NBA Daily Fantasy Picks & Playbook December 8
Published: Dec 08, 2023
With the NBA in-season tournament championship on Saturday the NBA DFS Friday slated is loaded with 13 teams in action including the leagues top stars in Luka Doncic, Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic leading the way. We have some fun matchups which include the Warriors and Thunder facing off for the third time this season as well as the Hawks and Sixers facing off in a game that has a slate high 241.5 game total.
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!
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Check out today's NBA DFS Playbook Preview Show
Notable NBA Injury Updates
Out
- Kevin Durant
- Bam Adebayo
- Tyler Herro
- Lauri Markkanen
- Jerami Grant
- Zach LaVine
- Jalen Duren
- Grayson Allen
- Jalen Suggs
- Trae Young
Questionable
- Malcolm Brogdon
- Kristaps Porzingis
- Evan Mobley
- Jordan Clarkson
- Deandre Ayton
- Mark Williams
- Duncan Robinson
- Daniel Gafford
Teams on Back-to-Backs
- 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
- Detroit Pistons 6th vs Orlando Magic 11th
- Atlanta Hawks 3rd vs Philadelphia 76ers 16th
- Toronto Raptors 22nd vs Charlotte Hornets 15th
- New York Knicks 29th vs Boston Celtics 21st
- Washington Wizards 2nd vs Brooklyn Nets 20th
- Cleveland Cavaliers 17th vs Miami Heat 24th
- Minnesota Timberwolves 19th vs Memphis Grizzlies 18th
- Golden State Warriors 13th vs Oklahoma City Thunder 7th
- Chicago Bulls 30th vs San Antonio Spurs 4th
- Houston Rockets 28th vs Denver Nuggets 26th
- Sacramento Kings 9th vs Phoenix Suns 27th
- Los Angeles Clippers 23rd vs Utah Jazz 14th
- Dallas Mavericks 8th vs Portland Trail Blazers 25th
Notable NBA Game Totals
- Detroit Pistons vs Orlando Magic (-11.5) Total: 229
- Atlanta Hawks vs Philadelphia 76ers (-8) Total: 241
- Toronto Raptors vs Charlotte Hornets (+5.5) Total: 223
- New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics (-7) Total: 220.5
- Washington Wizards vs Brooklyn Nets (-9.5) Total: 240.5
- Cleveland Cavaliers vs Miami Heat (+2) Total: 220
- Minnesota Timberwolves vs Memphis Grizzlies (+5.5) Total: 213.5
- Golden State Warriors vs Oklahoma City Thunder (-3) Total: 236
- Chicago Bulls vs San Antonio Spurs (+2.5) Total: 224.5
- Houston Rockets vs Denver Nuggets (-9.5) Total: 220.5
- Sacramento Kings vs Phoenix Suns (+2) Total: 235.5
- Los Angeles Clippers vs Utah Jazz (+7.5) Total: 224
- Dallas Mavericks vs Portland Trail Blazers (+8) Total: 230.5
Top Tier Core Plays
Nikola Jokic, C Denver Nuggets
Jokic is averaging 80 fantasy points against the Rockets this season which included a game in which in the Nuggets got blown out. Joker and Embiid are battling back and forth right now when it comes to who the favorite for league MVP should be but for DFS the price of the two players continues to be closer and closer. With Embiid no longer being that much of a value from Jokic I am riding the Joker here today.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, PG Oklahoma City Thunder
In two games against the Warriors this season SGA is averaging 55 fantasy points per game. Over the last four games SGA is averaging 52 fantasy points and he's coming off of a game here he nearly went for 60 FP in a tough spot against the Rockets. This game has one of the highest totals on the board and the Thunder are three-point home favorites.
Devin Booker, PG Phoenix Suns
No Kevin Durant tonight and Bradley Beal remains out of the lineup. Booker averages 1.5 FP/Min with KD and Beal off the floor this season which is an elite number to go along with his 35% usage rate. What's even more appealing is the 235.5 game total and the two-point spread with the Suns being a small home underdog despite their missing pieces.
Paolo Banchero, PF Orlando Magic
Since his dud against the Wizards Banchero has been going off and yet the price tag really isn't moving. Today he draws a pace up matchup against one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA in the Detroit Pistons who are going to be without their primary rim defender in Jalen Duren who has been ruled out for tonight's game.
