Happy Friday, December 22nd, everyone! We have a six-game NBA DFS main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel tonight and it's a great slate. We have plenty of star power tonight as Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, and Kevin Durant take the floor. Everyone is on the Dallas Mavericks tonight because they're without both Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, so we'll need to figure out which Mav is good chalk and bad chalk.

NBA DFS Tools to dominate tonight's NBA DFS slate!

Make sure to check out today's NBA DFS projections and NBA DFS ownership projections before finalizing your lineups today. We also have the NBA Consistency Report to help identify players that have exceeded value based on their current price tag this season and of course our NBA DFS Lineup Generator!

Here's the NBA DFS Podcast for today's slate. Like the video and subscribe to our channel!

Notable NBA Injury Updates

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Back-to-Backs

Pace Up Spots (December Ranks)

Pace definition: Pace is the total number of possessions a team uses in a game.

*key* Green is elite pace of play, Blue is decent pace of play, & Red is slow pace of play.

Green = Fast Paced team

Blue = Neutral Paced team

Red = Slow Paced team

  • Wizards rank: 1st vs. Warriors rank: 17th
  • Suns rank: 19th vs. Kings rank: 9th
  • Hawks rank: 10th vs. Heat rank: 30th
  • Nuggets rank: 26th vs. Nets rank: 13th
  • Raptors rank: 25th vs. 76ers rank: 7th

Defensive Ratings (December Ranks)

NBA Game Totals

Top Tier Core Plays

Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

For 12 consecutive games, Embiid has put up 61+ DKP and yet, during this span, his price rose to $11.8K and is now $11.2K on DK. Embiid is coming off 40+ points in three straight and four of five overall. Since the start of December, the Toronto Raptors rank 24th in DRtg. It’s very hard not to want to play Embiid here.

Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

If you don't feel like playing a chalky Embiid, playing Jokic isn't a bad consolation. He obviously has 30-point triple-double upside every time he takes the floor. I prefer Embiid, but understand why you'd pivot in tournaments.

Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks

Another guys price that’s quite soft, but Young has averaged 57.6 DKP/game over his last six games and hasn’t put up less than 59 DKP in any of his last five. Miami’s defense has been poor in December ranking 20th in DRtg and Young has dominated in every matchup and every paced environment. Young has a 34.5% USG rate and 1.5 FP/min without Jalen Johnson this year. His 2.5% usage bump leads the team too.

Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns

It’s splitting hairs between Durant and Booker in terms of their numbers sans Beal and Nurkic but Durant has been better lately. He’s coming off 40 actual points along with 54 DKP. He’s cheaper than Booker, too, and if that becomes leverage in favor of Booker, pivoting to Book isn’t a bad idea either. Without Beal and Nurkic this year, Durant has a 34.8% USG and averages 1.45 FP/min.

Mid-Tier Core Plays

Tyler Herro, Miami Heat

This is a BIG pace-up spot and the Heat are facing off against one of the league’s worst defenses on top of that. Herro, without Butler this year, has a 29.4% USG and averages 1.08 FP/min. Herro’s played 33 and 36 games in the two games since returning from a month+ absence. He has a 40-minute ceiling and put up nearly 50 DKP against the Magic last time out. One of the better per-dollar plays of the slate.

Fred VanVleet, Houston Rockets

We’ve now seen back-to-back slate-breaking performances out of FVV and who’s to say he doesn’t make it a third here? He faces an injury-riddled Dallas Mavericks squad and gets to play at home, where his team is 11-2. Not only has he topped 63 DKP in each of the last two games, he’s played 44+ minutes. Hard to not arrive on anyone with over 40 minute upside.

Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors

Dare I say, Klay Thompson is back? He’s shot the crap out of the ball over the last four games making 4+ threes in each while shooting 40% or better from three in each. He has 24+ points and 38+ DKP in each of those games as well. Let’s factor his shooting in with the fact the Warriors are facing off against the Wizards, who are last in DRtg this month and 1st in pace as well.

Tim Hardaway Jr., Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks are short-handed and that’s putting things lightly. No Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Dante Exum, Dereck Lively II, Josh Green, and Seth Curry is questionable. What’s not questionable is the amount of shots THJ is going to take. There is not a big sample without them, but in the 63 minutes without Doncic and Irving, Hardaway has a 43% USG and averages 1.45 FP/min.

Jonathan Kuminga, Golden State Warriors

It’s really hard to trust the Kuminga minutes at this point, but if there was ever a game that earned Steve Kerr’s trust, it was his latest performance against the Celtics. The 34 minutes he played was a season-high and put up 33 DKP. Kuminga has a 25% USG without Draymond Green this season and there are even more minutes to be had for everyone if Podz sits too.

Value Tier Core Plays

Derrick Jones Jr, Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks are going to be extremely chalky today and that’s because six members of their rotation are out. Jones played 39 minutes last game and twice over his last three games he’s put up 30 DKP. In a small sample without Doncic and Irving he’s averaging 1.17 FP/min.

Grant Williams, Dallas Mavericks

Of all the Mavs value, Williams is probably my least favorite because of how low his offensive floor can be, but he’s sub-5K, starting, playing 30 minutes, and without Irving and Doncic. Twice over his last five games Williams has put up 28 DKP, which would be a wonderful outcome at his price.

Jaden Hardy, Dallas Mavericks

The first ownership projection of the day has Hardy as the highest owned play of the slate. It’s really hard to ignore him at this ownership, his offensive prowess, and potential minutes ceiling here.

Drew Eubanks, Phoenix Suns

With Jusuf Nurkic out, we should expect an expanded role from Drew Eubanks here. Without Nurkic and Beal this year, Eubanks has a .94 FP/min average. It wouldn’t surprise if they started Metu and brought Eubanks off the bench, but if Eubanks starts, all systems go.

Late-News Core Play Section

*Section for players we are considering “core plays” based on late-breaking news & research

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Player Pool

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