Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Monday, December 16th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2024-12-16 23:45:17 Premium Content Part of the product NBA DFS

A daily fantasy sports OG, Notorious has been roaming the DFS streets ever since they were invented. He has racked up multiple live final seats and several six-figure tournament wins in his DFS career and has long been one of the top NBA DFS minds in the industry. On weekends, Taylor Smith takes the reins. Their Core Plays LIVE article will zoom out on the slate as a whole, zoom in on the best NBA DFS picks, and constantly update as news breaks. Whether you are diving into the slate 5 hours before it starts or 5 minutes before it starts, Core Plays LIVE has everything you need for your DraftKings and FanDuel lineups.

Happy Monday!

I usually write that in jest, but it’s actually a happy Monday thanks to Josh Allen and Amon-Ra St. Brown. I had my best NFL slate of the season, so I am feeling a tad more jolly than usual. And it’s perfect timing too because the 10-day countdown to Christmas has officially begun. There’s no better time for a little extra pep in the step.

We kick the week off with a 6-game NBA slate, which is the perfect-sized slate for yours truly. It’s great from a content standpoint, there aren’t an overwhelming amount of choices at each position, there are more than enough options at each position, and it’s easier to sweat. To make it even better, we don’t have a single team playing in a back-to-back.

Let’s dive into the team previews.

NBA DFS Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Monday, December 16th

• 6-game slate
  - 7:00 PM ET – Miami Heat at Detroit Pistons
  - 7:00 PM ET – Philadelphia 76ers at Charlotte Hornets
  - 7:30 PM ET – Cleveland Cavaliers at Brooklyn Nets
  - 7:30 PM ET – Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors
  - 10:00 PM ET – Denver Nuggets at Sacramento Kings
  - 10:30 PM ET – Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Clippers
• Front end of a back-to-back: None
• Back end of a back-to-back: None
• NBA DFS Optimizer
• NBA Starting Lineups
• NBA DFS Injury Report: The Situation Room
• Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays

Editor’s Note: Looking for more places to play? Check out our PrizePicks promo code and Underdog Fantasy promo code, two of the best DFS apps available today.

News Updates

This section will be updated as injury news is released throughout the day.

Team Previews

Miami Heat (at DET)

We start the slate with the Heat, who have a mediocre matchup on the road against the Pistons. Detroit plays at a slow pace and had a solid defense to start the season but are now 28th in 3-point percentage allowed and 18th in points allowed per game. The Heat are small favorites and have a team total that is close to their season average. There aren’t any major injuries here, but Josh Richardson and Nikola Jovic have both been ruled out. Bam Adebayo is the one player with a positive RGValue on the Heat, but I have more interest in Tyler Herro as a contrarian tournament target. He has scored at least 45 fantasy points in 4 of his last 6 games. Duncan Robinson is cheap and offers 30+ fantasy point upside, while Dru Smith should push for minutes in the mid-20s off the bench.

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