Mid-Tier Core Plays
Dejounte Murray, PG/SG Atlanta Hawks
Whether Trae Young plays or not we are getting good value here on Murray who went for another 40 FP effort the other day against the Hawks. If Young gets ruled out there is a good chance Murray is the highest rostered player on this DFS slate tonight as this game has a slate high 241.5 game total. UPDATE: Trae Young OUT
Chet Holmgren, C Oklahoma City Thunder
Holmgren's signature moment in his short NBA career happened against the Warriors as he hit the buzzer beater to send the game to overtime which the Thunder eventually went on to win. In three games against Golden State we've seen Holmgren average 47 fantasy points and in the one game where Draymond Green was active he went for 45. He rises to the moment against good competition and the price tag is set for him to exceed 5x tonight.
Coby White, PG Chicago Bulls
Because these platforms allow you to play multiple guards we find the guard position loaded on today's slate. With LaVine out of the lineup Coby White has been a monster of late and while the price tag continues to rise we can't ignore how good of a spot this is for Chicago as they run up against a Spurs team that doesn't play a ton of defense outside of Wembanyama's elite shot blocking capabilities.
Jarrett Allen, C Cleveland Cavaliers
Evan Mobley is questionable and did not go through the morning shootaround. If Mobley sits it will be all system's go for Allen who will see increased playing time due to the Cavs lack of depth at the center position. Allen is also in a great spot with Miami being without their starting center in Bam Adebayo.
Anfernee Simons, PG/SG Portland Trail Blazers
He played 37 minutes in his return. That's really all you need to know. Whether or not the Blazers stay competitive tonight against the Mavericks really isn't a concern as we've seen the Blazers coach play his players regardless of the score in most instances. I'm chalking Simons up for 20+ shot attempts here tonight against Dallas.
Caleb Martin, SG/SF Miami Heat
Nothing is changing in the Heat rotation tonight with Bam Adebayo and Haywood Highsmith already ruled out. We even see Duncan Robinson listed as questionable. All of this just means that Martin will start and be locked into a big role. His price tag has risen quickly but he still finds himself to be a pretty good value here on this slate in a matchup against the Cavaliers tonight who are without Caris LeVert and possibly without Evan Mobley as well.
Value Tier Core Plays
Bilal Coulibaly, SG/SF Washington Wizards
Coulibaly was a popular value play on Wednesday's slate with Landry Shamet ruled out and he did not disappoint, playing 28 minutes and finishing with 25 fantasy points against the 76ers. Coulibaly has now played at least 25 minutes in 10 of the last 11 games and he's gone for 20+ fantasy points in each of the last two. The rookie has shown some solid defense with three steals in each of the last two games and on the year he's averaging close to 20 FP per game.
Cedi Osman, SF/PF San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs debuted a new look starting lineup which includes Cedi Osman. In turn, Osman played 32 minutes and finished with 28 fantasy points. We know from his run with the Cavs that when Osman gets playing time he can fill up the stat sheet. The price jumped but as long as he is still starting I'm buying.
Orlando Robinson, C Miami Heat
No Bam and no Highsmith should lock Robinson again into the starting center position. Starting the last two games Robinson has gone for 27 and 46 fantasy points. I'm certainly not expecting a ceiling game here but with the Cavs potentially being without Evan Mobley here tonight his life will be a lot easier.
Georges Niang, PF Cleveland Cavaliers
Niang played 28 minutes the other night with Jarrett Allen in foul trouble and now we have Evan Mobley unlikely to play. With shortened rotation for the Cavs depth chart should put Niang in a spot to see increased playing time and we've loved seeing his recent increased rebound production to compliment his scoring upside.
Phoenix Suns
No Kevin Durant and no Grayson Allen tonight so the Suns starting lineup will include some value pieces. Last night on the DFS preview show we theorized that we could see Jordan Goodwin and Josh Okogie enter the starting lineup but we could also see any combination of Goodwin, Okogie, Nassir Little and Keita Bates-Diop start instead. Whomever starts figures to be a popular value play tonight.
Don't Miss Today's Livestream at 5pm ET
Roster Lock Updates
Trae Young OUT – Impacts: Dejounte Murray, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Saddiq Bey, De'Andre Hunter all increase in value and should start. Dart throws: Garrison Matthews, A.J. Griffin
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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