Daily Fantasy Basketball 2015: NBA DFS DraftKings Best Player Picks for Dec. 17

Three of the NBA's biggest names will take the floor in Thursday's marquee matchup when Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder visit LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Which daily fantasy superstar is the best bet to anchor your DraftKings lineup?

With only three games on the schedule, roster options are limited. Taking some chances on little-used players may be necessary to separate yourself from the pack.

Here are five picks for Dec. 17 to build a winning squad around.

SF Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder ($10,100) at Cleveland Cavaliers

J Pat Carter/Associated Press

Durant is red-hot at the moment, having shot a blistering 59.2 percent from the floor over his last five games. In that time, he's averaged 26.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 5.8 assists in 35.4 minutes per contest.

As NBA.com/Stats noted, Durant is the defending Western Conference Player of the Week:

For the season, Westbrook is scoring roughly five more fantasy points a night than Durant is. However, Westbrook's average is inflated by the outrageous numbers he put up during the time Durant sat out with a hamstring injury.

In the 11 games since his return, Durant is averaging 50 DraftKings points compared to Westbrook's 47.2, yet Durant can still be had for $200 less than his teammate.

SG Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers ($6,100) vs. Houston Rockets

Danny Moloshok/Associated Press

Through his first 17 games of 2015-16, Kobe Bryant connected on just 29.6 percent of his field-goal attempts. But as HoopsHype pointed out, Bryant's shooting has improved dramatically of late:

In addition, over his past five outings, Bryant is shooting 37 percent from beyond the arc and 86.7 percent at the free-throw line. His DK scoring average in that time is 33.2 points per contest.

When he faced the Rockets in Houston this past Saturday, Bryant had possibly his best performance of the year. The 37-year-old tallied 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals while shooting 9-of-16 from the floor.

SF Trevor Ariza, Houston Rockets ($5,700) at Los Angeles Lakers

Brandon Dill/Associated Press

Even though his offense is picking up, Bryant's defensive rating of 108.6 is second-worst in the league among players averaging at least 30 minutes a game. Trevor Ariza stands to benefit from being guarded by Bryant on Thursday. The Rockets small forward is second on the team in minutes behind James Harden. 

With the exception of a Dec. 8 outing against the Brooklyn Nets, in which he left in the first quarter with a back injury, Ariza has posted a string of consistently solid fantasy totals. Not counting the game in Brooklyn, his lowest DK score since Dec. 3 is 25.75, and his average in that span is 31.5.  

Per Odds Shark, the over/under for the Rockets vs. Lakers tilt is 213, the highest of the evening by a large margin. This bodes well for Bryant, Ariza and anyone else who plays significant minutes.

SG Terrence Ross, Toronto Raptors ($3,900) at Charlotte Hornets

Terrence Ross moved into the Raptors starting lineup five games ago after DeMarre Carroll went down with a knee injury. Ross' fantasy totals have been wildly inconsistent since then, ranging from as high as 35.5 to as low as 9.25.

Despite his erratic production, Ross' court time is remaining steady. He's logged at least 27 minutes in every game he's started and is averaging 31.2 per contest.

It's hard not to like a guy who's in line to play 30 minutes with a price tag under $4,000—especially a player with Ross' explosive scoring ability. Remember, Ross once poured in 51 points in a single game. The above video features highlights of his spectacular showing against the Los Angeles Clippers in 2014.

PG Ty Lawson, Houston Rockets ($3,600) at Los Angeles Lakers

Pat Sullivan/Associated Press

As is the case with Ross, Ty Lawson is a low-risk play with the potential for a high reward. In this past Saturday's matchup with the Lakers, Lawson saw 26 minutes of action and scored 22.5 DK points:

MIN	3P	REB	AST	STL	PTS	FPTS
26	1	2	8	2	5	22.5

A similar outing Thursday will be more than enough for him to earn his $3,600 salary. NumberFire projects Lawson to score 25.3 fantasy points, the best per-dollar value of any player available.

According to RotoWire, the Lakers allow 58 DK points per game to opposing point guards, easily the most in the NBA.

All prices courtesy of DraftKings. Statistics via NBA.com unless otherwise noted. Mark Vandeusen is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @LucidSportsFan.

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