Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Monday, December 2nd

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2024-12-02 23:58:35 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!

It’s hard to believe that we are already into December. As has been the case every December, I very much welcome any and all ideas for Elf on the Shelf. I’ve received a bunch of good ideas from RotoGrinders members over the years, so once again, I am counting on you. I’ve been in the midst of painting my house and haven’t been able to put up the Christmas decorations yet. My son (who is probably in his last year of believing in Santa) noticed that it was December 1st yesterday and immediately started looking for his elf. I had spaced getting the elf out and told him the elf probably wasn’t here because we didn’t have any Christmas decorations out yet. Nothing like a good stall tactic.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend. This is by far my favorite time of year, so I plan to enjoy every second of it. It’s also a great time of year on the sports front, as we have NBA and/or NFL games every day in December. There are only 4 games on the schedule tonight. We have five teams playing on the second half of a back-to-back (Heat, Celtics, Pelicans, Lakers, Nets), so we’ll have to keep a close eye on the injury report. Let’s dive into the team breakdowns.

NBA DFS Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Monday, December 2nd

• 4-game slate
  - 7:30 PM ET – New Orleans Pelicans at Atlanta Hawks
  - 7:30 PM ET – Miami Heat at Boston Celtics
  - 8:00 PM ET – Brooklyn Nets at Chicago Bulls
  - 8:00 PM ET – Los Angeles Lakers at Minnesota Timberwolves
• Front end of a back-to-back: None
• Back end of a back-to-back: Heat, Celtics, Pelicans, Lakers, Nets
• 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 sites available today.

News Updates

2:00 PM ET – We have some updates to cover since finishing the team previews. Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and Al Horford have all been ruled out for the Celtics, while Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum are all listed as questionable. If any of those three end up being out, we’ll have a lot of intriguing plays open up on Boston.

Brandon Ingram is officially listed as questionable for the Pelicans, while Herbert Jones is doubtful and Jordan Hawkins is out. For the Heat, Jimmy Butler, Nikola Jovic, and Josh Richardson have all been ruled out. Here’s who has benefitted the most with those three off the floor this season:

Team Previews

New Orleans Pelicans (at ATL)

We kick things off with the Pelicans, who have had issues filling out a roster this season. They are playing on the second half of a back-to-back and have yet to submit an injury report, but we know they will be without Zion Williamson, Herbert Jones, and Jose Alvarado. We’ll have to wait and see with the rest of the roster. We might as well take a look at who has benefited the most with those three players off the floor this season:

A matchup against the Hawks is one of the best on the slate. Atlanta is 2nd in pace, 30th in 3-point percentage allowed, and 28th in points allowed per game. With everyone (outside of the three mentioned above) currently in the projections, Trey Murphy is the only player with a positive RGValue. He’s had a 25% usage rate over the last 3 games and is finally back to playing a full allotment of minutes. If Brandon Ingram and/or Jordan Hawkins end up being out, Dejounte Murray and CJ McCollum would both see an uptick. Yves Missi (0.99 DK / 1.03 FD) is only $5,100 on DraftKings and has averaged 31 fantasy points over his last 3 games.

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