NBA DFS Picks Today (12/23): DraftKings & FanDuel Top Plays, Sleepers
Happy Holidays everyone! We have a massive 10-game NBA DFS slate on both FanDuel and DraftKings tonight as the league prepares to take Christmas Eve off in advance of the iconic Christmas Day NBA slate. There are plenty of questionable tags on players tonight, led by Luka Doncic who is expected to play. FanDuel has provided the most egregious misprice of the season, making lineup construction much more interesting on the blue site tonight.
Top NBA DFS DraftKings Lineup Optimizer Value
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PG – Luka Doncic ($11,700)
Although he’s not officially ruled in, Luka Doncic is expected to play tonight in a dream matchup against the San Antonio Spurs. The Mavs got embarrassed without Doncic on the court last night and look to rebound with their star back in the lineup. Tonight, Doncic projects for 7 more points than any other player on the slate and 12 more than any player not named Nikola Jokic. He’s the top raw point projected scorer by so many points that I’ll be making a conscious effort to play as much Luka as possible, as I legitimately think 85 fantasy points are in the cards tonight. He comes at a nice discount on DraftKings; he should probably be $1,000 more expensive.
Top NBA DFS FanDuel Lineup Optimizer Value
PG/SG – Jordan Clarkson ($3,500)
I’m not sure why he was priced down here to begin with, but FanDuel clearly didn’t think Jordan Clarkson would be back this quickly. His 8.09 point-per-dollar projection is more than 2.5 higher than any other player on the entire slate. There is no question. Don’t think twice. Play Jordan Clarkson in every single lineup you play tonight. Whether it’s 150 max, cash, or single-entry tournaments, Clarkson is a staple regardless of ownership.
NBA DFS Sleepers
PG – Ja Morant ($9,700 FanDuel/DraftKings)
Although Ja disappointed as a somewhat chalky play in a great matchup against Indiana, I’m going back to the well. Tonight, he faces the Hawks. The Hawks are one of the worst defensive teams in the league and also play at one of the fastest paces. Morant has played 34 minutes in back-to-back games since returning from suspension and should greatly benefit in this type of game environment. While individual matchups don’t mean much in today’s day and age, having Trae Young on the opposing side certainly helps his chances to smash. He’s currently projected for 11% ownership on FanDuel, which is still a nice low number for tournaments, but he looks even better on DraftKings at single-digit projected ownership.
PF/C – Victor Wembanyama ($10,200 FanDuel / $9,200 DraftKings)
While he’s more expensive on FanDuel, the cheap Jordan Clarkson makes the Luka Doncic and Victor Wembanyama stack viable tonight. Wemby has proven he’s a star all season long, and I want to play these two together as much as possible. With a 20/20 game and 10+ stocks (blocks and steals) in the cards each time he takes the court, Wembanyama has been one of the top plays on both DraftKings and FanDuel all season long. He’s currently projecting for just over 10% ownership on both sites, which is far too low for his upside. It’s a big slate, but Victor Wembanyama paired with Luka Doncic will be my favorite lineup construction of the night. We don’t have a ton of value yet, so make sure to tune into Crunch Time tonight (sponsored by FanDuel), as Tim Buell, Taylor Smith, and I break down the slate after more news has dropped.