Tuesday finishes off 2024 with a four-game NBA slate, tipping off at 7 p.m. ET on DraftKings and FanDuel. This slate is packed with key decision points, making it the ideal time to spotlight the top NBA DFS building blocks and standout picks of the day. Let’s break down Tuesday’s core plays like Jaren Jackson Jr. and several of his Memphis teammates, along with a trio of priorities from the Clippers at Spurs matchup.
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NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: Tuesday, Dec. 31
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NBA DFS Picks Today: Building Blocks
Jaren Jackson Jr.: Grizzlies at Suns
NBA DFS Projections
DraftKings: 39.94 | FanDuel: 40.56
NBA DFS Ownership Projections
DraftKings: 19.1% | FanDuel: 47.1%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $8,700 | FanDuel: $8,300
Jaren Jackson Jr. disappointed on Sunday as he reverted to Hackson Jackson, picking up four personal fouls and being limited to just 25 minutes against Oklahoma City. It also didn’t help that he missed all six of his attempts from 3-point range, making only 3 of 17 (18%) from the field.
Tonight things should be easier going against the likes of Mason Plumlee and Oso Ighodaro.
Scotty Pippen Jr. also had a poor fantasy showing, though it also didn’t help that he, Jackson and Desmond Bane were benched after their final third quarter rotations with the team trailing by 28 points heading into the final frame. Ja Morant (shoulder) is out for the foreseeable future, which means Pippen will be in play until his salary increases. Pretty much regardless of who is on the court, Pippen averages around a fantasy point per minute, so the additional run as the lead facilitator activates his boost. Bane also sees increased fantasy efficiency when Morant is off the court, which is wild considering he is already one of the more efficient players in the league.
Once again, Memphis has been ravaged by injuries, with Zach Edey (concussion) and Jake LaRavia (ankle) going down on Sunday. Brandon Clarke was already on the injured list, and he is not expected to return for at least a week, plus Santi Aldama and Marcus Smart are unlikely to play before mid-January. That means minutes for John Konchar, who will be pushed into the frontcourt for his rebounding prowess, which is solid for someone better suited as a wing, though his lack of offensive ability is really what keeps him as a reserve. He is a pesky defender, but we should not count on another five combined blocks and steals like he collected on Sunday.
Memphis will need Luke Kennard for offense off the bench, and Jay Huff and Jaylen Wells are serviceable punt plays on this four-game slate. Keep tabs on anyone called up from the G-League since the back of the rotation is now looking depleted.
Kevin Durant is in play, though there are better top-end options and a decent chance of Devin Booker returning after a five-game absence and Grayson Allen clearing the concussion protocol. Bradley Beal loses out on extra touches if both guards return, though you can still employ him as a secondary tournament target on the four-game slate.
Jusuf Nurkic has two more games remaining on his suspension, so Plumlee and Ighodaro look like solid bargains. The former will take up a center position, but the latter does have power forward eligibility on both DraftKings and FanDuel.
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Victor Wembanyama: Spurs vs. Clippers
NBA DFS Projections
DraftKings: 53.71 | FanDuel: 54.74
NBA DFS Ownership Projections
DraftKings: 6.5% | FanDuel: 12.9%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $11,600 | FanDuel: $11,700
While it would be fun to roll with 40-year-old LeBron James the day after his birthday, he is going against a tough Cleveland defense that barely broke a sweat last night in Golden State on the way to an 18-point victory.
Instead, let’s take a gander at Victor Wembanyama, who may barely reach double-digit popularity. It is likely that by the time the dust settles, he will be closer to 15% on DraftKings and 20% on FanDuel, but that may not come to fruition.
Over his last six games, the French phenom averaged 36.0 minutes per game, 22.3 field goal attempts and a stellar 49.3% conversion rate. What makes that wild is that half of his shots in this period were from beyond the arc, which he made at a 42.9% clip. He also added 9.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 0.7 steals and a WHOPPING 5.7 blocks per game.
Tonight he will be facing Ivica Zubac, who is a tough matchup, but the Clippers are on a back-to-back and Zu-Block played 36 minutes yesterday. He has been averaging a career-high 32.7 minutes per game, but if he is even a little tired, Wemby has an edge. When this duo squared off in early November, Wembanyama had 24 points, 13 rebound, three assists, three steals and nine blocks. Last year in their third meeting, the budding superstar had 22 points, 15 rebounds, three assists, one steal and three blocks. Make Wembanyama a priority if you can.
James Harden and Norman Powell are the main offensive contributors for the Clippers. Harden runs the show with eight assists per game while also contributing 22.1 points, which is a tick above what he averaged in 2021-22, when he was an All-Star. Powell is averaging a career-best 24.6 points, which is 5.6 more than his next-best season. Yes, he is going to be 32 years old this spring and in theory Kawhi Leonard is coming back, but for tonight, keep stormin’ with Norman!
Today’s Top Sports Betting Pick
Bradley Beal has been chugging along for the short-handed Suns, but the under on his 29.5 points + rebounds + assists (PRA) prop is an intriguing wager.
The screenshot of Portfolio EV shows that this wager projects to come to fruition 55% of the time. With the -110 odds, this results in a solid 5.9% expected value when accounting for the -125 “True Odds.”
Hard Rock is offering -110, which exceeds the True Odds of -125 and the -132 or worse odds posted at the other books, with several dropping the PRA down to 28.5.
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Stokastic’s Advanced NBA Statistical Projections have Beal projected for 34.3 minutes, 18.49 points, 5.19 rebounds and 3.69 assists for 27.37 PRA, well under the 29.5 line on Hard Rock and the 28.5 at others.
Grayson Allen is likely to return after being in the concussion protocol, and there is a decent chance Devin Booker will be back as well. That would put more pressure for Beal to trade volume for efficiency, which is never a guarantee.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today
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