Welcome to the Monday NBA DFS slate. I hope you’ve had a profitable weekend and a wonderful season so far as we celebrate the holiday season. If you’re going to play NBA DFS, you must keep in mind lineup announcements and stay tuned for late swapping. That is going to be the easiest way to stay ahead of the field and in the money.
We have an eight-game slate tonight, which is the perfect sized slate for filling out the perfect lineups. NBA DFS is about making the right choices and picking your spots, which is why I’m here. Let’s break down the top plays for this slate.
View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our NBA Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
NBA DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Primer
NBA DFS Core Plays
- DraftKings: $11,100
- FanDuel: $12,000
It’s easy to go with the highest salaried player on FanDuel, but Victor Wembanyama projects as an elite play on SaberSim. The Spurs center faces Chicago Monday night, which is close to the nuts matchup on the slate. San Antonio may be on the road, but they are still favorites in a game with a 236-point total, the highest among any game tonight.
The Bulls have allowed the second-most fantasy points to opponents and the seventh-most to opposing centers. The French phenom has covered 60 fantasy points in each of his last two games and projects for the same tonight. He has been a monster on the boards and should again tonight against the 22nd-ranked rebounding team in the NBA. I’d project him right around that 60-point range again tonight and wouldn’t be quite surprised by a ceiling output from Wembanyama tonight.
- DraftKings: $9,700
- FanDuel: $10,000
Cade Cunningham has come into his own this season, averaging over 50 DraftKings points on the season and continuing to be priced up after starting the year at just $8,700. He’s proven to be a viable fantasy asset with a few 70+ fantasy point outings and a handful of 60+ efforts. We should expect another ceiling game against Portland tonight.
The Trail Blazers have allowed the fourth-highest fantasy points to opposing points guards with 26 points scored a game. Portland paces up Detroit and has been nearly the worst defense in the league over their last 10 games. This is a perfect matchup. Considering he’s shy of five-digit pricing, Cunningham should be high-rostered tonight.
- DraftKings: $6,200
- FanDuel: $6,000
Apologies for going back-to-back with point guards but Scotty Pippen Jr. will be one of the highest-rostered players tonight with essentially every Memphis guard out. Ja Morant, Marcus Smart, Luke Kennard and Yuki Kawamura are all out. Desmond Bane is also day-to-day, to make it better.
Pippen isn’t the most efficient player on the court but he should see the court for 30+ minutes, at the minimum, with a 20% percent usage rate. Memphis has become the fastest-paced team in the NBA and Dallas’ defense continues to drop, ranking 22nd in the league over the last 10 games. Pippen will be a cash game staple but don’t be afraid to throw him in some GPP lineups as well.
NBA DFS Cash Game Targets
- DraftKings: $7,100
- FanDuel: $7,400
With Joel Embiid being such an injured player, Paul George has taken over with a 25% usage rate this year and even higher in recent games. He’s averaged 35 DraftKings points a game and consistently has stayed above 30 DraftKings points in eight of his last 11 games.
The Suns’ defense has been a bottom-three unit in the month or so of play as they have gone 3-7 over their last 10 games. George has guard and forward status, which helps get creative with roster construction. It may not be the most friendly fantasy lineup but George promises to be on the court for 35 or so minutes. With the high usage rate and the rest of the lineup questionable, George’s high floor will be ideal for cash lineups.
- DraftKings: $6,100
- FanDuel: $6,300
For another Spur — they will be high-rostered tonight — we have Devin Vassell. He’s averaged 35 DraftKings points in his last five games and projects for similar production tonight in Chicago. He’s been playing additional minutes recently with 34 minutes a night over the last seven games with a 24% usage rate.
Since he’s been starting, Vassell has tallied double-digit point efforts in eight of his last nine games. Chicago is the third-fastest-paced team in the league with the 24th-ranked defense. Vassell will get his opportunity for a ceiling output but has a high floor with his guard-forward status, which makes him ideal for cash lineups.
