It's Monday, December 22nd, and we have a seven-game NBA DFS main slate on DraftKings and five games over on FanDuel.

We have some serious star power on this slate, with all of Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cade Cunningham, and Anthony Davis in play. The injury report will play a role in decision-making, with Chet Holmgren out and Jalen Suggs doubtful. Some of the most impactful questionable tags include Cooper Flagg, Lauri Markkanen, and Jerami Grant. Let's break it all down! 

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 22nd

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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

4:30 PM ET UPDATE

4:00 PM ET UPDATE

  • Jonas Valanciunas - Probable (downgrade) 
  • Alex Caruso - OUT
    • OKC is already down 3 centers, and Caruso not being available might lessen their willingness to run Williams at center. Adding Kenrich Williams and Branden Carlsen to the pool, but both are still very risky. Isaiah Joe is an intriguing pivot if looking at Thunder value pieces. 
  • Lauri Markkanen - AVAILABLE
  • Ron Holland - Doubtful (downgrade) 
  • Jordan Walsh - OUT 

1:00 PM ET UPDATE

NBA Injuries, News & Updates Today, 12/22

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

Mid

Value

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Stacks

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