NBA Daily Fantasy Picks & Playbook December 19
Published: Dec 19, 2023
It is Tuesday, December 19th, and the NBA is back with a small four-game NBA DFS main slate. We have the return of Ja Morant tonight coming off of his 25-game suspension and he gets a matchup with Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans. Plus we have a matchup of Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics taking on Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
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Notable NBA Injury Updates
OUT
- Victor Wembanyama
- Draymond Green
- Charles Bassey
- Marcus Smart
- Derrick Rose
- Luke Kennard
- Matt Ryan
- Larry Nance Jr.
- Josh Okogie
- Bradley Beal
Questionable
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
- San Antonio Spurs 3rd vs. Milwaukee Bucks 5th
- Boston Celtics 23rd vs. Golden State Warriors 13th
- Phoenix Suns 26th vs. Portland Trail Blazers 24th
- Memphis Grizzlies 17th vs. New Orleans Pelicans 9th
Notable NBA Game Totals
- San Antonio Spurs vs. Milwaukee Bucks (-16) - Game Total: 249
- Boston Celtics vs. Golden State Warriors (+5.5) - Game Total: 233
- Phoenix Suns vs. Portland Trail Blazers (+7.5) - Game Total: 232
- Memphis Grizzlies vs. New Orleans Pelicans (-8.5) Game Total: 230
Top Tier Core Plays
Giannis Antetokounmpo, PF/C, Milwaukee Bucks
Giannis is the highest-priced player on the slate tonight, and he has the best matchup on the slate. The game total is sitting at a whopping 249, but the Bucks are favored by 16.5 over the Spurs with Victor Wembanyama sitting out tonight with an injury. The downside of playing Giannis is that he might only play three quarters in this one. However, we have seen him in the past just blow up in those three quarters against bad teams before. So fade Giannis at your own risk.
Jayson Tatum, SF/PF Boston Celtics
I like Jayson Tatum in what is shaping up to be a good matchup against the Golden State Warriors. This game has the closest line of the night with the Celtics being road favorites by 5.5 tonight. The Warriors have moved their best wing defender to the bench Andrew Wiggins, and have opted for Brandon Podzeimski who is not known for his defense. Tatum will most likely draw the matchup of Jonathan Kuminga which he should exploit. He also has an awesome floor not going under 40 fantasy points in his last five games. Plus, getting Jayson Tatum under 10K seems like stealing.
Stephen Curry, PG/SG, Golden State Warriors
Curry is coming off a brutal shooting night against the Portland Trail Blazers. He finished 2-12 from the field for just seven points, but he at least dished out eight assists to get over 20 fantasy points. In a prime-time matchup against the Celtics in this one, I feel a Stephen Curry bounce game. His price is also very juicy sitting at just 9K on DraftKings. Curry should see over 20 shot attempts in this which could lead to a ceiling game if he catches fire.
Mid-Tier Core Plays
Desmond Bane, SG/SF, Memphis Grizzlies
With the return of Ja Morant tonight, that could throw Demond Bane to the back-burner. That could honestly help Bane with him no longer being the number target for opposing teams' scouting reports. Now Bane can play more off-ball and get more open looks. He is priced at only $8,700 and we just saw this guy score 75 fantasy points in a game just a week ago. He won't get that tonight, but with him getting at least nine three-point attempts in three straight games, I like my chances of him hitting value tonight.
Jaylen Brown, SG/SF Boston Celtics
Who is drawing the assignment on Jaylen Brown tonight for the Golden State Warriors? If he is being guarded by Brandon Podzeimski for most of this game, Jaylen Brown could once again put up 50 fantasy points as he did against the Orlando Magic in their last game. I don't have much more analysis than him just having the best matchup on the court and he is priced at just $7,700 tonight.
Jonas Valanciunas, C, New Orleans Pelicans
Valanciunas continues to produce great numbers even if he sees limited action that night. He is coming off a game in which he played just 23 minutes but still put up a 15-point and 15-rebound double-double for 43 fantasy points. That is the fourth straight game in which he has scored over 40 fantasy points. His price is still only $7,200 and like Grant, he will be in my lineup tonight.
