NBA DFS Picks, Projections, Lineups, Injuries & More Today: Monday Playbook

Happy Monday, December 30th! We have a nice seven-game NBA DFS main slate to kick off the work week on Monday on both DraftKings and FanDuel. The stars are out as Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Kyrie Irving, and Karl-Anthony Towns take center stage. There are ZERO teams on the second leg of a back-to-back, so we should have fresh legs around the league.

Before actually diving into the meat and potatoes, welcome to the NBA DFS season. If this is your first time reading our column on NBA DFS picks, I just want to welcome you and give you a few tips and tricks on what you should be looking for each night.

• News outlets: reliable sources that give us injury news & starting lineups
• Pace of play: who's playing fast vs. who's playing slow. Which teams get a pace-up spot (more possessions) vs. pace-down (fewer possessions)
• Usage rates: is a percentage of how many plays that player is being used in
• NBA DFS Projections
• Lineup Generator
• NBA Ownership

NBA DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, December 30th

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Pre-Lock Update

This section will be used for anything that changes from the morning until right up to roster lock. 

Injury updates, players we’re higher on than we were in the morning and so much more.

4:00 pm ET

• Kyrie Irving has been ruled OUT. The Mavericks will be without Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic & Naji Marshall. Dereck Lively is QUEST.
• Starting lineup was: Spencer Dinwiddie (37 mins) - Quentin Grimes (28 mins) - Klay Thompson (29 mins) - P.J. Washington (35 mins) - Dereck Lively (28 mins) – they also all lost at least 2 minutes due to garbage time.
• Jaden Hardy was not available in that game, chance he could start here. Even if he doesn't, definitely is primary scorer off bench.
• Jaden Hardy - 33% USG (+10.2%), 1.12 FP/min / Spencer Dinwiddie - 22.5% USG (+5.2%), 1.09 FP/min / Quentin Grimes - 20.8% USG (+3.1%), 1.15 FP/min / Klay Thompson - 24% USG, 1.06 FP/min

6:15 pm ET

• Zach LaVine has been ruled OUT for the Bulls. Numbers below are without LaVine & Dosunmu
• Coby White - 29% USG (+5.88% leads team), 1.1 FP/min
• Josh Giddey - 25% USG (+3.45% USG), 1.5 FP/min (leads team)
• Nikola Vucevic - 19.9% USG, 1.15 FP/min
• Lonzo Ball - 18% USG (+2.7%), 1.3 FP/min

NBA Injuries, News & Updates Today, 12/30

• Luka Doncic - OUT
• Kyrie Irving - OUT
• LaMelo Ball - OUT
• Brandon Miller - OUT
• Joel Embiid - QUEST
• Jalen Brunson - IN
• Jordan Poole - OUT
• John Collins - OUT
• Zach LaVine - OUT
• Josh Giddey - IN
• Ayo Dosunmu - OUT
• Yves Missi - IN
• Keyonte George - IN
• Jose Alvarado - OUT
• Aaron Gordon - OUT
• Dereck Lively - OUT
• Jerami Grant - OUT
• Toumani Camara - IN
• Cody Martin - OUT
• Andre Drummond - QUEST
• Naji Marshall - OUT
• Robert Williams - QUEST
• Brandin Podziemski - OUT
• Gary Payton - OUT
• Jalen Smith - IN
• Alex Sarr - IN
• Klay Thompson - OUT

NBA DFS Slate & Game Overviews

With the NBA season just kicking off we don't have data yet for teams regarding pace of play and defensive matchups. In the section below, I’m listing the most notable things we need to look at in Las Vegas, including notable O/U and spreads.

Denver Nuggets vs. Utah Jazz

• Total: 239.5
• Spread: DEN -7
• Nuggets are 5th in pace, Jazz are 12th in pace
• Nuggets are 18th in DRtg, Jazz are 30th in DRtg

New York Knicks vs. Washington Wizards

• Total: 231
• Spread: NYK -11.5
• Knicks are 27th in pace, Wizards are 4th in pace
• Knicks are 13th in DRtg, Wizards are 28th in DRtg

Dallas Mavericks vs. Sacramento Kings

• Total: 230.5
• Spread: SAC -3.5
• Mavericks are 10th in pace, Kings are 18th in pace
• Mavericks are 11th in DRtg, Kings are 17th in DRtg

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Golden State Warriors

• Total: 230.5
• Spread: CLE -4.5
• Cavaliers are 8th in pace, Warriors are 11th in pace
• Cavaliers are 9th in DRtg, Warriors are 7th in DRtg

Chicago Bulls vs. Charlotte Hornets

• Total: 226.5
• Spread: CHI -5.5
• Bulls are 3rd in pace, Hornets are 25th in pace
• Bulls are 25th in DRtg, Hornets are 19th in DRtg

Philadelphia 76ers vs. Portland Trail Blazers

• Total: 221.5
• Spread: PHI -5.5
• 76ers are 28th in pace, Trail Blazers are 13th in pace
• 76ers are 14th in DRtg, Trail Blazers are 27th in DRtg

Los Angeles Clippers vs. New Orleans Pelicans

• Total: 219.5
• Spread: LAC -6.5
• Clippers are 22nd in pace, Pelicans are 15th in pace
• Clippers are 4th in DRtg, Pelicans are 29th in DRtg

NBA DFS Core Player Pool & Lineup Picks

Here are the core players I’m looking at for my NBA DFS picks tonight. You can see the full analysis of tonight’s NBA DFS projections and player pool below or skip ahead to building the best lineups possible by locking these into the aforementioned lineup generator now.

High

• Nikola Jokic, Karl-Anthony Towns, Joel Embiid (GPPs)

Mid

• Donovan Mitchell, Jamal Murray, Miles Bridges, Josh Hart (GPPs), Russell Westbrook, Draymond Green (GPPs), Jordan Clarkson, Jonathan Kuminga, Coby White, Josh Giddey

Value

• Andrew Wiggins, Mark Williams, Spencer Dinwiddie, Quentin Grimes, Vasilije Micic, Patrick Williams, Jaden Hardy (GPPs), Deni Avdija, Daniel Gafford

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