NBA Daily Fantasy Picks & Playbook December 14
Published: Dec 14, 2023
We have a seven-game NBA DFS main slate on Thursday, December 14th, on DraftKings and FanDuel. This slate is full of stars with Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and De'Aaron Fox are all taking the floor. There are multiple teams on back-to-backs and just one game with a 240+ over/under. Let's dive into the top NBA DFS plays of the day for 12/14.
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
- Anthony Edwards – IN
- Paul George – OUT
- Malcolm Brogdon – IN
- Deandre Ayton – IN
- Jaylen Brown – went through shootaround – IN
- John Collins – OUT
- Derrick Jones Jr.
- Alex Caruso – IN
- Josh Richardson – OUT
- Jaden McDaniels – IN
- Seth Curry – OUT
- Dennis Smith Jr. – OUT
- Haywood Highsmith – OUT
- Trey Lyles
- Lauri Markkanen – OUT
OUT
- Kyrie Irving
- Tyler Herro
- Evan Mobley
- Jerami Grant
- Keyonte George
- Draymond Green
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
- Bam Adebayo
PROBABLE
- Jamal Murray – IN
- Tim Hardaway Jr. – IN
- Kristaps Porzingis – IN
DOUBTFUL
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
- Timberwolves rank: 20th vs. Mavericks rank: 10th
- Thunder rank: 6th vs. Kings rank: 11th
- Jazz rank: 14th vs. Trailblazers rank: 25th
- Warriors rank: 12th vs. Clippers rank: 22nd
NBA Game Totals
- Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Sacramento Kings - 243.5 (SAC -1.5)
- Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Clippers - 230.5 (LAC -5.5)
- Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Dallas Mavericks - 230.5 (DAL -1.5)
- Brooklyn Nets vs. Denver Nuggets - 229.5 (DEN -9.5)
- Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics - 226.5 (BOS -8.5)
- Utah Jazz vs. Portland Trailblazers - 225.5 (POR -3.5)
Top Tier Core Plays
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
It’s only a 70-minute sample, but Jokic has averaged a 40% USG and 2.24 FP/min this year without Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Yeah, that’s pretty good I’d say. Denver has the third highest implied team total of the day and are catching Brooklyn on the second leg of a back-to-back. Jokic was also thrown out in his last game. In his first ejection this year he responded with a 30-point triple-double against Orlando. Just saying.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
The team with the second highest implied team total? OKC. It’s star, SGA, has been one of the league’s best players this year. This game has the best environment on the board and SGA has a 32% USG and averages 1.58 FP/min. He’s flashed a 70+ DKP ceiling this year. This is a ceiling spot for him.
Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings
I love the price for Sabonis and mentioned that on today’s preview show multiple times. He triple-doubled in their one meeting with OKC this year and although De’Aaron Fox didn’t play, he’s been good with him too. He just triple-doubled four games ago with Fox. When sharing the floor with Fox, Sabonis avgs. 1.37 FP/min, which is slightly more than Fox. There’s a 60 FP ceiling here.
De'Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings
Right behind Sabonis in terms of fantasy production, Fox sits at 1.32 FP/min with Sabonis on the floor. That’s elite production for Fox who’s amongst the league leaders in scoring this year. The Kings get a pace up spot in a game with a 243.5 total.
Mid-Tier Core Plays
Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers
I don’t necessarily care if PG13 is in or out because Leonard has been the Clippers star they’d hoped for when they acquired him years ago. He’s poured in 31+ actual in three straight games and 45+ DKP in each of those outings. If PG13 does sit, Leonard averages 1.22 FP/min and a 27% USG.
Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City Thunder
Since November 3rd, this is tied for the cheapest price he's been this year. He's had a very high ceiling this year averaging 1.27 FP/min, which is second on the Thunder. This game has risen to 244.5 implied points and the Thunder have the second-highest implied total on the board.
Chris Paul, Golden State Warriors
Love CP3 without Draymond Green here. Paul's averaged 1.1 FP/min without both he and Gary Payton II and we saw what the Warriors rolled out last game and gave him 31 minutes. He had a double-double over that span and 44.25 DKP. I'm not expecting him to start, but he's going to dominate the ball with the second unit.
Collin Sexton, Utah Jazz
Sexton was great upon entering the starting lineup yesterday for Utah as he shot 10-of-18 with 26 actual and 42 DKP. The Jazz are without both Jordan Clarkson and Keyonte George in this game so we know Sexton will be back in the starting lineup again here. With just those two guys off the floor, he has a 28% USG and 1.28 FP/min.
Value Tier Core Plays
Jonathan Kuminga & Brandin Podziemski, Golden State Warriors
We saw the Warriors start both Kuminga and Podziemski in the second half of their last game and both guys topped 28 minutes. Would it shock anyone if they both cracked the starting lineup again here? Draymond Green is out. So is Gary Payton II. They benched Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney last game too. It's a youth movement in Golden State and Podz sits at .99 FP/min without Green and Payton while Kuminga sits at .98 FP/min, but has a 25% USG to boot.