Jerami Grant, PF, Portland Trail Blazers
In the two games since Jerami Grant has been back from his injury, he has been very good. Grant is priced at $7,100 tonight, he has scored 35 and 49 fantasy points means he has gone over 5x his value in each game. This seems like a misprice in my eyes tonight, with him seeing over 20 shot attempts in each game as well. Grant is pretty much locked into my lineup tonight.
Devin Vassel, PG/SG, San Antonio Spurs
Without Victor Wembanyama in the lineup for the Spurs tonight I am banking on Vassell taking the reigns offensively in this one. He is coming off a quiet performance finishing with just 21 fantasy points after we saw a ceiling game in the previous game. If the Spurs want any chance of staying in this game, Vassell is going to need to go off. It has been a roller coaster with him as of late, but that is reflected in his $6,800 price.
Value Tier Core Plays
Jordan Goodwin, PG, Phoenix Suns
With Bradley Beal out injured once again, and Jordan Goodwin has taken full advantage. He hasn't been scoring well over these last two games scoring just nine points in total. However, when he is in the game he is setting up for his teammates having 15 assists over those two games giving him a solid floor, finishing with over 20 fantasy points in each. Their isn't a ton of ceiling with this play, but he can still return value being priced under 5K.
Zach Collins, C, San Antonio Spurs
Zach Collins should step into the starting five for the Spurs tonight for the injured Victor Wembanyama. Earlier in the season when Collins was consistently playing over 22 minutes he was scoring around 23-35 fantasy points, and even saw him put up 53 fantasy points against the Kings one night. If he starts, he will be very chalky, which I do not mind in this instance.
Malaki Branham, PG/SG, San Antonio Spurs
Another Spur, I would suggest probably not playing all three of these guys in your lineup but two of three is fine. Branham has played at least 28 minutes in his last four games. In two of those four games, he finished with over 31 fantasy points. His price is fine sitting at 5K and he can definitely 5x his value in this one, even in a blowout.
Jose Alvarado, PG, New Orleans Pelicans
Jose Alvarado is back doing pest things for the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pelicans will want him in the game as much as possible tonight so he can try and spoil the return of Ja Morant. Alvarado has played 21 and 22 minutes in the last two games and has finished with 23 and 28 fantasy points. With his price sitting at $4,600, he feels very safe tonight.
Nassir Little, SF/PF, Phoenix Suns
This play is definitely riskier than a lot of the other guys I have written about. Little started in Sunday's game with Bradley Beal out. He played 23 minutes which was the fewest he had played in three games which was a little weird, no pun intended. He has failed to score over 20 fantasy points in back-to-back games, but playing with guys like Devin Booker, and Kevin Durant, good things will come. I think Little is a fine play at $4,600 tonight against the Trail Blazers.
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Roster Lock Updates:
The grid below will be updated based on breaking news as the day goes on.
Player Pool
| $ Tier | PG | SG | SF | PF | C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Stephen Curry  $8,700 |  Devin Booker $10,200 |  Jayson Tatum $9,800 | Kevin Durant $10,000 |  Giannis Antetokounmpo $11,900 |
| Medium |  Desmond Bane $8,300 | Jaylen Brown $8,000 |  Jerami Grant $7,300 |  Jonas Valančiūnas $8,000 | |
 Devin Vassell $6,500 | Keldon Johnson $7,000 | Jonathan Kuminga $5,300 | Kristaps Porziņģis $8,100 | ||
| Anfernee Simons $7,900 |  Brandon Ingram $7,800 |  Jusuf Nurkić $7,800 | |||
| Jeremy Sochan $5,500 | Kevon Looney $4,900 | ||||
 Trey Murphy $5,500 | |||||
| Low |  Jordan Goodwin $4,600 | Malaki Branham $5,000 |  Justin Champagnie $0 |  Nassir Little $4,100 |  Zach Collins $5,100 |
| Jose Alvarado $4,300 |  David Roddy $4,400 |
Player News
Kristaps Porzingis (illness) said after Wednesday’s Game 2 loss to the Knicks that his current stamina issues may be related to the problem that sidelined him for eight games late in the regular season.
