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FanDuel NBA: Best Picks, Lineup For Dec. 26

By Michael Yaffe

Dec 18, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) is defended by Detroit Pistons forward Ersan Ilyasova (23) and guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (5) during the second half at the United Center. The Detroit Pistons won 147-144 in quadruple overtime. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 18, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) is defended by Detroit Pistons forward Ersan Ilyasova (23) and guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (5) during the second half at the United Center. The Detroit Pistons won 147-144 in quadruple overtime. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports /
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Read on for the top four picks at each position and a sample lineup for Saturday evening’s FanDuel NBA games.

Dec 23, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry and forward Anthony Davis (23) during the second half of a game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Trail Blazers 115-89. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 23, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry and forward Anthony Davis (23) during the second half of a game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Trail Blazers 115-89. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /

The schedule makers ran their own version of the “isolation” on Christmas Day, with five consecutive marquee games that had minimal overlap. Despite the relatively light schedule, the Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets, New Orleans Pelicans and San Antonio Spurs will all be playing their second consecutive game and their third in four days.

Of those four teams, the Rockets and Pelicans are the weak links from a defensive standpoint, but they are playing each other Saturday night so there’s no uptick for a rested opponent in that scenario.

While the game is anticipated to be high scoring (212 o/u) it could just as easily be a slop-fest from Houston’s end since they are third in the league in turnovers (16.2 per game); as a result caution is advised before rostering anyone from the visiting squad.

Related Story: NBA: Top 10 Candidates For 2015-16 Rookie Of The Year

The Pelicans’ Anthony Davis might be the exception among the elite players who would normally be dragging, since he seems to play significantly better on the latter end of consecutive games this season; he has averaged 27.4 points per game across five such instances as opposed to 23.4 points per game overall.

Davis did play 50 minutes in the overtime loss to the Miami Heat on Christmas Day, but since the match was the earliest of the five games that shouldn’t be a primary concern.

Meanwhile, Houston’s James Harden was taxed for 38 minutes himself in the Rockets’ hard-fought victory over the Spurs Friday night, but like Davis his best scoring split (33.4 PPG) comes with zero days of rest, in comparison to his 28.8 points per game overall.

The Rockets are second-worst against opposing power forwards overall on FanDuel NBA, and that trend has persisted under interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff, since they are fourth-worst over their past 10 games as well.

Although the Pelicans are tied for next to last vs. shooting guards themselves, they are actually the ninth-stingiest against the position over their last 10 games, which coincides with the return of both Norris Cole (113.3 defensive rating) and Tyreke Evans (6.0 RPG) to the backcourt rotation.

Consequently, Davis gets the nod over Harden if you choose to roster a player from the $10K-plus price tier.

The Cavs’ LeBron James (39 minutes Friday evening) and the Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard (39 minutes in the aforementioned loss to the Rockets) don’t have reverse splits akin to Davis’ without rest, so they should probably be faded in light of the fatigue factor.

Unfortunately, since their respective teams are among the league’s stingiest on D, the Denver Nuggets and the Portland Trail Blazers (Saturday night’s opponents) are unlikely to take advantage of their opponents’ clustered schedules.

Despite those caveats, with an 11-game evening slate there are plentiful choices for the top four lists. That said, with a number of teams playing the latter end of weekend back-to-back sets (in addition to those labeled previously as “tired”), there could be some bench players who receive expanded roles on the cheap, so the situation bears monitoring throughout the day.

Next: Top Four Point Guards