Simone Fontecchio, Utah Jazz
We're expecting Lauri Markkanen to be ruled out, but that hasn't been confirmed just yet. We do know, however, Keyonte George and Jordan Clarkson are out. ALSO, John Collins is listed as questionable. Fontecchio has put up 30+ DKP in back-to-back games and has a .86 FP/min average when Markkanen's off the court. If he's starting and a bunch of Jazz are out again, I love the price.
Kelly Olynyk, Utah Jazz
The Jazz elected to start Kelly Olynyk over Walker Kessler last game and he was fantastic. He almost messed around and put up a triple-double, falling just one point and two assists shy. He played 30 minutes and if everything remains the same, we know how high of a ceiling he has. 1.08 FP/min without Clarkson, George, and Markkanen this year.
Kris Dunn, Utah Jazz
The Jazz started Ochai Agbaji in the second half and played him 30 minutes after the Keyonte George injury. Dunn played 18 minutes last night, putting up 25.5 DKP, which is a great ceiling, but the minutes were meh. Dunn COULD play 20+ minutes here. He's averaged 1.14 FP/min without George, Clarkson, and Markkanen.
Dario Saric, Golden State Warriors
This guy is a monster FP/min producer. Saric just needs the run because low-20s minutes in the mid-5K price range, but there is a chance for mid-to-high 20's with Draymond Green out and Kevon Looney's minutes on the fritz. Saric on the year averages 1.1 FP/min and has a 19.5% USG rate this year.
Late-News Core Play Section
*Section for players we are considering “core plays” based on late-breaking news
- Talen Horton-Tucker, Utah Jazz
- Keegan Murray, Sacramento Kings (GPPs)
- James Harden, Los Angeles Clippers
- Russell Westbrook, Los Angeles Clippers (FanDuel)
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Player Pool
| $ Tier | PG | SG | SF | PF | C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Shai Gilgeous-Alexander  $11,400 |  Jayson Tatum $9,800 |  Domantas Sabonis $9,600 |  Nikola Jokić $12,400 | |
 De'Aaron Fox $9,900 |  Kawhi Leonard $9,000 | ||||
| Medium |  Stephen Curry $8,900 | Anfernee Simons $8,300 |  Karl-Anthony Towns $8,500 |  Nikola Vučević $8,200 | |
| James Harden $8,100 |  Shaedon Sharpe $7,800 | Keegan Murray $6,100 | Chet Holmgren $8,000 | ||
| Chris Paul $6,700 | |||||
| Russell Westbrook $5,900 | |||||
| Low | Kris Dunn $4,400 | Brandin Podziemski $5,800 | Talen Horton-Tucker $5,300 | Dario Šarić $5,500 | Kelly Olynyk $5,300 |
| Malik Monk $5,800 |  Simone Fontecchio $5,000 | Jonathan Kuminga $5,300 | |||
 Collin Sexton $5,400 |  Taylor Hendricks $3,900 |
Player News
Alex Ducas is planning to sign with the Brisbane Bullets.
Ducas appeared in 21 games on a two-way deal with the Thunder last season after going undrafted. It’s only a one-year deal with Brisbane, so he could make a return to the NBA after that.
David Jones-Garcia led the Spurs with 25 points (9-of-14 FGs), six rebounds, five assists and three three-pointers in an 89-88 loss to the Lakers on Tuesday.
After going undrafted in 2024, Jones-Garcia spent last season in the G League. He spent some time on different two-way deals, but he is currently without a contract. With the way he has played, it would be shocking if he didn’t enter the season with one, even if it’s a two-way. Jones-Garcia was named to the All-California Class Team with some dominant performances that will hopefully carry over to Las Vegas.
Carter Bryant finished with nine points (2-of-8 FGs), three rebounds, two blocks and two three-pointers against the Lakers on Tuesday.
Bryant’s offensive performance so far in Summer League hasn’t been great, but that was to be expected. He has upside, but he isn’t a complete offensive player at this point. However, he was able to play high level defense, which is what made him a lottery pick. The defense will get him on the floor during his rookie season, but the offense is what you should be keeping an eye on in Las Vegas.
Darius Bazley led the Lakers with 27 points (8-of-10 FGs, 10-of-12 FTs), 13 rebounds, two assists, one block and one three-pointer in an 89-88 win over the Spurs on Tuesday.
Bazley shouldn’t have to play in Summer League to earn a roster spot, but he is. With how dominant he has been, it would be surprising if he didn’t at least get a two-way deal. He was fantastic on both ends of the floor on Tuesday and helped the Lakers complete the comeback with a putback dunk that gave them the 89-88 lead. As long as Bazley is suiting up, expect him to dominate.
Dalton Knecht finished with 25 points (9-of-18 FGs), eight rebounds and four three-pointers against the Spurs on Tuesday.
It took a few games, but the Knecht that we saw as a rookie finally showed up. He scored 11 points in the final 2:34 of this game to help the Lakers storm back after trailing by double digits with four minutes left. He wasn’t great in their last two games, so it was good to see him finally get his shot going. Hopefully this will carry over into the games in Las Vegas.
Bronny James only contributed two points (1-of-5 FGs), one rebound, one assist and two steals against the Spurs on Tuesday.
James’ role in Summer League so far has been limited; he played just 15 minutes on Tuesday after playing 11 minutes on Sunday. Perhaps they’re saving him for their showdown with Cooper Flagg and the Mavericks on Thursday.