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.

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!

 

Check out today's NBA DFS Playbook Preview Show

Notable NBA Injury Updates

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Teams on Back-to-Backs

2nd Leg

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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

Notable NBA Game Totals

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.

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