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

Happy Sunday! We have a five-game NBA DFS main slate with a few teams on a back-to-back and every game tipping by 8:00 pm ET. We have stars o'plenty here with Victor Wembanyama, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Trae Young, and Jalen Johnson taking the floor. Someone who is not taking the floor is Ja Morant, so that'll be interesting to watch how the Memphis Grizzlies perform against OKC without their best player.

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 29th

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.

4:20 pm ET

• Jrue Holiday & Kristaps Porzingis have been ruled out. Boston is running it back with the same team as the other day.
• Four Celtics over 1 FP/min with those guys off the floor: Jayson Tatum (1.6), Jaylen Brown (1.35), Derrick White (1.06) & Payton Pritchard (1)
• Can play anyone from the list above + Al Horford & Sam Hauser if the game is close. Top four are priorities & Horford/Hauser secondary options.

4:55 pm ET

• Trae Young & Onyeka Okongwu are IN, but Dyson Daniels & Bogdan Bogdanovic are OUT.
• Onyeka Okongwu is really interesting at his price & is over 1 FP/min this year with those two out.
• Jalen Johnson is a priority for me. 27% USG, 1.47 FP/min.
• Zaccharie Risacher is going to be popular & I'm OK with him as a last piece in. He's cheap. 20.5% USG w/o Bogey/Daniels.

5:35 pm ET

• Zach Edey has been ruled OUT with a concussion.
• There are three things Memphis will likely do here; 1. If Brandon Clarke plays, he starts. That's what they did earlier in the year with Edey out. 2. The start Jaren Jackson at the five and start Jake LaRavia, Luke Kennard, or John Konchar. 3) They start Jay Huff.

NBA Injuries, News & Updates Today, 12/29

• Ja Morant - OUT
• Trae Young - IN
• Jimmy Butler - OUT
• Jakob Poeltl - IN
• Kristaps Porzingis - OUT
• Dyson Daniels - OUT
• Larry Nance - OUT
• Santi Aldama - OUT
• Dillon Brooks - IN
• Tari Eason - QUEST
• Bogdan Bogdanovic - OUT
• Luguentz Dort - IN
• Obi Toppin - OUT
• Bruce Brown - IN
• Onyeka Okongwu - IN
• Cason Wallace - IN
• Ja'Kobe Walter - IN
• Marcus Smart - OUT
• Alex Caruso - OUT
• Brandon Clarke - QUEST
• Jamal Shead - IN
• Davion Mitchell - OUT
• Duncan Robinson - OUT
• Josh Richardson - OUT
• Jrue Holiday - OUT
• Zach Edey - 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.

Atlanta Hawks vs. Toronto Raptors

• Total: 240.5
• Spread: ATL -1.5
• Hawks are 3rd in pace, Raptors are 6th in pace
• Hawks are 16th in DRtg, Raptors are 26th in DRtg

Indiana Pacers vs. Boston Celtics

• Total: 233.5
• Spread: BOS -11.5
• Pacers are 7th in pace, Celtics are 21st in pace
• Pacers are 23rd in DRtg, Celtics are 7th in DRtg

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

• Total: 230
• Spread: OKC -6.5
• Grizzlies are 1st in pace, Thunder are 11th in pace
• Grizzlies are 5th in DRtg, Thunder are 1st in DRtg

Miami Heat vs. Houston Rockets

• Total: 216.5
• Spread: HOU -8.5
• Heat are 27th in pace, Rockets are 15th in pace
• Heat are 10th in DRtg, Rockets are 2nd in DRtg

San Antonio Spurs vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

• Total: 215
• Spread: MIN -7
• Spurs are 18th in pace, Timberwolves are 24th in pace
• Spurs are 15th in DRtg, Timberwolves are 6th 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

• Jayson Tatum, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama, Jalen Johnson, Trae Young

Mid

• Jaylen Brown, Jaren Jackson, Desmond Bane, Julius Randle, Derrick White, De'Andre Hunter (GPPs)

Value

• Payton Pritchard, Devin Vassell, Scotty Pippen Jr., Donte DiVincenzo, Keldon Johnson (GPPs), Zaccharie Risacher, Onyeka Okongwu, Brandon Clarke, Jay Huff

Stacks

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