NBA DFS Picks, Projections, Lineups, Injuries & More Today: Saturday Playbook
The NBA Emirate's Cup Semi-Finals are here, featuring two thrilling matchups that promise high-stakes action for DFS enthusiasts. In the Eastern Conference, the Atlanta Hawks square off against the Milwaukee Bucks, pitting Trae Young and the Hawks' explosive offense against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks' dominant two-way presence.
Over in the Western Conference, the Houston Rockets take on the Oklahoma City Thunder, with Fred VanVleet and Alperen Sengun leading Houston’s youthful squad against the relentless scoring of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and OKC's well-rounded lineup.
These games offer a wealth of DFS potential, with star power, emerging talent, and critical matchups to consider. Let’s break down the top plays, value options, and game scripts to help you build winning lineups!
NBA DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, December 14th
Be sure to like and subscribe to the Fantasy Alarm YouTube channel!
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
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.
Biggest news of the day is with is with the Atlanta Hawks as we wait to see if Jalen Johnson is able to suit up for this matchup. If he ends up sitting out we likely see Larry Nance with increased playing time given the bigger lineup that the Bucks put on the floor.
Key NBA Injuries, News & Updates Today, 12/14
- Jalen Johnson - Questionable
- Dillon Brooks - Questionable
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.
Atlanta Hawks vs Milwaukee Bucks
- Spread: Bucks -4.5
- Game Total: 233.5
Houston Rockets vs Oklahoma City Thunder
- Spread: Thunder -5.5
- Game Total: 216.5
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
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
Giannis is the highest rostered play of the “Big 3” today which makes sense given his extreme ceiling. He's scored 30+ actual in three straight games with double-doubles in three of the last four. In his lone outing against the Hawks he had 31 points, 11 rebounds and five assists over 36 minutes in a 119-104 loss.
I'd look for Giannis to take advantage of this matchup in a high scoring, fast paced spot and things could end up even better if Jalen Johnson ends up missing today's game for Atlanta.
The cheapest of the “Big 3” today, Young has double-doubles in three straight games which included his ridiculous 31/20 game against the Lakers a few nights ago.
Young did not have great success against the Bucks a few games earlier, finishing with just 30 fantasy points over 35 minutes.
If the Hawks are to get by the Bucks here today they likely need a much improved performance as road underdogs.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
The lowest rostered of the “Big 3”, SGA is coming off of a 66 fantasy point effort against the Mavericks in which he scored 39 points with eight rebounds, five assist, one block and three steals.
He has been one of the most consistent players in the NBA this season and in his last meeting against the Rockets we saw him go for 32 points with eight rebounds, five assists and two steals for 54 fantasy points.
Mid
Alperen Sengun, Houston Rockets
It isn't the easiest of matchups going against Isaiah Hartenstein but Sengun had little trouble in this spot a few weeks ago when he finished with 20 points, 14 rebounds, nine assists and a block.
If the Rockets are going to pull off the upset here today they need a big game from their center.
He's questionable to play today but assuming he suits up we should be going right back to the well with Jalen Johnson here today. He had absolutely no trouble in this matchup a few games ago and was the driving force behind the Hawks win, scoring 23 points with 13 rebounds, five assists, one block and two steals.
Portis was the key to the slate on Wednesday when he dropped 22 points and pulled down 10 rebounds and low ownership. That performance did not go unnoticed as Bobby Portis is the third highest projected rostered player today. He's scored 20+ actual now in back-to-back games and is outplaying Brook Lopez.
De'Andre Hunter, Atlanta Hawks
I love me some De'Andre Hunter and the other night he could not stop scoring the basketball, finishing with seventh 20+ point outing over his last eight games.
The one drawback to that performance was the fact that all he did was score, pulling down a single rebound as his lone secondary stat.
Hunter isn't a big stat sheet filler but against the Bucks the other night he had 20 points with five rebounds, two assists and three steals.
If Jalen Johnson ends up being ruled out I'd expect something in the 35+ minute range from Hunter tonight.
Amen Thompson, Houston Rockets
Dillon Brooks is questionable to play tonight and Brooks is currently projected to be the highest rostered player on the slate. If Brooks is ruled out we know that Thompson will start and then he likely tops the ownership list. That said, Thompson is still a strong play today against the Thunder as he matchups up well against their wings.
Value
Bogdan Bogdanovic, Atlanta Hawks
After a few strong performances in a row we got the floor game from Bogdanovic against the Knicks the other night. This is a going to be a much better spot against the Bucks here this afternoon and we saw that last week when he went for 35 fantasy points in 26 minutes against Bucks.
He's another player that will benefit if Jalen Johnson ends up ruled out.
Luguentz Dort, Oklahoma City Thunder
You can lock him in for the 30+ minutes tonight and if he can keep knocking down his three-point attempts there is going to be 25+ fantasy point upside here at a really nice price tag.
Cason Wallace, Oklahoma City Thunder
Another Thunder guard that had been going overlooked but is getting the ownership love here today is Cason Wallace. He starts and plays 30+ minutes. He fills the stat sheet and when his shot falls we see him go for 25-to-30 fantasy points.
Onyeka Okonqwu, Atlanta Hawks
While Clint Capela starts, if we see Bobby Portis playing the minutes hes playing today then we likely see a lot more of Okongwu as the matchup. Okongwu has been great, averaging 28 fantasy points over the last four games over 25.2 minutes per night.