3 NBA DraftKings Value Plays to Target on 12/15/17

Sam Dekker, SF/PF, Los Angeles Clippers

DraftKings Salary: $3,700

There is a lot of tentative injury news on this slate, so the landscape of potential value plays could change drastically as we get closer to lineup lock. One injury situation that is already pretty clear is the Los Angeles Clippers, who will be without Austin Rivers and Milos Teodosic, in addition to their already long list of injured players. Sam Dekker has been the one to step up in recent games, topping 25 minutes and 20 DraftKings points in back-to-back games.

It's unclear how much the absence of Rivers and Teodosic will affect him tonight though, as coach Doc Rivers has refused to play Dekker anywhere other than the four. He's played 100% of his minutes at power forward this month, a position that has also been occupied Jamil Wilson, Wesley Johnson, Montrezl Harrell, and even C.J. Williams at times. There are only 48 minutes in a game, so competing with four other players for time at one single position is less than ideal.

With so many of his ballhandlers missing this game, it would make sense for Rivers to run fewer three-guard sets, which would allow Dekker to play more at the three. In that hypothetical scenario, Dekker's minutes could sneak into the 30s, which would make him a must-play at this price tag. However, given the way Rivers has handled his rotations, it is tough to feel confident in Dekker playing anything other than the four. If that is the case, then his floor time will continue to be capped at around the 25-minute mark, while the likes of Jawun Evans ($3,000) and Sindarius Thornwell ($3,100) could be looking at as much playing time as they can handle alongside Lou Williams ($7,600). If taking a shot on one of those minimum-priced guards, the undersized combo-guard Evans has a more fantasy friendly game and is the preferred option.