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

It's Monday, January 5th, and we have a 6-game NBA DFS main slate on DraftKings and eight games on FanDuel. 

This slate is loaded with a good blend of stars to spend up for, like Cade Cunningham, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Jalen Johnson. There are also plenty of injury situations that should provide us with some value options, with Jamal Murray, Trae Young, and Alperen Sengun among the most impactful names that have been ruled out. 

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, January 5th

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Pre/Post-Lock Update Section

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.

All status updates after contest roster lock will be made in the Fantasy Alarm Discord: https://discord.gg/2yATJxXe8G

UPDATE 6:30 PM ET 

• Coby White - AVAILABLE (24-minute restriction) 
• Steven Adams - AVAILABLE
• Cade Cunningham - AVAILABLE
• Duncan Robinson - AVAILABLE
• Caris LeVert - OUT

UPDATE 3:00 PM ET 

• OKC: 
  • Isaiah Hartenstein - OUT
  • Alex Caruso - OUT
  • Jaylin Williams - OUT
  • Ousmane Dieng - OUT
• James Harden - Questionable (downgrade) 
• Jusuf Nurkic - AVAILABLE 

UPDATE 2:00 PM ET 

• DET: 
  • Cade Cunningham - Probable 
  • Caris LeVert - Doubtful
  • Duncan Robinson - Questionable 
  • Jalen Duren - OUT
  • Tobias Harris - OUT 
• PHX: 
  • Grayson Allen - Probable
  • Jamaree Bouyea - OUT
  • Mark Williams - Probable
• Kon Knueppel - Probable (upgrade) 
• Moussa Diabate - Probable (upgrade) 
• Tidjane Salaun - Probable (upgrade) 

UPDATE 1:00 PM ET 

• Coby White - Probable (upgrade)
• Jamal Murray - OUT 
• Aaron Gordon - OUT 
• Christian Braun - OUT 
• Tim Hardaway - OUT 

NBA Injuries, News & Updates Today, 1/5

• NYK:
  Josh Hart - Out
  Landry Shamet - Out
• DET:
  Yet to submit
• ATL:
  Luke Kennard - Questionable
  Trae Young - Out
• TOR:
  Jakob Poeltl - Out
• CHI:
  Coby White - Questionable
  Jalen Smith - Out
  Josh Giddey - Out
  Zach Collins - Out
  Noa Essengue - Out
• BOS:
  Jayson Tatum - Out
• CHA:
  Kon Knueppel - Questionable
  Moussa Diabate - Questionable
  Tidjane Salaun - Questionable
  Brandon Miller - Probable
  Ryan Kalkbrenner - Out
  Mason Plumlee - Out
  Grant Williams - Out
• OKC:
  Yet to submit
• PHX:
  Yet to submit
• HOU:
  Steven Adams - Questionable
  Alperen Sengun - Out
  Fred VanVleet - Out
• DEN:
  Yet to submit
• PHI:
  Joel Embiid - Probable
  Kelly Oubre - Out
  Trendon Watford - Out
• GSW:
  Seth Curry - Out
• LAC:
  Derrick Jones - Out
  Bogdan Bogdanovic - Out
  Bradley Beal - Out
• UTA:
  Jusuf Nurkic - Questionable
  Ace Bailey - Questionable
  Kevin Love - Out
  Georges Niang - Out
  Walker Kessler - Out
• POR:
  Robert Williams - Questionable
  Jerami Grant - Out
  Scoot Henderson - Out
  Matisse Thybulle - Out
  Blake Wesley - Out
  Jrue Holiday - Out
  Damian Lillard - Out

h/t @UnderdogNBA 

NBA DFS Slate & Game Overviews

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. Not every game is listed, but every game listed has the pace and defensive numbers listed.

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

• Cade Cunningham, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Johnson, Kawhi Leonard (FD), Deni Avdija (FD), Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey, Jalen Brunson

Mid

• Joel Embiid, Scottie Barnes, Keyonte George (FD), Lauri Markkanen (FD), Derrick White, Brandon Ingram, VJ Edgecombe, Donovan Clingan (FD), Peyton Watson, RJ Barrett, Matas Buzelis, Tari Eason, Isaiah Stewart, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Spencer Jones, Caleb Love (FD) 

Value

• Ajay Mitchell, DaRon Holmes, Bruce Brown, Collin Murray-Boyles, Paul Reed, Jalen Pickett, Julian Strawther  

Don't Miss The NBA DFS Playbook Live Show At 5:00 PM ET 

Stacks

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