FanDuel players will have ten games to choose their teams from Monday night, with the most expensive option available being Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook ($12,600). Sunday night Westbrook posted a triple-double for the fifth consecutive games, finishing with 28 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists (and ten turnovers) in the Thunder's 101-92 win over New Orleans. Westbrook is the first NBA player since Michael Jordan in 1989 to tally a triple-double in five consecutive games, and all eyes will be on Atlanta as he looks to extend that streak. So what are Westbrook's chances of doing that in the second game of a back-to-back?
Oklahoma City has played four back-to-backs prior to Monday, and in those four games (meaning the second of the back-to-back) Westbrook is averaging 25.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 10.5 assists per contest, with the four opponents being Golden State (road), Detroit (road), Sacramento (road) and Detroit (home). In the Hawks, Westbrook and the Thunder face a team that's lost six straight and nine of its last ten games with starting guards Dennis Schröder and Kent Bazemore struggling mightily. With all that being said, if you can cobble together a good enough FanDuel lineup around Westbrook it wouldn't be a bad idea to bet on him making it six straight triple-doubles.
Here are our picks for Monday's games, working within the FanDuel parameters of a nine-player roster and $60,000 salary cap. (Getty)
PG: Damian Lillard, Portland
Opponent: at Chicago
Price: $9,400
Lillard's averaging 41.3 FanDuel points per night on the season, which makes him a good choice for any roster. And maybe he'll be motivated by what happened when these two teams met in Portland last month. In Chicago's 113-88 win over the Blazers, the Bulls limited Lillard to 19 points (7-for-22 FG), five rebounds and four assists. And that was without starting point guard Rajon Rondo, who will miss this game as well due to a one-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team. But given how Lillard's used slights, both real and perceived, as motivation throughout his career don't be surprised if he puts forth a good stat line in Chicago. (Getty)
Patty Mills, San Antonio
Opponent: at Milwaukee
Price: $4,300
Starting point guard Tony Parker missed Friday's game against the Wizards with a left quad contusion, which resulted in rookie Nicolas Laprovittola getting the start in the 107-105 victory. Mills still played nearly 28 minutes in the win, and whether Parker is able to go tonight or not Mills stands to see quality minutes as the Spurs look to remain undefeated on the road this season. Averaging 19.3 FanDuel points per game, Mills has accounted for 32.6 and 25.8 points in the last two games. (Getty)
SG: Nicolas Batum, Charlotte
Opponent: vs. Washington
Price: $7,300
Averaging 15.0 points, 7.9 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game this season, Batum played well in Charlotte's three-point loss to the Wizards on December 14. Batum finished the game with 20 points, eight assists and five rebounds, and he also tallied two steals and one blocked shot. Given the amount of production that the Wizards get from their perimeter players, Batum will once again be a key figure in this matchup. (Getty)
SG: Victor Oladipo, Oklahoma City
Opponent: at Atlanta
Price: $6,400
Averaging 27.9 FanDuel points per game on the season, Oladipo's surpassed that mark in eight of his last ten games with six of those being for 30 FanDuel points or more. As noted in the first slide Atlanta's backcourt has been struggling of late, and while that bodes well for Russell Westbrook that also bodes well fro his teammate Oladipo. Sunday night Oladipo tallied 15 points, five rebounds and four assists in OKC's win over New Orleans, but he's scored 18 points or more in four of the last six games. (Getty)
SF: Gordon Hayward, Utah
Opponent: at Los Angeles Lakers
Price: $7,600
With George Hill missing time due to a toe injury, more of the playmaking responsibilities fell upon the shoulders of Hayward and Rodney Hood. Both are comfortable with that responsibility, especially Hayward as he's averaging 22.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game this season. Hayward did not play in the first meeting between the Jazz and Lakers this season, but with L.A. missing Nick Young (under Luke Walton, Young's been respectable defensively) from their lineup Hayward could be in line for a good night. (Getty)
Harrison Barnes
PF: Jabari Parker, Milwaukee
Opponent: at San Antonio
Price: $6,900
Admittedly this will be a tough matchup for Parker, as the Spurs allow just 38.1 FanDuel points per game to opposing power forward units, and that number is down to 34.1 points per game over San Antonio's last ten contests. But, Parker's ability to step out onto the perimeter will help him some here, as he's shooting 49.7 percent from the field and 40.8 percent from beyond the arc. And in the first meeting between the two teams this season, Parker finished with 23 points, eight rebounds and three assists. (Getty)
PF: Taj Gibson, Chicago
Opponent: vs. Portland
Price: $5,900
Averaging 12.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game this season, Gibson posted a double-double in Chicago's win over the Blazers last month with 12 points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots. Averaging 26.1 FanDuel points per game for the season, Gibson accounted for 27.2 against Portland on that night and could be in line for another solid performance Monday night. (Getty)
C: Joel Embiid, Philadelphia
Opponent: vs. Minnesota
Price: $7,200
Boston's Al Horford also has a salary cap number of $7,200, but with his opposition being Utah and elite defender Rudy Robert, we're going with Embiid. In the first meeting of the season between the 76ers and Timberwolves, Embiid accounted for ten points and ten rebounds in the 110-86 defeat. With Philadelphia relaxing its minutes restriction on Embiid some, as he's now allowed to play 28 minutes per night, the rookie out of Kansas is on a run of three consecutive games of 23 points or more. (Getty)
FanDuel NBA Lineup Picks, Advice & Analysis for December 5