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

Happy Monday, January 20th! We have a five-game NBA DFS main slate on DraftKings and on FanDuel.

The stars are out as Cade Cunningham, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Edwards, Kevin Durant, and Devin Booker are taking the floor. There are some big-time injury statuses that we need to watch out for as Karl-Anthony Towns, Stephen Curry, and Ja Morant are questionable.

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 20th

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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.

1:40 pm ET

• Something to monitor is Caris LeVert's mid-day downgrade. He's now QUEST. With that game kicking off 1:30 after lock, make sure LeVert is sitting in your guard or UTIL spot so it's an easy pivot to Ty Jerome, Dean Wade, Max Strus, or Georges Niang.

2:45 pm ET

• Caris LeVert is OUT. With LeVert, Mobley & Okoro out:
• Donovan Mitchell +7.6% USG, 38.5%, 1.4 FP/min
• Georges Niang +5.8% USG, 23.5% USG, 1.08 FP/min
• Darius Garland +2.9% USG, 30.3% USG, 1.1 FP/min
• Ty Jerome 23.7% USG, 1.1 FP/min
• Max Strus .86 FP/min, expect him to start
• Dean Wade .77 FP/min
• Jarrett Allen 1.08 FP/min

NBA Injuries, News & Updates Today, 1/20

• Trae Young - IN
• Karl-Anthony Towns - IN
• Stephen Curry - QUEST (expected to play)
• Jalen Johnson - IN
• Evan Mobley - OUT
• Ja Morant - IN
• Amen Thompson - IN
• Josh Hart - IN
• Bradley Beal - IN
• Draymond Green - OUT
• Rudy Gobert - IN
• Donte DiVincenzo - OUT
• Jabari Smith. - OUT
• Jusuf Nurkic - OUT
• Zaccharie Risacher - OUT
• Marcus Smart - OUT
• Kyle Anderson - OUT
• Isaac Okoro - OUT
• Caris LeVert - OUT
• Steven Adams - OUT
• GG Jackson - IN

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.

Phoenix Suns vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

• Total: 236.5
• Spread: CLE -7.5
• Suns are 21st in pace, Cavaliers are 6th in pace
• Suns are 22nd in DRtg, Cavaliers are 11th in DRtg

Atlanta Hawks vs. New York Knicks

• Total: 236
• Spread: NYK -6.5
• Hawks are 3rd in pace, Knicks are 25th in pace 
• Hawks are 18th in DRtg, Knicks are 15th in DRtg

Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Memphis Grizzlies

• Total: 235
• Spread: MEM -5.5
• Timberwolves are 27th in pace, Grizzlies are 1st in pace
• Timberwolves are 7th in DRtg, Grizzlies are 6th in DRtg

Boston Celtics vs. Golden State Warriors

• Total: 223.5
• Spread: BOS -10
• Celtics are 24th in pace, Warriors are 14th in pace
• Celtics are 5th in DRtg, Warriors are 9th in DRtg

Detroit Pistons vs. Houston Rockets

• Total: 222
• Spread: HOU -8
• Pistons are 19th in pace, Rockets are 18th in pace
• Pistons are 17th in DRtg, Rockets are 4th 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

• Trae Young, Karl-Anthony Towns, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker (GPP), Anthony Edwards, Alperen Sengun (GPP)

Mid

• Jalen Johnson, Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Julius Randle, Jarrett Allen

Value

• Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid, Dean Wade (GPP), Max Strus, Nick Richards, Onyeka Okongwu, Georges Niang, Ty Jerome

Don't Miss The NBA DFS Playbook Live Show At 12:30 PM ET

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