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Five games are on the NBA schedule for Christmas Day, and with the number of star players in action FanDuel participants won't lack for quality roster options. The marquee game of the day is Golden State visiting Cleveland in the teams' first meeting since Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals. While many of the biggest names are the same with regards to this budding rivalry, one isn't: Kevin Durant ($9,500). Durant joined the Warriors in July, and his addition gave Golden State another offensive weapon but changed the way in which they defend. With a consistent interior defender in Andrew Bogut moving on, the defensive effort of the other players on the floor was of even greater importance.
Golden State is ranked second in the NBA in defensive rating, with Durant leading the team in blocked shots and combining with Draymond Green to make up a front court tandem that leads the Warriors in a total of five statistical categories. Now comes Durant's first matchup with LeBron James ($10,100) as a member of the Warriors, with James holding the advantage. They've met 16 times in the regular season, with James' teams winning 13 of those meetings, and his individual numbers have been better as well. Per Basketball Reference, James is averaging 29.3 points, 7.1 assists, 6.6 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game against Durant. As for KD, he's averaging 28.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. Now with different teammates, how much will that impact Durant's performances against LeBron? Sunday will provide the first answer to that question.
Here are our roster picks for Sunday's games, working with a $60,000 salary cap with nine roster spots. (Getty)
