NBA Daily Fantasy Picks & Playbook December 13
Published: Dec 13, 2023
9 games on tonight's NBA DFS main slate with the biggest story of the day being the matchup between the Indiana Pacers and the Milwaukee Bucks that has a 258.5 game total which is the highest I've ever seen Vegas set a line outside of the All-Star games. Not only do with have the 258.5 total but we also have six of the remaining seven games with totals over 230. This slate is also loaded with top end talent to build your lineups around.
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Notable NBA Injury Updates
Out
- Bam Adebayo
- Tyler Herro
- Jordan Clarkson
- John Collins
- Jalen Duren
- Marcus Smart
- Mitchell Robinson
- Josh Okogie
- Marvin Bagley
- Josh Richardson
- Zion Williamson
- Desmond Bane
Questionable
- Anthony Davis
- LeBron James
- Mark Williams
- De'Andre Hunter
- Daniel Gafford
- Grayson Allen
- Immanuel Quickley
- Tari Eason
Teams on Back-to-Backs
2nd Leg
1st Leg
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
- Philadelphia 76ers 13th vs Detroit Pistons 7th
- New Orleans Pelicans 11th vs Washington Wizards 2nd
- Charlotte Hornets 16th vs Miami Heat 25th
- Atlanta Hawks 3rd vs Toronto Raptors 21st
- Memphis Grizzlies 19th vs Houston Rockets 28th
- Indiana Pacers 1st vs Milwaukee Bucks 5th
- Los Angeles Lakers 12th vs San Antonio Spurs 4th
- Brooklyn Nets 18th vs Phoenix Suns 26th
- New York Knicks 29th vs Utah Jazz 14th
Notable NBA Game Totals
- Philadelphia 76ers vs Detroit Pistons +12 Total: 233
- New Orleans Pelicans vs Washington Wizards +8 Total: 241.5
- Charlotte Hornets vs Miami Heat -8 Total: 222
- Atlanta Hawks vs Toronto Raptors -1.5 Total: 241
- Memphis Grizzlies vs Houston Rockets -7.5 Total: 211
- Indiana Pacers vs Milwaukee Bucks -6.5 Total: 258.5
- Los Angeles Lakers vs San Antonio Spurs +3 Total: 231.5
- Brooklyn Nets vs Phoenix Suns -5 Total: 230.5
- New York Knicks vs Utah Jazz +5.5 Total: 230
Top Tier Core Plays
Giannis Antetokounmpo, PF/C Milwaukee Bucks
258.5 game total and with the Zion news nobody is really getting exposure to this game. He has one of the highest ceilings on the entire slate and if you are now telling me he is going to be a contrarian play then sign me up for that.
Tyrese Haliburton, PG Indiana Pacers
Copy and paste everything written above and insert it here. The difference is that even less people are playing Haliburton with his rostership clocking in at under 5% on this slate despite the matchup. Again, everyone is playing the Pelicans and Raptors tonight and building fair and balance lineups which is leaving the top priced studs out of the picture.
Julius Randle, PF/C New York Knicks
Randle is another player that I loved coming into tonight but will go overlooked with the masses flocking to the Raptors and Pelicans. Randle has been putting up 50+ FP consistently and the matchup against Utah is a favorable one for sure as he continues to fill out the stat sheet.
Scottie Barnes, SF/PG Toronto Raptors
Love me some Scottie Barnes here tonight and, on DraftKings, if I wasn't spending up for Haliburton I was slotting in Barnes to my lineups. Now, following the Zion news, more rostership is going to CJ McCollum which means Barnes, who has gone for 60+ in two of the last five slates has some nice tourney appeal.
Mid-Tier Core Plays
Khris Middleton, SF Milwaukee Bucks
I don't mean to be repetitive but I was all in on Middleton once I saw the fact that he is playing over 30 minutes now and we had and 258.5 game total but the masses are not following me which I am 100% OK with. Middleton should be $1,000 more expensive on both FanDuel and DraftKings so I'll take the discount here.
CJ McCollum, PG New Orleans Pelicans
Chalk monster on DraftKings where he is significantly cheaper at $7,400 than the $8,200 on FanDuel. McCollum has a great matchup here against the Wizards and gets a nice usage and fantasy point per minute boost with Zion off the floor.
Duncan Robinson, SG/SF Miami Heat
Robinson has gone for 40+ fantasy points in two of the last four games and he's gone for over 40 fantasy points in each of his two meetings against the Hornets this season. His minutes are already secure but with Josh Richardson out of the lineup there is even fewer rotation players to compete with.
RJ Barrett, SF/PF New York Knicks
Barrett is another play that I loved coming into the slate and nothing for me has changed but the rostership is not going to be there with all the exposure the Pelicans and Raptors players are getting at a similar price point. I'm 100% OK running Barrett here as a cash game play and contrarian tournament option.
Value Tier Core Plays
Bennedict Mathurin, SG/SF Indiana Pacers
Mathurin is coming off of a 50+ fantasy point effort and has seen 30+ minutes in back-to-back games but nobody is playing the Pacers tonight, Mathurin included. If he is going to get the minutes and attack the rim so he can get to the free throw line then he should have little trouble here against the Bucks.
The Pelicans
Naji Marshall, Trey Murphy, Herbert Jones and Dyson Daniels are all popular value plays tonight following the news of Zion Williamson being ruled out. Marshall is currently getting the highest rostership projection and one of Marshall, Murphy and Daniels will likely enter the starting lineup here tonight.
Isaiah Hartenstein, C/PF New York Knicks
Really like the price on DraftKings here today where I'd rather play Nick Richards on FanDuel where he is $1,000 cheaper. Hartenstein continues to fill the stat sheet and the matchup against the Jazz is appealing.
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Roster Lock Updates
- Josh Richardson is OUT for Miami
- Core rotation likely absorbs minutes
- Zion Williamson is OUT for New Orleans
- Increased value for All starters + Naji Marshall, Trey Murphy and Dyson Daniels getting ownership boosts.
- Desmond Bane is OUT tonight for Memphis
- Vince Williams, Jaylen Nowell and John Konchar all likely see increased playing time with one of them entering the starting lineup.
Player Pool
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Stacks
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