Happy Thursday, December 19th, FAmily. We are welcomed back with typical NBA chaos - a ton of injury designations and plenty of games. FanDuel is offering all 13 games while DraftKings has 11 on the docket. One piece of news could flip the entire FanDuel slate though. For reasons beyond imagination, FD has priced Scotties Barnes at $3,500. He's questionable to play. Even if you project him at 20-25 minutes, he's the best value you'll find anywhere today, especially in this economy! A blatant error by FanDuel, and someone should be held accountable!

 

 

 

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 19th

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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.

UPDATED 5:12 p.m. ET

  • RJ Barrett - OUT
  • Bub Carrington - IN
  • Keegan Murray - P
  • Brad Beal - IN
  • Josh Hart - Q
  • Kevin Huerter - IN

UPDATED 6:00 p.m. ET

  • Scottie Barnes - IN
  • Sam Hauser - OUT
  • Brandon Miller - OUT
  • Kristapas Porzingis - Available
  • Davion MItchell - OUT
  • Jaden Ivey - OUT
  • Josh Giddey - OUT
  • Dalen Terry - OUT

UPDATED 6:00 p.m. ET

  • Ja Morant - IN

NBA Injuries, News & Updates Today, 12/19

  • Scotties Barnes - Q
  • Jakob Poeltl - O
  • Luka Doncic - OUT
  • Kyrie Irving - Q
  • Ja Morant - Q
  • Kristaps Porzingis - Q
  • Deandre Ayton - Q
  • LeBron James - Q
  • Domantas Sabonis - Q
  • Alperen Sengun - Q
  • Brandon Miller - Q
  • Josh Giddey - Q
  • Jaden Ivey - D
  • Christian Braun - Q
  • Keegan Murray - Q
  • Derrick Jones - Q
  • Oneyka Okongwu - O
  • Marcus Smart - D
  • Isaiah Stewart - O
  • Tari Eason - Q
  • Sam Hauser - Q
  • Bub Carrington - Q
  • Zach Collins - Q
  • Dalano Banton - Q
  • Kevin Huerter - Q
  • Ben Sheppard - Q
  • Gary Harris - OUT
  • Tre Mann - 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.

Boston Celtics vs. Chicago Bulls

  • Total: 243
  • Spread: Bos -14.5

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Golden State Warriors

  • Total: 237
  • Spread: MEM -4

San Antonio Spurs vs. Atlanta Hawks

  • Total: 233.5
  • Spread: SAS -1

Phoenix Suns vs. Indiana Pacers

  • Total: 235.5
  • Spread: PHO -6.5

Portland Trail Blazers vs. Denver Nuggets

  • Total: 233.5
  • Spread: DEN -8.5

Sacramento Kings vs. Los Angeles Lakers

  • Total: 232
  • Spread: SAC -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

  • Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama, Jayson Tatum (large-field GPP), Anthony Davis (if no LeBron), Cade Cunningham

Mid

  • Kyrie Irving (if active), Chris Paul, Jordan Poole, Jalen Duren, Malik Beasley Yves Missi, Herbert Jones, Clint Capela (GPP), Jalen Duren (GPP)

Value

  • Scottie Barnes (if active, FanDuel ONLY), Bruno Fernando (if starting), Zach Edey (DK price is very nice), Tim Hardaway (large-field GPP), Quentin Grimes (better if Kyrie inactive, volatile, but still OK), Spencer Dinwiddie (better if Kyrie inactive, volatile, but still OK), Bruno Fernando (if starting)

 

 

 

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Stacks

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