Uriah Wesson 
We are still in the early going and getting ready to start our second week of NBA action tonight. Don’t worry folks we’re just getting going when it comes to building your bankroll over the 72 game season. We all enjoy playing the NFL but we are reaching the end and the NBA for me has created the largest runs in terms of profits night after night. Every single night you have an opportunity to grow your profits and put yourself into position to be successful over the long term. Especially for this Cash Game NBA Breakdown for 12.29! And don’t forget to check out our NBA Projection Model and Cheat Sheet to lock in the best of them!
Since this is a large slate one thing you’ll need to do is plant your flags on certain games. Unless you have a min priced lock play in a low scoring game you want to focus on the highest totals with lower spreads and build your core that way. Enough minutia though let’s get into my Cash Game NBA Breakdown for 12.29.
There are games I will focus my attention on in cash. By no means is this list comprehensive given the size of the slate so if you don’t see player or team on here that doesn’t mean that you should fade that player or team. These are just the spots that I have chosen to focus my attention on in my cash contests. Additionally, we want to build our NBA cash lines the same way that we do NFL cash lineups. Try to limit full game stacks and do not worry about high ownership. You can run multiple players from the same games but try to avoid “game stacks” or where the majority of your build revolves around one contest.
Chicago Bulls at Washington Wizards: 237 Total, Wizards -6.5
Golden State Warriors at Detroit Pistons: 226 Total, -4.5 Warriors
Milwaukee Bucks at Miami Heat: 225.5 Total, -5 Bucks
Denver Nuggets at Sacramento Kings: 224.5, -2.5 Nuggets
New Orleans Pelicans at Phoenix Suns: 223 Total, -2.5 Suns
If you are new to NBA this season I am sure you have already noticed the issues that come with DFS. NBA teams are “required” to give us lineups an hour before lock yet we have already had several player listed as out after the game locks. Wish I could help you with that but that is the nature of the beast. We all have to deal with it.
Cash Game NBA Breakdown For 12.29: Studs (Above 8K)
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks, PF/C, $10,800:
Giannis and the Bucks emotions are still probably raw from their dismissal from the playoffs just a few short months ago at the hands of this same Heat team. Nothing needs to really be said about Giannis as a player. He will be extremely motivated and he might not be dealing with Butler tonight. Lock and Load.
Zach Lavine, Bulls, SG, $8,400:
In the highest total game of the evening and the expected pace and lack of defense I still feel that Levine is underpriced by $600-$800 on DraftKings. He finally found himself in a game that wasn’t a blowout the other night and finished with over 50 DK points. The first two blowout games may have benefited us when it comes to pricing, and the potential lack of Lauri will funnel more usage to Lavine giving him a bump in both floor and ceiling.
Cash Game NBA Breakdown For 12.29: Mid-Priced (Between 5-8K)
D’Angelo Russell, Timberwolves, PG, $7,600(DK):
The Clippers are clearly having issues on the defensive side of the court in the early going and now the Timberwolves will show up to tonight’s contest and may not have to deal with Kawhii Leonard as he is dealing with a….mouth laceration…With Karl-Anthony Towns also out tonight the majority of the offensive will flow through Russell in a 228 total game where they are expected to be down. We could see a scenario where D’Angelo takes 25 shots just to keep his team close.
Goran Dragic, Heat, PG, $5,800 (DK):
If Jimmy Butler sits Dragic will be a necessary addition to your cash lineups. He always seems to dramatically exceed expectation from a point per dollar perspective whenever he sees starter minutes. I can’t honestly remember a situation last season where he didn’t at least see 6x his salary in these moments and he’s averaging 40 DK points as a backup in his first two. Don’t overthink this one.
Larry Nance Jr, Cavaliers, PF/C, $6,300(DK):
The Cavs are already a triage unit with five guys including Kevin Love currently expected to miss this game against should be another basement dwelling team in the Knicks. Nance exploded in the season opener with a 50 DK point performance against the Hornets and as bad as they are, they still aren’t the Knicks. It is the lowest total game of the night but it is still a 215 total with only a 3.5 point spread so don’t be scared of taking a piece or two in this one. With the already limited rotation and the opponent you might be pleasantly surprised.
Nicolas Batum, Clippers, SF/PF, $4,500(DK):
Originally I thought Nicolas Batum was another “wait for Kawhii news” selection but with Marcus Morris expected to miss Batum should get a bump in minutes and usage no matter what happens with Leonard. Against the Nuggets the other night he saw 36 minutes and gave us 37 DK points in what was an objectively harder matchup. Timberwolves are a terrible team defensively on the best of days and now with Towns out again (Jimmy Butler was right but that’s another conversation) with a wrist injury the Clippers should be able to score at will. Batum is an extremely well rounded player who can fill up every line of the stat sheet and that well rounded nature is a perfect fill in for a guy like Morris. He’s 100% lock for me if no Leonard but I’ll have a good bit of him no matter what.
Cash Game NBA Breakdown For 12.29: Value (Below 5K)
Thaddeus Young, Bulls, PF, $3,700(DK):
This play is dependent upon the status Lauri Markkanen who is dealing with a calf injury. If he is determined to be limited or out tonight it’s wheels up for a sub 4k Thaddeus Young. He is nothing special but considering the pace and potential minutes he will see he’ll become one of the centerpieces of my cash lineups tonight.
Josh Jackson, Pistons, SF, $4,500(DK):
He is still criminally underpriced for his potential ceiling and he still finds himself as one of our top point per dollar plays as of 1:30 PM but this could change in an instant. He’s getting around 30 minutes a game thus far and the Warriors are a complete mess defensively without Draymond Green and Klay Thompson on the court and now Marquise Chriss injured they are even more anemic.
Thanks for taking the time to look through my Win Daily Sports Draftkings Cash Game NBA Breakdown For 12.29. Looking forward to seeing some green screens this evening. Any questions about the breakdown, I will be available all day in the WinDaily Discord Chat. Don’t forget to subscribe to the WinDaily Youtube channel and follow @WinDailySports on Twitter to stay current and up to date on all of our fresh new content!
