Friday wraps up the holiday week with NBA DFS action tipping off at 7:00 p.m. ET on DraftKings and FanDuel. With a slate full of critical decision points, it’s the ideal opportunity to highlight the top NBA DFS building blocks and picks of the day. Let’s dive into Friday’s standout plays, with Ausar Thompson and Cade Cunningham looking like fun options from the early game, while Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama are squaring off later in the evening.
After finalizing your NBA DFS picks, take your betting strategy to the next level with Tails by OddsShopper. Access expert picks from top professionals and gain a decisive edge over the competition.
NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: Friday, Jan. 3
A Stokastic user just turned $4 into $1,000 using our powerful tools!
Want to level up your game with the same advanced data and insights? Sign up for a Stokastic+ NBA package today! Plus, check out the Stokastic Hall of Fame Avatar Program — earn a free Stokastic+ subscription and some serious bragging rights!
NBA DFS Picks Today: Building Blocks
Ausar Thompson: Piston vs. Hornets
NBA DFS Projections
DraftKings: 25.59 | FanDuel: 26.07
NBA DFS Ownership Projections
DraftKings: 55.8% | FanDuel: 42.1%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $4,000 | FanDuel: $4,600
Jaden Ivey is out for the season with a broken leg suffered in the last game, and Simone Fontecchio is away from the team tending to a personal matter. That should open up minutes for Ausar Thompson, who contributes in a myriad of ways when he is able to stay on the court and not having to look over his shoulder to see if he is being subbed out.
For his career (76 games, though only 41 as a starter), Thompson has posted 2.9 “stocks” per 36 minutes. Most of his scoring comes on fast breaks, dunks and putbacks, and he adds 9.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per 36 minutes. Even if he does not start, he should see at least 25 minutes as a reserve in a cherry matchup against a lackadaisical Charlotte defense.
The second-year wing should produce around a fantasy point per minute, so he has upside via additional minutes or efficiency on his scoring or collecting extra defensive stats. Two weeks ago he reached the 40-fantasy point plateau against the Heat in just 26 minutes of action.
Tobias Harris has seen his salary slide down to $4,900 on DraftKings, putting him in play as a discount dandy. The matchup against the Hornets is in his favor, so he is worthy of our consideration. The hope is he will see more offensive opportunities without Ivey, as the veteran has double-digit field goal attempts in only two of the last eight games.
Cade Cunningham rounds out the priority plays for Detroit, serving as a strong top-tier differentiator on both DraftKings and FanDuel, where he is expected to be on fewer than one-in-four tournament rosters. In his 29 starts, he has 16 double-doubles and six triple-doubles while ranking second in the league with 9.7 assists per game. He is posting career highs across the board and is likely to be overlooked in the mad scramble leading up to lock.
LaMelo Ball and Mark Williams are differentiation options on DraftKings, though they can be skipped on FanDuel, where there are four extra teams in the player pool.
The blue site is including the Grizzlies-Kings and the Hawks-Lakers games. In the nightcap, Anthony Davis (ankle) is questionable after missing last night’s game. Jalen Johnson (shoulder), Trae Young (hand) and Bogdan Bogdanovic (leg) are also questionable for the Hawks. This uncertainty is something to prepare for in the large FanDuel contests, where gamers may be looking elsewhere for sure things earlier in the night.
Memphis also has questionable players in Brandon Clarke (calf), Zach Edey (concussion) and Jake LaRavia (ankle), which leaves a thin frontcourt manned by Jaren Jackson Jr., Jay Huff and an out-of-position John Konchar. Jackson is worthy of our attention on the featured slate, though the rest of the flotsam and jetsam are only in play on the short late-slate contests.
Keegan Murray (ankle) is doubtful, which means more opportunities for the first five from Sacramento, with Keon Ellis and Trey Lyles the most likely to see a minutes boost.
Take advantage of Stokastic’s best NFL DFS deal yet! For a one-time payment of just $179 using promo code CELEBRATE, you’ll get the NFL DFS Max package through the Super Bowl. That’s almost two months of Sims Max for less than the price of one! Get premium access to top-tier tools like Sims, NFL DFS projections, NFL DFS ownership projections — all at an unbeatable price.
Nikola Jokic: Nuggets vs. Spurs
NBA DFS Projections
DraftKings: 68.83 | FanDuel: 65.97
NBA DFS Ownership Projections
DraftKings: 47.1% | FanDuel: 6.2%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $12,200 | FanDuel: $13,000
Nikola Jokic is nearly eight times more popular on DraftKings than on FanDuel. This is due to FanDuel including every game for the featured contests while also assigning a lofty $13,000 salary cap figure to the three-time NBA MVP.
In the last game, Jokic posted a 23-point, 17-rebound, 15-assist triple-double against Atlanta in just 29.5 minutes. He now has reached that milestone 14 times in his 29 starts, which is just ridiculous. Though he only had one triple-double in four games against Victor Wembanyama, he recorded 54.4, 75.2, 49.9 and 63.7 fantasy points (standard scoring).
For those wondering about Wembanyama, well, he too has not had any issues on his side of this matchup. The French phenom tallied 57.9, 81.0, 41.8 and 65.2 fantasy points, averaging 33.3 minutes per game. Wemby is projecting to be on less than 10% of all DraftKings lineups, making him an amazing leverage option. On FanDuel, he is slightly more popular than Jokic, though also receiving a $1,200 discount.
Today’s Top Sports Betting Pick
Jalen Brunson was held out of the last game, but he is trending toward suiting up tonight in a tough matchup against Oklahoma City. That has the under on his 24.5 points prop worthy of our attention.
The screenshot of Portfolio EV shows that this wager projects to win 56% of the time. With the -109 odds, leading to 7.2% expected value when accounting for the -127 “True Odds.”
SugarHouse, BetRivers and Unibet are offering -110, which exceeds the True Odds of -127 and the -140 (or worse) that most other books are offering. Some have even dropped the line down to 23.5 points.
Let Portfolio EV do the hard work for you, eliminating the guesswork in finding +EV bets. This advanced tool identifies inefficient odds in real time, making it simple to uncover profitable opportunities with ease.
With odds changing rapidly, having accounts at multiple sportsbooks is essential for locking in the best lines fast. Portfolio EV excels by continuously scanning multiple platforms, ensuring you’re always prepared to seize every valuable opportunity as soon as it appears.
Stokastic’s Advanced NBA Statistical Projections have Brunson projected for 36.3 minutes and 24.13 points, which is below the 24.5-point line and, of course, below the 25 needed for this wager to fail.
In his last 10 games, Brunson had outings of 55, 39 and 31 (twice) points, though there were also games of 18, 14 (twice) and 12 points.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today
Gain the edge for tonight’s NBA slate! Join the Stokastic NBA Live Before Lock Show at 5:00 p.m. ET on YouTube for expert breakdowns, sharp insights, and winning strategies to crush your NBA DFS contests!