After an illness limited him to 13 first-half minutes in Boston’s series-opening defeat on Monday, Porzingis came off the bench in Game 2. Unfortunately, he could only give the Celtics 14 minutes. Following the game, Porzingis said his current problem may be related to the upper respiratory ailment that sidelined him for eight games late in the regular season. “Probably, probably,” Porzingis said. “I’ve had like ups and downs throughout until this point. Just now, had a big crash. Now, my energy, my everything, hasn’t been good, but who cares? Have to move forward and it will get better from this point.” While Boston’s shot selection was the focus following its two home defeats, Porzingis’ limited availability has also been a factor. He’ll hope to return to full health in time for Game 3 on Saturday afternoon.
Nikola Jokic finished with 17 points (6-of-16 FGs), eight rebounds, six assists, one steal, one block, two three-pointers and six turnovers in Game 2 against the Thunder on Wednesday.
This was Jokic’s worst performance of the postseason, and it came to an end in the third quarter. He fouled out with 1:17 left in the third, which brought his night to a close after he played 32 minutes. OKC was up 41 points when Jokic fouled out, so his night may have been close to over anyway. Jokic dominated Game 1, and the Thunder adjusted. Denver will need other players to step up if they want to have a chance of winning this series, but Jokic will also need to be better than he was in this game.
Michael Porter Jr. struggled on Wednesday and finished with just eight points (2-of-10 FGs), five rebounds, one steal and two three-pointers in Game 2 against the Thunder.
MPJ was slightly better in the second half, as all eight of his points came in the third quarter. However, the game was already out of hand at that point after a terrible first half for both Porter Jr. and the Nuggets. MPJ shot 1-of-8 in Game 1, and they’ll need him to be much better moving forward. The series will now shift back to Denver, and MPJ will look to get back on track during the two home games before the series heads back to Oklahoma City.
Russell Westbrook provided a boost off the bench with 19 points (5-of-11 FGs, 8-of-10 FTs), one rebound, five assists and one three-pointer in a 149-106 loss to the Thunder in Game 2 on Wednesday.
Despite an ugly first half for Denver, Westbrook was productive and entered the break with 15 points. He didn’t add much in the second half, though he sat the entire fourth quarter, still it was enough to lead the Nuggets in scoring. Russ has been awesome over Denver’s last five games, and his continued success will be key to the Nuggets winning this series. Though this game was ugly, they still have homecourt advantage in this series. They’ll look to keep it in Game 3 on Friday.
Chet Holmgren recorded a double-double on Wednesday with 15 points (3-of-8 FGs, 7-of-7 FTs), 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals, two blocks and two three-pointers in Game 2 against the Nuggets.
After struggling in Game 1, Holmgren bounced back and recorded the fourth postseason triple-double of his career, with three of those coming this season. Aside from Game 3 against Memphis, Holmgren has swatted at least two shots in every game during these playoffs, which was a trend that continued in this game despite him only playing 26 minutes. Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein (14/8/5/1/1) will look to continue to limit Nikola Jokic (17 points) in Game 3 on Friday.
Jalen Williams bounced back on Wednesday with 17 points (6-of-11 FGs), four rebounds, seven assists and two blocks in Game 2 against the Nuggets.
Williams was criticized for his poor performance in the Thunder’s Game 1 loss, but he responded well in OKC’s blowout victory. He was on pace for a bigger night, but he only played 26 minutes and sat the entire fourth quarter due to the lopsided score. He shot the ball much better after shooting 5-of-20 in Game 1, and he’ll need that success to carry over into Game 3 in Denver on Friday.