Wednesday wraps up the 2024 NBA Cup quarterfinals round, with the action getting underway at 7:00 p.m. ET on DraftKings and FanDuel. The player pool is packed full of exciting options, making this the ideal slate to spotlight the top NBA DFS building blocks and today’s must-have NBA DFS picks. Let’s dive into the day’s core plays, including Jaylen Brown and others on this important slate.
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NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: Thursday, Dec. 12
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NBA DFS Picks Today: Building Blocks
Jaylen Brown: Celtics vs. Pistons
NBA DFS Projections
DraftKings: 44.08 | FanDuel: 42.51
NBA DFS Ownership Projections
DraftKings: 31.5% | FanDuel: 23.1%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $8,200 | FanDuel: $8,600
Boston is giving us a gift in having Jayson Tatum take the night off to “rest” his “sore” knee. The Celtics are still favored by a dozen at home against Detroit and have a 126-point implied team total.
The C’s play again on Sunday then are off until Thursday. Expect to see someone get a break in Washington this weekend.
This will only be the second game that Tatum has missed, with the first being last week in Detroit. Jaylen Brown was outstanding, recording 28 points, six rebounds, nine assists and a trio of takeaways. Kristaps Porzingis also showed out to the tune of 26 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two blocks. It is hard to envision the Unicorn playing much more than 28 minutes, but his usage and field goal attempts should be elevated without Tatum on the floor. Brown is likely to get the most minutes on the team, outside of an extreme blowout, which gives him the better ceiling.
Expect Sam Hauser to join the first five, though expecting him to go 5-for-10 from downtown like he did in the last game against the Pistons is a bridge too far. Still he should produce in the mid-20s for fantasy points, and he has a path to fourth quarter run if the game is well in hand.
Payton Pritchard is a fine play off the bench since he can fill in for either Derrick White or Jrue Holiday if the Celtics push out to a large lead as expected. White and Holiday are tournament targets, though only because there is a six-team player pool tonight. Holiday is just $5,000 on DraftKings, so he is also in play for those of you adventurous souls who are playing cash games still.
The only Detroit player worthy of a mention is Cade Cunningham for his ceiling as a tournament differentiator. He just missed out on a triple-double last week against Boston: 27 points, nine rebounds and 14 assists. That was a 90th-percentile outcome but still in his range of performances again tonight.
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Trey Murphy III: Pelicans vs. Kings
NBA DFS Projections
DraftKings: 34.11 | FanDuel: 31.98
NBA DFS Ownership Projections
DraftKings: 45.5% | FanDuel: 53.1%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $6,500 | FanDuel: $6,400
New Orleans and Sacramento are just outside the top 10 in pace this season, and the Pelicans are saddled with the third-worst defensive efficiency rating, allowing 115.1 points per 100 possessions.
The team is also missing half of the rotation, including starters Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson.
Trey Murphy III has increased his scoring for a fourth consecutive season, and in his last nine games, he is averaging 35.2 minutes with 19.2 points. A couple of duds and missed games in this stretch have given him a palatable salary, making him one of the most popular plays on Thursday, plus he has shooting guard and small forward eligibility on the largest DFS sites.
Herbert Jones does a little bit of everything, in addition to being a good defender. He has moved into the starting lineup since returning from his own injury, averaging 35.4 minutes, 16.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and a trio of stocks. If his shot is falling and he adds the defensive stats, he can propel rosters up the leaderboards in a hurry.
CJ McCollum and Dejounte Murray are solid options as well since they will be going against the Kings, who do not have any lockdown perimeter defenders.
Domantas Sabonis is going for his third consecutive rebounding title, though he is a little off the pace with 12.7 per game. He has one of the safest DFS floors in the game, recording 21 double-doubles in 23 games while also notching four triple-doubles. Salaries have caught up to his teammates on DraftKings, making the rest of the starters neutral options. FanDuel is a different story, as DeMar DeRozan, Malik Monk and Keegan Murray each project to be on around 25% of all rosters.
Today’s Top Sports Betting Pick
Derrick White looks like someone to target for the under on his 3.5 made 3-pointers prop tonight.
Looking at the screenshot of Portfolio EV, we can see this wager is likely to come to fruition 57% of the time, and with the -120 odds, this works out to a solid 4.5% expected ROI when factoring in the -123 “True Odds.”
BetMGM is offering the -120 line, which far exceeds the True Odds of -133 and the -140 or worse of most other books.
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Stokastic’s Advanced NBA Statistical Projections have White projected for 34.0 minutes and 3.73 rebounds. That is above the median line of 3.5 but still below the four needed to sink this under. White has fallen shy of this figure in his last three games, and in his last 14 appearances, he has three or fewer troikas eight times. Boston is constantly sending barrages of long-range shots at the bucket, but the hope for tonight is that White will be off the mark and his services will not be needed for his full complement of minutes against the Pistons.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today
Stay ahead of the game with tonight’s NBA action! Tune in to the Stokastic NBA Live Before Lock Show at 5:30 p.m. ET on YouTube for expert breakdowns, sharp insights, and everything you need to dominate tonight’s NBA DFS slate!
