Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Monday, December 23rd

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2024-12-23 23:56:12 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 say this in jest, but this is actually a happy Monday! We are officially 2 days away from Christmas. I have a few errands to run and need to prep for what should be my final year of Santa Claus duties, so I am going to keep the introduction short and sweet. I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. There aren’t any games on the schedule tomorrow, but we’ll have the classic Christmas slate to break down on Wednesday.

As always, I’m around if you have any questions or need anything at all. Shoot me a message on Twitter or in the RG Discord. We have 14 games on the schedule tonight, but FanDuel and DraftKings both agreed to leave the final 3 games off of their main slates. This is music to my ears, as there are now 3 fewer games that we have to break down. If you are playing the late slate, you can always lean heavily on the projections.

Let’s dive into the slate!

NBA DFS Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Monday, December 23rd

• 14-game slate
  - 7:00 PM ET – Utah Jazz at Cleveland Cavaliers
  - 7:00 PM ET – San Antonio Spurs at Philadelphia 76ers
  - 7:00 PM ET – Houston Rockets at Charlotte Hornets
  - 7:00 PM ET – Boston Celtics at Orlando Magic
  - 7:30 PM ET – Brooklyn Nets at Miami Heat
  - 7:30 PM ET – Minnesota Timberwolves at Atlanta Hawks
  - 7:30 PM ET – Toronto Raptors at New York Knicks
  - 8:00 PM ET – Milwaukee Bucks at Chicago Bulls
  - 8:00 PM ET – Los Angeles Clippers at Memphis Grizzlies
  - 8:00 PM ET – Washington Wizards at Oklahoma City Thunder
  - 8:30 PM ET – Portland Trail Blazers at Dallas Mavericks
  - 10:00 PM ET – Phoenix Suns at Denver Nuggets
  - 10:00 PM ET – Indiana Pacers at Golden State Warriors
  - 10:30 PM ET – Detroit Pistons at Los Angeles Lakers
• Front end of a back-to-back: None
• Back end of a back-to-back: Rockets, Raptors, Pacers, Nuggets
• 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

2:10 PM ET – Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo have both been ruled out of tonight’s game against the Hawks. This immediately makes the Bucks the most stackable team on the slate. They still have a massive team total and are without their two best players. I would run the ON/OFF tool, but there’s no point. Everyone that is expected to have a role tonight will see an uptick in usage and FP/min production. As you will see in the rankings table below, I am going to have as much exposure to Milwaukee as possible tonight.

1:40 PM ET – Tari Eason has been ruled out of tonight’s game. He has averaged 23 minutes and 27 fantasy points per game this season, so his absence certainly opens some usage up in the offense.

Team Previews

Utah Jazz (at CLE)

We kick off the slate with my beloved Jazz, who aren’t quite as beloved in Utah this season. They travel to Cleveland to take on the Cavaliers, who are 9th in pace and 7th in defensive rating this season. The Jazz are 14-point underdogs and have one of the lowest team totals on the slate. The only positive from a DFS standpoint is that they are expected to be without John Collins (doubtful) and Keyonte George (doubtful). Let’s see who benefits the most with those two off the floor:

Lauri Markkanan should see a major usage boost, Collin Sexton should see a nice FP/minute boost, and Jordan Clarkson should see an uptick in playing time. With that said, I would only look their way in tournaments given the large spread.

Cleveland Cavaliers (vs. UTA)

The Cavaliers draw one of the best matchups on the slate. They have plenty of upside given their 122.5-point total, but we have some blowout risk to consider with this game featuring a 14-point spread. Isaac Okoro has been ruled out, while Sam Merrill and Dean Wade are listed as questionable. Given the size of the slate, I would only look to target the Cavaliers in tournaments and only in builds that feature at least one player from the Jazz. We’ll need some push-back from the Jazz if the Cavaliers are going to have ceiling performances. I like the matchup for the frontcourt (Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley), but my favorite route is to target the revenge narrative with Donovan Mitchell.

Here is an example of the DFS tables that are provided to our Premium Subscribers

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