Happy Thursday NBA fans. It's December 28th, and we have an eight-game NBA DFS main slate. There are not any huge game totals on this slate but we do have some interesting matchups. Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics look to hand the Detroit Pistons their 28th straight games but will have to do without the injured Jaylen Brown. Plus, we have the much-improved Memphis Grizzlies with Ja Morant back, taking on Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.

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

QUESTIONABLE:

OUT:

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

NBA Game Totals

Top-Tier Core Plays

Nikola Jokic, C, Denver Nuggets

Nikola Jokic is the most expensive player on the slate with Luka Doncic being ruled out. This game has the lowest game total on the slate taking on the Memphis Grizzlies so it may not be the best day to use him, on paper. However, it is Nikola Jokic, and no matter the game-script we know he can blow this slate wide open. 

Jayson Tatum, SF/PF, Boston Celtics

With Jaylen Brown being ruled out against the Pistons tonight, I think Ttaum is my top-tier play tonight. In the one game without Jaylen Brown this season, his usage spiked from 29% to 33%, plus his points per game and assists both went up as well. Even with Brown out of the lineup, the line still has the Celtics favored by 17 points, which obviously screams blowout potential. The Pistons are desperate for a win, so it could be closer than anticipated.

LeBron James, PG/SF, Los Angeles Lakers

LeBron has great position eligibility sitting as a PG/SF. He is coming off a quiet game on Christmas where he scored under 40 fantasy points for the first time in nine games. However, we have seen ceiling games from him as of late scoring over 50 fantasy points in four of his last five games. He has even been good, when they blow teams out, which this game could end up being. He is questionable heading into this one like he always is, but I would expect him to suit up.

Stephen Curry, PG/SG, Golden State Warriors

I really like Steph at his price, as he sits under 9K and it is not often you see that. I think you should take advantage of that, especially coming off of two sub-par games. He has been in a bit of a rut as of late failing to score over 40 fantasy points in four of his past seven games which isn't ideal with someone priced that high. I expect this game to be competitive and Curry is going to be a big reason why.

Victor Wembanyama, PF/C San Antonio Spurs

Wemby seems to be good to go after that ankle injury scare in warmups a few days ago. He played in the Spurs last game against the Jazz and finished with 40 fantasy points putting up 15 points, seven boards, and a whopping five blocks. It is a battle of two bad defensive teams between the Spurs and Blazers. Even with Wemby playing a limited amount of minutes I still expect him to have a big night in a good matchup.

Mid-Tier Core Plays

Lauri Markkanen, SF/PF, Utah Jazz

Lauri Markkanen is the cover boy for the playbook tonight. He is playing in the game with the highest game total on the slate and is coming off two games in a row where he put up over 50 fantasy points. Plus after those two big games, his price dropped which is very interesting. Take advantage of that tonight in a good matchup, and play Lauri Markkanen.

DeMar DeRozan, SF/PF, Chicago Bulls

DeMar DeRozan was awful in the last game against the Hawks and still managed to score 39 fantasy points. He is playing a ton of minutes each night as he is currently sixth most minutes per game this season. Plus Zach LaVine, and Nikola Vucevic are both out tonight DeRozan is going to have the ball in his hands a ton. It is also an outstanding pace-up spot for the Bulls in this one, giving him such a solid floor.

Cade Cunningham, PG/SG, Detroit Pistons

This Pistons team is looking to avoid their 28th straight loss this season. These losses have not been because of Cade Cunningham, especially as of late. Cade has been outstanding scoring over 40 game points twice over his past four games. During that span, he has scored over 50 fantasy points in three of his past four games. It is a tough matchup against the Celtics who are a very good defensive team, but I still expect Cade to get his tonight.

Anfernee Simons, PG/SG, Portland Trail Blazers

Simons is in play for me every night as long as his price stays around where it is at around 8K. This guy just gets up a ton of volume each and every game as he has gotten up over 20 shots in five of his past six games. He hasn't hit 5x value in four of his past five games which could put him on the lower-owned side of things tonight. In a good matchup against the Spurs, I am very comfortable playing Simons.

Jamal Murray, PG, Denver Nuggets

I am not so sure why Jamal Murray is priced so low tonight. He was under consideration of being the cover boy for this article today. He is priced at just $7,700 on DraftKings. I get it the game-script isn't great with a low total, but Murray has been great as of late. Murray has scored over 40 fantasy points in four straight games. He looks like he is finally healthy after dealing with nagging injuries this season, and I am riding the hot streak.

Miami Heat Players

With Jimmy Butler, Caleb Martin, Kyle Lowry, and Josh Richardson out tonight that makes Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. all very solid plays tonight. I now expect Bam to once again have a huge night as per James Grande, he has scored 1.9 fantasy points per minute. Tyler Herro boasts a 32% usage rate, while Jaquez also averages 1.13 fantasy points per minute.

Value Tier Core Plays

Jaden Hardy, PG/SG, Dallas Mavericks

With no Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving tonight we should once again see Jaden Hardy get an extended run. We have yet to see him have a huge game this year when he has gotten the opportunity like we have in the past. He is struggling with his shot as of late, going five for his last 28 from the field. His price is over 5K and I understand if you would like to pivot to a cheaper option in this Mavericks lineup. But if Hardy gets hot from the floor, he could smash his value. 

Jalen Smith, PF/C, Indiana Pacers

Jalen Smith got his first start of the season in the Pacers last game against the Houston Rockets. They won that game, so I would once again think he will be in the starting lineup. He played just 23 minutes but was very productive during that stretch. He finished with 12 points and eight rebounds and added two blocks. We know from the past that if he gets run, he will put up some fantasy points.. I like this matchup for Smith against an undermanned front court for the Bulls.

Taurean Prince, SF, Los Angeles Lakers

Taurean Prince continues to to start for the Lakers and his price took a dramatic hit over the past week. He is back down under 5K where we like him as he has gone over 25 fantasy points in three of his past five games. During that span, he has not been shy from shooting from downtown. He has gotten up 43 attempts from behind the three-point line in those games while knocking down 41%.

Payton Pritchard, PG/SG, Boston Celtics

With Jaylen Brown out tonight, I believe we should see some solid run from Pritchard. That could happen in either outcome of this game whether it is a blowout or close. We have seen Prictahrd blow up slates in the past like he did on the 19th of this month against the Kings scoring 35 fantasy points in a blowout win over the Kings. Pritchard will be in my lineup tonight, and I would advise you to do the same.

Seth Curry, SG, Dallas Mavericks

Curry is who I was alluding to above when I said if you wanted to pay down for another Mavericks player. Curry had his best game of the season last night against the Cavs. He played 28 minutes and scored 32 fantasy points going 5-9 from downtown. With Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving both out, I expect Curry to start and see 30 minutes, making him a good play at 4K on DraftKings.

Post Lock News:

  • Ja Morant is out for the Grizzlies

Check out our NBA DFS Livestream tonight at 5pm ET 

Remember to like the video and subscribe to our channel!

Player Pool

$ Tier {{pos.alias}}

Stacks

{{stack.team.name}} {{player.name}}
DraftKings {{player.fantasy.price.value[8]}}-
Fanduel {{player.fantasy.price.value[6]}}-