NBA Daily Fantasy Picks & Playbook December 21
Published: Dec 21, 2023
It's a weird day on the NBA DFS streets as DraftKings opted to exclude the 9pm ET and 10pm ET games from today's main slate while FanDuel cut off the 10pm game thus giving us six games and seven games for tonight's main slate instead of the typical eight games. It remains to be seen if this is going to be the beginning of a new trend when it comes to NBA DFS or something that the platforms are testing out. That said, we still have some fun matchups tonight which includes the Indiana Pacers taking on the Memphis Grizzlies. Ja Morant was everything and more in his return, hitting the game winner against the Pelicans on Tuesday while scoring 34 points. Can he repeat that tonight? We will have to find out.
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
Out
- Donovan Mitchell
- Lauri Markkanen
- Talen Horton-Tucker
- Keyonte George
- Jalen Duren
- Markelle Fultz
- Luke Kennard
- Zion Williamson
Questionable
- Paul George
- Myles Turner
- Keldon Johnson
- Jonas Valanciunas
- Devin Vassell
- Jalen Suggs
- Marcus Smart (Doubtful)
- Herbert Jones
- Killian Hayes
- Jalen Smith
- Andrew Nembhard
- Joe Ingles
- Cody Zeller
Teams on Back-to-Backs
2nd Leg
1st Leg
- None
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
- Utah Jazz 14th vs Detroit Pistons 7th
- New Orleans Pelicans 10th vs Cleveland Cavaliers 22nd
- San Antonio Spurs 3rd vs Chicago Bulls 30th
- Indiana Pacers 2nd vs Memphis Grizzlies 17th
- Orlando Magic 15th vs Milwaukee Bucks 4th
- Los Angeles Clippers 21st vs Oklahoma City Thunder 6th
Notable NBA Game Totals
- Utah Jazz vs Detroit Pistons -2.5 (235)
- New Orleans Pelicans vs Cleveland Cavaliers +4 (227.5)
- San Antonio Spurs vs Chicago Bulls -6 (228.5)
- Indiana Pacers vs Memphis Grizzlies -2.5 (247.5)
- Orlando Magic vs Milwaukee Bucks -8.5 (237.5)
- Los Angeles Clippers vs Oklahoma City Thunder -4.5 (236.5)
Written Analysis Update Coming
Top Tier Core Plays
- Ja Morant, PG Memphis Grizzlies
- Anthony Davis, PF/C Los Angeles Lakers (FD Only)
- Victor Wembanyama, PF/C San Antonio Spurs
- James Harden, PG/SG Los Angeles Clippers
- Anthony Edwards, SG/SF Minnesota Timberwolves (FD Only)
Mid-Tier Core Plays
- DeMar DeRozan, SF San Antonio Spurs
- Chet Holmgren, PF/C Oklahoma City Thunder
- Austin Reaves, SG/SF Los Angeles Lakers (FD Only)
- Collin Sexton, PG/SG Utah Jazz
- Walker Kessler, C Utah Jazz
- Caris LeVert, SG/SF Cleveland Cavaliers
- Brandon Ingram, SG/SF New Orleans Pelicans
- Trey Murphy, SG/SF New Orleans Pelicans
Value Tier Core Plays
- Sam Merrill, SG Cleveland Cavaliers
- Craig Porter, PG Cleveland Cavaliers
- Norman Powell, SG/SF Los Angeles Clippers
- Taurean Prince, SF/PF Los Angeles Lakers (FD Only)
- Naji Marshall, SF/PF New Orleans Pelicans
Don't Miss Today's Livestream at 5pm ET
Roster Lock Updates
- Zion Williamson it OUT
- Naji Marshall, Trey Murphy get bumps in playing time here
- Brandon Ingram and C.J. McCollum see increased usage
- Sam Merrill is expected to play
- Killian Hayes is OUT
- Jonas Valanciunas & Herbert Jones are game time decision
The grid below will be updated prior to today's livestream and updated based on breaking news!
Player Pool
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Stacks
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DraftKings | {{player.fantasy.price.value[8]}}- |
Fanduel | {{player.fantasy.price.value[6]}}- |