NBA DFS Picks, Projections, Lineups, Injuries & More Today: Sunday Playbook
Published: Dec 22, 2024
Happy Sunday! We have just three games on today's NBA DFS main slate but it's a fun one regardless of how many teams there are. Each game has 224 implied points or more, two teams are on second legs of back-to-backs and the other four play on Monday. There aren't many injury concerns we're looking out for, we just have to pay attention to the news and mostly watch the Pelicans and Kings since they're the two teams playing the second leg.
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 22nd
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.
5:20 pm ET
- RJ Barrett has been ruled OUT. Worth examining if this will keep the game from being close.
- Gradey Dick - 26% USG, 1.03 FP/min
- Scottie Barnes - 25% USG, 1.16 FP/min
- Chris Boucher - 21.7% USG, .95 FP/min
- Jonathan Mogbo - .93 FP/min
NBA Injuries, News & Updates Today, 12/22
- Domantas Sabonis - IN
- RJ Barrett - OUT
- Zion Williamson - OUT
- Jakob Poeltl - OUT
- Keegan Murray - IN
- Jose Alvarado - OUT
- Christian Braun - PROB
- Tari Eason - OUT
- Bruce Brown - OUT
- Trey Lyles - IN
- Davion Mitchell - IN
- Ben Sheppard - IN
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.
Houston Rockets vs. Toronto Raptors
- Total: 224
- Spread: HOU -8.5
- Rockets are 16th in pace, Raptors are 11th in pace
- Rockets are 2nd in DRtg, Raptors are 23rd in DRtg
Indiana Pacers vs. Sacramento Kings
- Total: 236.5
- Spread: SAC -2
- Pacers are 6th in pace, Kings are 17th in pace
- Pacers are 22nd in DRtg, Kings are 14th in DRtg
Denver Nuggets vs. New Orleans Pelicans
- Total: 232.5
- Spread: DEN -9.5
- Nuggets are 5th in pace, Pelicans are 22nd in pace
- Nuggets are 17th in DRtg, Pelicans are 28th 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, Domantas Sabonis, Alperen Sengun, Scottie Barnes (GPPs)
Mid
- De'Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton (GPPs), Pascal Siakam, Jamal Murray, CJ McCollum, Trey Murphy, Jalen Green, Gradey Dick (GPPs)
Value
Stacks
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