NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: Christmas Chaos (December 25)

Christmas Day has some giant tournaments, with the action tipping off at 12 p.m. ET on DraftKings and FanDuel. This slate is loaded with decision points, making it the perfect opportunity to highlight the top NBA DFS building blocks and best picks of the day. Let’s break down Monday’s core plays and our NBA DFS picks today (Christmas day), featuring Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic and plenty of other stars.

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NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: Wednesday, Dec. 25

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NBA DFS Picks Today: Building Blocks

Wembanyama is leading the league with 4.0 blocks per game, a 10% improvement over his league leading rate from last year. He is also playing 32.6 minutes per game, which is close to 10% more than last season as well. The rebounds are down slightly, but his scoring is up and he continues to be one of the best fantasy players on any given slate.

Last year, Wembanyama didn’t have any trouble with Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert when he faced Minnesota and he also had a 40 point/20 rebound performance in overtime against the Knicks, who had Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson manning the pivot. The French phenom should get his, but there is fragility in this projection with the early game time and of course the tough New York defense. Lineups with Wemby are around 4% below the median fantasy point optimal projections and that dips to 3% on FanDuel. There is a strong popularity discount with the 21-year-old.

Devin Vassell is looking like one of the better discount dandies on DraftKings ($4,900), though he is a secondary option at best on FanDuel ($5,800). Towns is a strong play on both sites, while Jalen Brunson is intriguing on FanDuel ($8,300), where is only only $300 more than on DraftKings. Brunson does not have to do everything this season for the Knicks, which has helped him be more selective in his shots and his 56.8 eFG% is the second highest of his career and best as a starter. He also is averaging a career high 7.6 assists and we know he isn’t afraid to call his own number in crunch time.

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The Mavericks beat the Timberwolves 120-114 in Minnesota to start the season and this will be the second of three games between the squads. The T-wolves are on a three game slide and currently have a 14-14 record, while the Mavs are at 19-10. Anthony Edwards has been voicing his frustration and it hasn’t helped that Towns has been outstanding with the Knicks, while Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo have not exactly filled the void. Randle has been fine with 20 points per game, but he has a career low 6.9 rebounds and is still a ball-stopper at times.

DiVincenzo has been a disaster, which is a bit of a surprise since he has found varying degrees of success in short stops with Sacramento, Golden State and New York. He does have 15-plus points in two of the last three games, but he has reached double-digits only one other time in his last 12 games. Randle is playable on DraftKings, but it is Nickeil Alexander-Walker who is the appealing discount dandy from Minnesota.

Anthony Edwards has more than 45 fantasy points once in his last 10 games, though the Timberwolves have been involved in four blowouts during this time frame. In this stretch, Edwards is averaging 32.7 minutes and 18.2 field goal attempts, but his 41.2% conversion rate is betraying him, leading to a pedestrian 20.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists and two combined blocks and steals. He should be fired up for this matchup and it we can expect a spirited affair.

Daniel Gafford has a significant discount on the main DFS sites as compared to Dereck Lively II, plus with the latter starting, gamers may not be willing to take the plunge with the well travelled defensive maven. Kyrie Irving, PJ Washington and Klay Thompson are all viable tournament targets, but with everyone healthy for Dallas, things are a little crowded.

Somehow this has evolved into a conversation about why the NBA ratings are dropping, but that is just silly and people looking for clicks. This has been a tough year for Embiid, who is injured yet again with his third facial fracture for his career and his chronic knee issues are unlikely to allow him to play back-to-back games. He also shoved a reporter back in November, but lashing out is not going to help his situation.

For Wednesday, he remains an excellent tournament option and he should cruise through the 50-fantasy point threshold, anytime he plays 30 minutes. Things will be crowded for the 76ers with Tyrese Maxey and Paul George joining Embiid, but this trio will also vacuum up a lot of the usage and opportunities that were going to the rest of the rotation. KJ Martin is out, Drummond (toe) is questionable and Eric Gordon is probable. Rookie Jared McCain is out for the season with a knee injury, but most of his production was coming with Embiid and George sidelined.