Jaren Jackson Jr. (PF, C – MEM)
- DraftKings: $9,100
- FanDuel: $8,800
Per StatMuse, Jaren Jackson Jr. has a whopping 37% usage rate without Ja Morant in the lineup this year. Among all the injuries Memphis is facing, Santi Aldama can be added to the list, which only means Jackson will be on the court closer to 35 minutes, as he has in each of the last three games.
Memphis also returns home after a five-game road trip where Memphis can control the pace of play as 5.5-point favorites. With a high game total of 232, there will be plenty to go around for Jackson to be a cash game staple.
NBA DFS GPP Targets
- DraftKings: $8,700
- FanDuel: $8,800
Facing Toronto should garner rostership with the Raptors ranking as the worst defense in the league over the last 10 games with the sixth-fastest pace of play in the same timeframe. Damian Lillard only projects for around 10% rostership on DraftKings. Despite a bit higher projection on FanDuel, he still projects as an ideal GPP play.
The Raptors allow the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing point guards. We’ve seen the ceiling games of 60+ points out of Lillard and the Milwaukee roster is a bit banged up. Even if Giannis Antetokounmpo plays, Lillard still has an easy potential of 50+ fantasy points, At his price point that would be an ideal score for GPP contests.
- DraftKings: $6,600
- FanDuel: $6,700
For another DraftKings-focused play, Deni Avdija projects for around 11% rostership Monday night. Projecting him for around 37 fantasy points is his median outcome. Given that value with a higher ceiling, he is a great play. He’s averaged 40 fantasy points over the last five games and doing so tonight puts him over 6X return on value at his price tag.
Avdija had a 25% usage rate and is in a pace-up spot with the Pistons ranking in the top 10 in pace of play. Detroit also allows the ninth-highest fantasy points to opposing power forwards. I expect Avdija to provide a better chance of being a prime fantasy asset tonight compared to his projected rostership.
Immanuel Quickley (PG, SG – TOR)
- DraftKings: $7,000
- FanDuel: $6,700
Keep in mind while these GPP targets are more focused for DraftKings contests, the pricing still means they make ideal options for single-entry GPPs and cash lineups. Immanuel Quickley is another option I love tonight.
After missing some time, the Raptors guard has picked up well with two double-doubles in each of his last two starts. The Bucks have been the fifth-fastest team in recent play in terms of pace and allow the most points to opposing point guards than any other position group. Of course, if you end up rostering the Bucks at a high rate, Quickley is a perfect bring-back option.
NBA DFS Value Plays
- DraftKings: $5,300
- FanDuel: $6,300
As a consistent starting center with nearly 25 minutes a night, it’s still surprising to see how much of a price difference Dereck Lively has on DraftKings compared to FanDuel. Memphis is a tough defense but has ranked lower recently — outside the top 10 while still maintaining their top-ranked pace.
Even with 25 minutes, the high possession rank will increase the opportunity for Lively. He’s averaging 30 fantasy points a night over the last week and a half, so he’s likely earned additional playing time with an opportunity for higher scoring against a banged-up Memphis team.
- DraftKings: $5,400
- FanDuel: $6,000
Playing against the second-worst defense in the last 10 games, Tobias Harris lines up for a 30+ fantasy point performance tonight. Harris performs better at home and has averaged 19 points a game in the last three outings.
Harris has also seen a bump in usage rate. At a sub-$6,000 price, he’s expected to cover 6X value tonight. Two games ago he almost got to 50 DraftKings points. It’s only a matter of time before he goes over that number. He’s going to be quite low-rostered, so I prefer him in GPP lineups, but he is reasonable in either GPP or cash games.
- DraftKings: $4,500
- FanDuel: $4,400
Without final injury news, Jalen Wilson might be the best value on the slate as a punt option in your lineups. I imagine value will open up but Wilson plays 33 minutes and is a double-digit scorer with a nearly 20% usage rate.
No matter the matchup, which isn’t all that bad with a 223 total, his price tag makes him a pure value option.
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