There are eight games on the NBA schedule for Wednesday, with Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook ($12,500) and Houston guard James Harden ($12,000) both in action. Add in New Orleans forward Anthony Davis ($11,200), and three players averaging more than 50 FanDuel points per night are available for DFS participants to choose. Harden's in action for a second consecutive night (as is Davis), but in the case of elite players such as Harden the back-to-back setup isn't a big deal productivity-wise. Wednesday will be Houston's sixth back-to-back of the season to date, with Harden thus far having better scoring and rebounding averages in the first game than the second.
In the first game of a back-to-back this season, Harden's averaged 26.6 points, 13.2 assists and 9.8 rebounds per outing. And in the second game of back-to-backs, Harden's averaged 24.4 points, 13.4 assists and 8.6 rebounds per contest. One night after taking on the Spurs at home the Rockets hit the road to face the Phoenix Suns, a team the Rockets have yet to play this season. Phoenix is currently ranked 29th in the NBA in scoring defense and 24th in defensive rating, and with Houston being as good as they've been offensively this sets up to be a good night for Harden.
Here are our picks for tonight's games, using the FanDuel rules of a nine-player roster and a $60,000 salary cap. (Getty)
PG: John Wall, Washington
Opponent: at Chicago
Price: $9,700
Wall's averaging 44.8 FanDuel points per game this season, falling below that mark in his last two outings after a run of four consecutive games of 47.3 FanDuel points or more. Wall's dished out ten or more assists in five of his last six games, and he's also scored 20 points or more in four of those six contests. He didn't play in the first meeting this season between the Wizards and Bulls, as he was rested on the second game of a back-to-back. Bulls point guard Rajon Rondo can have his moments, especially defensively, but expect another productive game from Wall. (Getty)
PG: Ricky Rubio, Minnesota
Opponent: at Atlanta
Price: $5,600
Wednesday's game between the Timberwolves and Hawks is an interesting one, as both starting point guards have been playing better basketball of late. Atlanta's Dennis Schröder has tallied 34 FanDuel points or more in six of his last seven games, and Minnesota's Ricky Rubio has been solid with 30 FanDuel points or more in each of his last three games. Salary cap room is the reason for Rubio being selected here, and while he won't be a prolific scorer the rebounds, assists and steals make him worthy of consideration. (Getty)
SG: C.J. McCollum, Portland
Opponent: vs. Dallas
Price: $7,100
McCollum didn't have his best game against the Warriors on Saturday, scoring ten points on 5-for-12 shooting and accounting for just 18.8 FanDuel points. He bounced back with a good night against the Kings Tuesday, and with Dallas coming to town McCollum will look to produce a better stat line than he did in the first meeting. On November 4, McCollum finished with nine points, four rebounds and two assists (17 FanDuel points). Obviously that was a long time ago with regards to this season, and McCollum is averaging 32.8 FanDuel points per night. McCollum should be closer to his season average than the number he produced in the first game against the Mavericks. (Getty)
SG: Tony Allen, Memphis
Opponent: at Detroit
Price: $5,300
Allen's averaging just 21.3 FanDuel points per game this season, but he's surpassed that mark in six of his last seven outings. While Allen isn't a prolific scorer by any stretch of the imagination, he's good enough as a rebounder and defender to supplement the 10.1 points per game he's averaging with contributions in those categories. Allen tallied 23.6 FanDuel points in Tuesday's loss to the Celtics, finishing with ten points, eight rebounds, one block and one steal. (Getty)
SF: Jimmy Butler, Chicago
Opponent: vs. Washington
Price: $8,400
Even on nights where Butler struggles offensively he's capable of salvaging things FanDuel-wise due to his abilities as a rebounder and passer. Butler's dished out six assists in three of the last four games, and he's had at least four assists in nine of his last ten outings. Butler's averaging 41 FanDuel points per game on the season, and while he's fallen short of that number in each of the last three games he lit up Washington for 64.1 FanDuel points in their first meeting in mid-November. (Getty)
SF: Harrison Barnes, Dallas
Opponent: vs. Washington
Price: $6,800
In Friday's loss to the Warriors Barnes, who began his career with Golden State, scored 25 points in 28 minutes of action. Barnes finished that game with 35.1 FanDuel points, following up on a solid 33.8 point effort in the game prior against the Lakers. Over their last five games the Wizards have allowed 39.6 FanDuel points per game to opposing small forward units, which bodes well for Barnes Tuesday night. (Getty)
PF: Gorgui Dieng, Minnesota
Opponent: at Atlanta
Price: $5,500
Averaging 25.6 FanDuel points per game on the season, Dieng contributed ten points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots in Minnesota's win over Phoenix Monday night. With Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine being the primary scoring options Dieng won't be a major player offensively. But he's going to get his opportunities, and as long as he chips in on the glass and defensively Dieng has a chance to post a respectable FanDuel point total. (Getty)
PF: Dwight Powell, Dallas
Opponent: at Portland
Price: $4,300
The salary cap situation is what dictates this move, but even though Powell's averaging just 17.7 FanDuel points per game he's shown flashes throughout the season. Monday night against Denver, Powell scored 29.3 FanDuel points as he supplemented his 11 points with nine rebounds and three blocks. As long as Dir Nowitzki remains sidelined Powell's going to get minutes, with the Mavericks needing him primarily for defense and rebounding with the occasional scoring opportunity. (Getty)
C: Rudy Gobert, Utah
Opponent: vs. Toronto
Price: $7,700
Averaging 32.9 FanDuel points per game this season, Gobert has surpassed that mark in eight of his last nine games. Utah is one of the NBA's best defensive teams, and having a rim protector the caliber of Gobert is a big reason why. Gobert's also made strides offensively, scoring in double figures in nine straight games, which is also his streak of consecutive games with a double-double. Look for him to continue the double-double streak with a couple blocked shots sprinkled in. (Getty)
FanDuel NBA Lineup Picks, Advice & Analysis for December 21