Jayson Tatum was a late scratch on Monday, being pulled from the starting lineup right as the slate was locking. He was questionable on Tuesday with his illness, so we will need to get additional updates closer to tip off. Jrue Holiday (shoulder) and Derrick White (hamstring) are questionable, so the Celtics could provide several fantasy point per dollar plays or have everyone in, making things crowded for this marquee matchup. Until further news brings clarification, Kristaps Porzingis, Jaylen Brown and Payton Pritchard are the only trustworthy options. If the aforementioned trio of questionable players are in, then most of Boston looks neutral, even with the slightly relaxed salaries.

Anthony Davis is the preferred play, but his salary carries a significant premium to LeBron’s, evening things out. He is averaging a personal-best 26.6 points per game, with his 11.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists above his career-rates. Across his last seven games, he is averaging 4.5 “stocks” and 13.1 rebounds, with four games of 60-plus fantasy points. He has missed only one game this season, with James sitting for two, which still has the team barely above .500 (16-13). Full disclosure Davis (shoulder) and James (foot) are on the injury report, though it would be a surprise if either sit.

D’Angelo Russell (left thumb sprain) is questionable and if he is out then Austin Reaves gets a solid boost. Rookie Dalton Knecht has been banished to the bench for the last five games, with his offense not enough to cover up for his defensive miscues. He is averaging only 12.4 minutes and 4.0 points in this stretch, with seven or fewer fantasy points three times. Max Christie’s minutes are safer, since he is rolling with the first five, but he defers to pretty much everyone else in the starting unit. Rui Hachimura is always a viable option, since he has several paths to extra minutes, but this is really a top-heavy rotation.

Stephen Curry will be facing LeBron for the fourth time on Christmas and even though his production is inconsistent, he is appealing for tournaments. Over his last eight games, he has reached 50 fantasy points four times on DraftKings, with three games of at least 46 fantasy points on FanDuel, where the scoring system is not as beneficial for his statistical production.

Dennis Schroder is still looking for his first 20-fantasy point game after three starts with the ‘Dubs. He is unlikely to do much from a DFS perspective in games where both Curry and Andrew Wiggins are healthy. Jonathan Kuminga and Trayce Jackson-Davis are wild cards, who also have added foul trouble potential against the Los Angeles dynamic duo.

Draymond Green has been a whole lotta meh, but if he is engaged and ready to ball, it would be for a matchup such as this. Everyone else in the rotation is viable, though the variance runs high with coach Steve Kerr willing to mix and match at any point in the game.

Since joining the Phoenix, Durant has averaged around 1.4 fantasy points per minute, when Booker is off the court. These two teams just played on Monday, with Denver cruising to a 117-90 home victory. Durant did not set foot on the court in the final frame, with coach Mike Budenholzer emptying the bench at the 6:45 mark. The Suns were down by four at the half (55-51), but thins quickly unraveled in the third quarter, when the deficit grew to as many as 24 points.

Bradley Beal is good for around a fantasy point per minute, with upside if his shot is falling. He has been above 50% from the field each of the last three seasons, though his volume is well down from his heyday in Washington. He usually does not generate many peripherals to be a regular DFS option, but for the Christmas tournaments, he is very much in the mix across the DFS sites. For a frame of reference, he has a season high of 46 fantasy points, with only three games of more than 38 fantasy points.

Royce O’Neale should get all the minutes he can handle with Allen out, since the team will need his defense and will be accepting of the tradeoff for inconsistent offense. Tyus Jones also gets a boost without Booker and Allen, with the capable point guard also able to generate his own offense when needed and it will be needed tonight.

Jusuf Nurkic and Mason Plumlee will take turns battling their former teammate, but neither is going to be a match for Nikola Jokic, who is a priority play for those savages making “cash game” (H2H, 50/50s, 3-mans) lineups. He is a strong tournament option as well, but is there anything left to say about the three-time NBA MVP?

Jamal Murray (ankle) missed the last game and he is questionable for this matchup. If he is out, then Russell Westbrook is likely to get another spot start, though is Murray is in — well he would likely be very underrepresented in tournaments, with this game tipping off a full 10 hours after contests lock. Michael Porter Jr. landed on the bench late in the third quarter on Thursday, not even setting foot on the floor as the game went to overtime. Monday, none of the starters were in the game for the fourth quarter, but we have all seen Porter in coach Mike Malone’s doghouse before and it looks like that could be the case again with his defensive lapses. He is one of the best 3-point shooters in the game, but if he is not on the court, that doesn’t matter.

Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun are tertiary options on the featured-slate, moving up a tier for the nightcap contests.

Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today

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