's absence. Hield has a 26.8-percent USG with Hill off of the floor which is the highest mark on the team. Temple is coming off his best game in quite some time and if I was guarenteed the type of minutes and usage he saw last time the Kings played again, I wouldn't hesistate rostering him at just 3.6K.

 

Philadelphia 

Elite Plays: Joel Embiid, Joel Embiid, Joel Embiid. I'm not sure how many times I have to write Joel Embiid down before I get my message across but Embiid might be the top play on this slate and it's a slate that includes Antetokounmpo and James. The 76ers are the top rebounding team in the NBA due in large part to Embiid while the Kings rank 27th. They rank 29th against centers on the year and Embiid is well rested after sitting his team's contest on Monday. Embiid did not shoot the ball well the first time these two met but he still managed 49 DK points due to the fact he gobbled up 15 rebounds. Embiid could be the highest scoring player on this slate.

Other Options: Dario Saric, Ben Simmons, J.J. Redick. Redick is probably my favorite play of this trio mentioned before you but it's strictly because of his price. He's only 5.4K on DK and consistently hits value. He's a safe play on this slate as he's already flashed that safety against the Kings this year scoring 14 actual points and 27 DK points. Saric is getting up there in price but I already mentioned the Kings deficiency's on the boards and Saric could take advantage of that fact like he did in the first meeting when he notched a double-double. Simmons is always a triple-double threat but I worry if he'll pay off his price tag here. This feels like a Joel Embiid game and if the big man is constantly being fed on the post is there enough fantasy production to go around to get Simmons to hit value? I'm not sure, but he's still in play because of how good he is in real life basketball.

 

Cleveland @ Milwaukee

Total: 217 / CLE -1

Injury News: Dwyane Wade (rest) PROB

This game does not have the highest total on the board but it does have the closest spread at -1 for Cleveland. On one hand it's a little surprising seeing the total so high in this game due to the slower pace both of the teams play at, but we've seen this matchup happen twice already and both times the total has eclipsed 213 with the last one registering at 243.

Cleveland

Elite Plays: LeBron James, Kevin Love. One of the things my co-host Jon Impemba and I talk about all the time on the Fantasy Alarm NBA DFS Podcast is how easy it is to attack Bucks bigs. In the two games against the Bucks this year, Kevin Love is averaging 53.8 DK points. He's pulled in 14 rebounds on average in those two contests, something the Bucks struggle mightily with. Love is quite honestly underpriced for this slate and matchup and we should take full advantage of that fact here.

What can we say about LeBron James at this point that everyone doesn't already know? He rises up in big games and in big individual matchups as proven by his 30 point, eight rebound, nine assist contest the last time these two teams met. He's the highest priced option on the slate and if you want to pay up for him I'm not going to be the guy or gal telling you not to.

Other Options: None, zero, zilch, nada.

 

Milwaukee

Elite Plays: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Eric Bledsoe. The Greek Freak dropped 40 actual points on Cleveland's dome's last game and his team still lost so it's likely he'll be looking for vengence here. Antetokounmpo is in a groove right now scoring 49-plus DK points in 10 straight games. Cleveland plays no defense so he should have his way in this one. Perfectly fine with paying up for him here.

If you told me Eric Bledsoe was the top scoring point-guard on the slate by night's end it wouldn't shock me. He's essentially a must for FanDuel where you need two, but Bledsoe has a fantastic matchup in this spot. He's limping into this game shooting below 40-percent in four-of-five games, but the Cavs allow over 46 DK points to the point-guard position which ranks in the bottom half of the league. Bledsoe is priced exactly where he should be but still carries massive upside due to his ability to stuff a box score.

Cleveland struggles in most places defensively, but mainly at shooting-guard. Khris MIddleton is coming into this game hot, too, scoring 20 or more actual points in five-of-six games and in six of his last eight. The Cavs rank 27th against SG as we mentioned and Middleton has had two solid games against them, averaging 35 DK points between the two. Middleton still averages a 20.1-percent USG even with Antetokounmpo and Bledsoe on the floor which is impressive in itself.

Other Options: John Henson. The Bucks don't have any real front-court depth so Henson, by default, could work out in this spot. The Cavs front court is undersized and Henson could actually grab a decent amount of rebounds here if Kevin Love doesn't get him in instant foul trouble on the other end of the court. His upside is capped around 30 points, but at 4.5K that would crush value.