The NBA season has started in full swing, rushing into Christmas and entering the all-star voting phase. Marquee games seem to get better and better every night, and we’ve been enjoying some stacked Friday night slates to usher in the holiday season. With ten games to play tonight, we have a quality young DraftKings lineup that we’re sure will get you in the running just in time for your winter shopping spree for some DFS wins.
We’ve built strong basketball lineups on DraftKings all season, but Friday nights were our bread and butter. Last week we had a big one with Zion Williamson (50.75), Ja Morant (48) and OG Anunoby (34.5) anchoring our lineup and Keegan Murray (27.5) who netted $4,000 achieved success. The week before we hit gold with Jaylen Brown (63.5), Jrue Holiday (53 points), Trey Murphy (31.2) and Brook Lopez (30.2). This week we’re aiming for five big hits to boost our bankroll for the holiday season.
Lineup building is easy with DraftKings: Draft eight players with assigned salaries—one for each position, plus a guard flex, a forward flex, and a utility—and keep the team under the $50,000 salary cap.
Let’s jump right into our Friday night DraftKings NBA lineup and briefly review each of our picks.
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Best NBA DFS Lineup 12/16: DraftKings Strategy, Sleepers for Friday Night Hoops
PG: LaMelo Ball, Hornets vs. Hawks ($8.000)
Ball (ankle) returned from an absence of almost a month on Wednesday and he looked like he hadn’t missed a beat. In fact, the 44.25 DraftKings points he hung on the Pistons was 3.5 points higher than his last game 28 days ago! His shot looked smooth, sinking five triplets and dropping a handful of deadly step-back jumpers from mid-range. He finished with an easy 23 points and 11 assists and should be even stronger tonight after regaining his sea legs. Add some steals and rebounds to his Wednesday line and we’re talking matchup-winning production. And with Dejounte Murray, Atlanta’s top full-back, set to miss several weeks with a sprained ankle, there’s no limit for the young baller.
SG: Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers vs. Pacers ($8.600)
Mitchell has had a cooling off period after the wild start to the season but he’s starting to warm up again and offers great value at this price point. He has dropped 12 or more field goals in four of Cleveland’s last five games, and he has averaged 49.8 DK points in the last three games. The teenage Pacers gave up the second most fantasy points to Guards this season, so expect at least a 50 burger tonight.
SF: Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves at Thunder ($8.900)
Another young star with another solid matchup! Granted, we’re constructing a bit of a star-and-scrubs build, but it’s a worthwhile strategy if you do your research and spot some sleepers in the backend utility spots. And with OKC ranked among the 10 teams most imaginatively generous with opposing forwards, we’re all in this game. With an average of nearly 40 points – and Karl-Anthony Towns out – expect Ant usage to remain high enough to be a reliable upper tier contributor across the board.
PF: Kyle Anderson, Timberwolves at Thunder ($5.700)
Sleepers don’t need photos—they just show up and get the job done while the stars take the spotlight. Anderson has been tremendous for Minnesota since KAT took his calf load to the ground and scored solid points, rebounding and passing production. It won’t blow your socks off in any category, but SloMo will certainly score far more fantasy points than most DFSers expect. He’s amassed more than 28 DK points in five of the Wolves’ last seven games, even hitting 47 in Utah last week.
C: Onyeka Okongwu, Hawks at Hornets ($4,700)
Okongwu, another guy who thrives when given the opportunity, improved tremendously when Hawks starting center Clint Capela walked out of Wednesday’s game against the Magic with a calf injury. He posted a season-high 31.75 DK points in just 26 minutes and should thrive even more in a starting role against a small Hornets lineup. OO has a double bottom and ceiling with five shares, so it’s worth a $4,700 investment.
G: Shake Milton, 76ers vs. Warriors ($4.800)
Shake continues to rattle and roll despite the recent return of starting point guard James Harden as the Sixers need his points infusion in their second session. He also regularly adds three or four assists and rebounds and often walks away with a steal or two. The Warriors will be without reigning Finals MVP Steph Curry (shoulder) for about a month, which means games like this could get out of hand relatively early. Plenty of time to shake, shake, shake.
F: Jaden McDaniels, Timberwolves at Thunder ($4.200)
McDaniels remains one of my favorite utility games each week simply because it offers consistent production across the board. And with Wolves undermanned, he’s having to fire more shots and make more plays than he did at the start of the season. Thunder’s Matador Defense serves sideplayers like JMC well, so we want him to hit 20 fantasy points for the second game in a row.
To use: Markelle Fultz, Magie bei Celtics ($5.100)
We usually opt for a high upside play at our utility flex spot, and this week is no different. Fultz has steadily improved since returning from injury in late November, averaging a 47.8-point jewel against the Hawks on Wednesday. Tonight, Boston will pose a little more of a challenge against a strong full-back, but we’ve seen plenty of guards with hot streaks putting up numbers against the Celtics this season. With injuries ravaging Orlando, the volume should remain high for the former No. 1 draft pick (who was taken over against Celtics MVP contender Jayson Tatum). With that game likely circled on the young point guard’s calendar, Fultz could fill it tonight and serve as a nice cherry on our Friday night lineup.
