FanDuel & DraftKings NBA Daily Picks: Fantasy lineup & advice 12/5/17

(Photo Credit:Matthew Addie) 

PG – Kyle Lowry/Fred VanVleet, Toronto Raptors vs Phoenix Suns

Toronto Raptors point guards have a superb matchup tonight against a Phoenix Suns team that 1) gives up a lot of fantasy points to opposing point guards and 2) will be on the second night of a back-to-back. 

Kyle Lowry is a very solid choice as a high-priced point guard if you’re not willing to pay up for Russell Westbrook. Despite scoring just 11 points against the Indiana Pacers last time out, Lowry is still averaging 22.2 points to go along with 9.0 rebounds and 6.6 assists over his last five games. 

But Lowry’s backup, Fred VanVleet, is also an interesting play as a lower-end PG with high upside. VanVleet, who has taken over as the Raptors’ backup PG with the injury to Delon Wright, had another solid game against the Indiana Pacers last time out with 11 points, four rebounds and six assists. 

VanVleet has now topped 22 fantasy points in FanDuel scoring three times in his last four games, which is excellent value given his price range. With some possible blowout potential against Phoenix, VanVleet could work himself toward another strong fantasy night if he has to play a handful of garbage time minutes.

SG – Alec Burks, Utah Jazz @ Oklahoma City Thunder

There’s something in Utah that’s turning their shooting guards into scoring machines these days. Rookie Donovan Mitchell is out there dropping 40-point games, and Rodney Hood was one of the best sixth men in the league before going down with his recent injury. But in his place, Alec Burks has stepped right in and dropped three straight games of 24 or more points. Burks had another brilliant outing last night with 27 points, five rebounds, and three assists against the Washington Wizards.

Burks obviously can’t go on doing this forever, but with Hood still likely to miss out on tonight’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Burks will have at least one more game to do his thing. That makes him an interesting alternative to all the other high-priced shooting guards in action tonight.

SF – Otto Porter Jr., Washington Wizards @ Portland Trail Blazers

Otto Porter Jr. and the Wizards were absolutely punked last night as they were demolished by 47 points by the Utah Jazz. There has to be some kind of reaction from this Wizards team after such an embarrassing loss and look for the team’s top players like Porter to lead that charge in John Wall’s absence.

Porter already burned the Blazers badly in their most recent meeting as he dropped 24 points, ten rebounds, and had three steals against them while playing a season-high 37 minutes. The Blazers are giving up the third most fantasy points to opposing small forwards this season, so Porter’s chances of a repeat performance should be decent.

PF – Serge Ibaka, Toronto Raptors vs Phoenix Suns

Reliable power forward options are fairly scarce in this limited three-game slate, but the Suns are the obvious matchup to target given their glaring weakness in terms of frontcourt defense. While Serge Ibaka admittedly isn’t the most consistent fantasy player in the world, he did had a strong night with 15 points, eight rebounds, three 3-pointers, and two blocks in limited minutes against the Indiana Pacers. Despite the aforementioned blowout potential, Ibaka offers perhaps the highest upside out of any power forward in action tonight and can still be had at a fairly reasonable price.

C – Jusuf Nurkic, Portland Trail Blazers vs Washington Wizards

Consistency has been hard to come by this season for Jusuf Nurkic. The Portland big man was a big dud last time out against the New Orleans Pelicans as he was limited to just eight points and four rebounds after being saddled with foul trouble. However, he was fairly effective in his previous four games, averaging 20.8 points, ten rebounds, and two blocks per game. That includes a solid line of 17 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three blocks against tonight’s opponents, the Washington Wizards.

With the Wizards struggling to contain opposing centers lately and the fact that they’re on the second night of a back-to-back, Nurkic has the big-game potential that should make him worth spending on as the priciest center on the market.

Give us your thoughts on our picks for tonight in the comments section below!

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