We have a six-game NBA DFS main slate kicking us off in the month of December as we ride off into the weekend with a very fun and interesting slate. There has been PLENTY of news came across the wire as Devin Booker, Luka Doncic, and Victor Wembanyama have all been ruled out while Joel Embiid and Julius Randle are both questionable.
NBA DFS Tools to dominate tonight's NBA DFS slate!
Make sure to check out today's NBA DFS projections and NBA DFS ownership projections before finalizing your lineups today. We also have the NBA Consistency Report to help identify players that have exceeded value based off their current price tag this season and of course our NBA DFS Lineup Generator!
Here's the NBA DFS Podcast for today's slate. Like the video and subscribe to our channel!
Notable NBA Injury Updates
QUESTIONABLE
- Joel Embiid (game-time decision)
- Julius Randle (mid-day downgrade)
- Jamal Murray
- Aaron Gordon
- Tim Hardaway Jr.
- Xavier Tillman
- Jonathan Isaac
- Jose Alvarado
- Doug McDermott
- Matt Ryan
OUT
- Luka Doncic
- Victor Wembanyama
- Devin Booker
- Dante Exum
- Kristaps Porzingis
- Kelly Oubre Jr.
- Marcus Smart
- Maxi Kleber
- Larry Nance Jr.
- Doug McDermott
PROBABLE
Teams on Back-to-Backs
- San Antonio Spurs – The Spurs had a 10-man rotation in their last back-to-back but played 3 starters 30+ mins in competitive game, would’ve been 4 if Collins stayed out of foul trouble.
- New York Knicks
Pace Up Spots
Pace definition: Pace is the total number of possessions a team uses in a game.
*key* Green is elite pace of play, Blue is decent pace of play, & Red is slow pace of play.
Green = Fast Paced team
Blue = Neutral Paced team
Red = Slow Paced team
- Wizards rank: 2nd vs. Magic rank: 14th
- Knicks rank: 29th vs. Raptors rank: 20th
- Grizzlies rank: 19th vs. Mavericks rank: 8th
- Spurs rank: 4th vs. Pelicans rank: 9th
- Nuggets rank: 26th vs. Suns rank: 27th
NBA Game Totals
- Washington Wizards vs. Orlando Magic - 237.5 (ORL -11)
- Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics - 224.5 (BOS -6)
- Memphis Grizzlies vs. Dallas Mavericks - 225.5 (DAL -5.5)
- New York Knicks vs. Toronto Raptors - 217.5 (TOR -2)
- San Antonio Spurs vs. New Orleans Pelicans - 237.5 (NO -13.5)
- Denver Nuggets vs. Phoenix Suns - 235.5 (DEN -2.5)
Top Tier Core Plays
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon have been listed questionable tonight and if they sit, it’s hard not to get to Jokic with his price DROPPING. Without those guys, he averages 1.96 FP/min. With them? 1.92 FP/min. He’s just an elite fantasy target in every way shape and form.
Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns
Devin Booker himself said it’s going to be a stretch for him to play tonight, so Durant will be likely playing without both Booker and Beal tonight. He has 37% USG rate along with a 1.47 FP/min average. This is not the best spot with two slow paced teams, but a sub-10K Durant with a team to himself is VERY appealing.
Kyrie Irving, Dallas Mavericks
With Luka Doncic ruled out, all eyes are on Kyrie Irving here. Irving has a 30% USG and averages 1.47 FP/min without Doncic across 152 minutes this year. Last year his usage was very similar and he averaged 1.31 FP/min in an even bigger sample. He’ll be one of, if not THE highest rostered plays of the slate.
Mid-Tier Core Plays
Desmond Bane & Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis Grizzlies
I’m throwing both Memphis stars together because both are in fantastic spots. Both are coming off ceiling games and this is a matchup in which Memphis has a big pace up spot and are playing a Dallas team ranking 24th in DRtg. Bane and Jackson are #1 and #2 in USG and FP/min for this Memphis team this year as Bane’s at 1.2 FP/min while Jackson’s at 1.1. Bane has a 29.3% USG and Jackon’s at 28%. The GPP leverage is on Jackson on DK.
Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic
When you’re talking about tournament strategy, sometimes recency bias comes into play and that’s what this spot feels like to me. The Magic and Wizards are running the game back and at massive chalk last time out, Banchero fell flat while Franz Wagner dominated. Guess where the ownership is going this time around? Yup. Wagner is the higher owned play of the two on DK. Banchero is, however, higher owned on FD. This an absolute ELITE spot for the Magic and I’m not crossing Banchero off of my player pool because of one bad game.
Jusuf Nurkic, Phoenix Suns
This is one of the spots where you have to take a stance and could 100% understand shying away from this spot. One, if you’re playing Nurkic you’re likely not getting to Embiid or Jokic, that’s first. Secondly, Nurk has to guard Nikola Jokic who could put him in foul trouble faster than the ref has a chance to blow the whistle. Without Booker and Beal this year, Nurkic has averaged 1.28 FP/min across 222 minutes. He’s spent 184 of those minutes WITH Kevin Durant and has averaged 1.25 FP/min. Elite potential if the fouls stay down.
Value Tier Core Plays
Derrick Rose, Memphis Grizzlies
I was yelling about Derrick Rose to anyone who would listen about the last few games and how his low-20’s minutes could’ve easily been mid-20’s if not for blowouts. Well, he started against Utah and played 27 minutes and had a ceiling performance, falling one assist shy of a double-double. He even lost two minutes in that game due to a late-fourth quarter push from Utah. There is a legit 30 minute ceiling here. Rose is chalky but it’s a fantastic spot against a fast-paced environment against a bottom-6 defense in Dallas.
Dereck Lively II, Dallas Mavericks
Lively was already checking in as a popular option and now the Mavericks are without their top rebounder in Doncic. Lively returned from his back injury and played 28 minutes in his return and has dipped back below 5K. He’s actually a great FP/min guy (in a limited 34-minute sample) without Doncic this year posting 1.21 FP/min.
Josh Green, & Jaden Hardy, Dallas Mavericks
This would become a whole lot easier if Tim Hardway Jr., who’s also listed as questionable, sits. Then I think Hardy is ABSOLUTELY in this rotation tonight. Not only is Luka Doncic sitting, but Dante Exum is as well and Exum has played 10+ minutes in 8-of-9 games. Green started and played 30 minutes last game while Hardy is a VERY high FP/min guy. Keep hip to the news because if we hear anything about Hardy in the rotation, fire him up in tournaments. If he were to start he’s a lock and load all formats.
Jordan Goodwin, Phoenix Suns
The Suns entered this season with Bradley Beal as their projected starting point-guard. He’s out. Then Devin Booker has taken that mantle. He’s also out. Insert Goodwin who’s been a 1.06 FP/min with both of those guys off the floor and has been highly impactful off the Suns’ bench for three consecutive games averaging well over a FP/min in each while playing 20+ mins in each.
Late-News Core Play Section
*Section for players we are considering “core plays” based on late-breaking news
- De’Anthony Melton, Philadelphia 76ers
- Paul Reed, Philadelphia 76ers
Check out our NBA DFS Livestream tonight at 5pm ET
Remember to like the video and subscribe to our channel!
SHEET UPDATE! The grid below is listed as our PLAYER POOLS, not our core plays. We've switched the formatting and the players written up above are the players we're using as CORE options. Everyone in the grid are options we would use too.
Player Pool
$ Tier | {{pos.alias}} |
---|---|
{{tier.name}} | {{ pos[i-1].player.team.name }} {{ pos[i-1].player.name }} |
Stacks
{{stack.team.name}} | {{player.name}} |
![]() | {{player.fantasy.price.value[8]}}- |
![]() | {{player.fantasy.price.value[6]}}- |