NBA DFS Picks, Projections, Lineups, Injuries & More Today: Monday Playbook
Published: Jan 06, 2025
Happy Monday, January 6th! We have a nice eight-game NBA DFS main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel.
The stars are out as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Victor Wembanyama, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Cade Cunningham take the floor. It's an interesting slate with multiple a LOT of players currently listed on the injury report including Karl-Anthony Towns, Joel Embiid, RJ Barrett, and Desmond Bane.
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 6th
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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.
4:55 pm ET
- Ausar Thompson is OUT. My assumption would be Ron Holland or Simone Fontecchio will enter the starting lineup over someone like Wendell Moore Jr. Would prefer Holland between the two.
6:15 pm ET
- Ben Simmons & D'Angelo Russell are OUT. They inserted Tyrese Martin into the second half starting lineup after Russell got hurt the other day. This gives a boost to Tyrese Martin, Keon Johnson, Jalen Wilson & Ziaire Williams.
- Tyrese Martin & Keon Johnson are tier-1 plays. The other two are GPP plays for me. Day'Ron Sharpe is in play in GPPs too.
6:20 pm ET
- Joel Embiid & Andre Drummond are OUT. I love Paul George and Tyrese Maxey. I like Guerschon Yabusele quite a bit.
NBA Injuries, News & Updates Today, 1/6
- Giannis Antetokounmpo - IN
- Karl-Anthony Towns - QUEST
- Joel Embiid - OUT
- RJ Barrett - IN
- Kyrie Irving - OUT
- Ja Morant - OUT
- Jalen Brunson - IN
- Jalen Suggs - OUT
- Desmond Bane - DOUBT
- Cameron Johnson - OUT
- Cam Thomas - OUT
- Ayo Dosunmu - OUT
- Deandre Ayton - IN
- Khris Middleton - OUT
- Ben Simmons - OUT
- D'Angelo Russell - OUT
- Kelly Oubre - QUEST
- Jerami Grant - OUT
- Santi Aldama - OUT
- Anthony Black - QUEST
- Luke Kennard - QUEST
- Miles McBride - QUEST
- Trendon Watford - OUT
- Ausar Thompson - OUT
- Khris Middleton - 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.
San Antonio Spurs vs. Chicago Bulls
- Total: 236.5
- Spread: SAS -3
- Spurs are 18th in pace, Bulls are 3rd in pace
- Spurs are 13th in DRtg, Bulls are 24th in DRtg
Dallas Mavericks vs. Memphis Grizzlies
- Total: 232
- Spread: MEM -4.5
- Mavericks are 9th in pace, Grizzlies are 1st in pace
- Mavericks are 11th in DRtg, Grizzlies are 5th in DRtg
Milwaukee Bucks vs. Toronto Raptors
- Total: 231
- Spread: MIL -7..5
- Bucks are 13th in pace, Raptors are 8th in pace
- Bucks are 10th in DRtg, Raptors are 26th in DRtg
Portland Trail Blazers @ Detroit Pistons
- Total: 226.5
- Spread: DET -6.5
- Trail Blazers are 2nd in pace, Pistons are 20th in pace
- Trail Blazers are 17th in DRtg, Pistons are 22nd in DRtg
Phoenix Suns vs. Philadelphia 76ers
- Total: 223.5
- Spread: PHI -3.5
- Suns are 22nd in pace, 76ers are 28th in pace
- Suns are 23rd in DRtg, 76ers are 15th in DRtg
Indiana Pacers vs. Brooklyn Nets
- Total: 223
- Spread: IND -10
- Pacers are 7th in pace, Nets are 30th in pace
- Pacers are 22nd in DRtg, Nets are 25th in DRtg
Los Angeles Clippers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
- Total: 214.5
- Spread: MIN -2
- Clippers are 19th in pace, Timberwolves are 26th in pace
- Clippers are 4th in DRtg, Timberwolves are 8th in DRtg
Orlando Magic vs. New York Knicks
- Total: 210
- Spread: NYK -12
- Magic are 29th in pace, Knicks are 25th in pace
- Magic are 2nd in DRtg, Knicks are 14th in DRtg
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
- Tyrese Haliburton (GPPs), Zach LaVine, Immanuel Quickley, Devin Vassell, Deni Avdija, P.J. Washington (GPPs)
Value
- Tobias Harris, D'Angelo Russell, Cole Anthony, Jake LaRavia, Lonzo Ball, Malik Beasley, Naji Marshall
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