NBA DFS Core Plays LIVE: Friday, December 22nd
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 Noto will mix it up in all different types of contests. So, who better to walk you through the madness of an NBA DFS slate? Core Plays LIVE 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, you’ve come to the right place.
Dear NBA DFS Santa,
All I want for Christmas is for there to never be a slate like last night’s ever again. I hope it’s not too much to ask. There was a new injury update every 15 minutes that drastically altered the slate. On top of that, the best game environment was left off of the main slate. I got stuck with a stocking full of coal, as I ended up with Sam Merrill (1 fantasy point and an injury) and Victor Wembanyama in my main lineup. Please save Christmas and end this injury madness.
Truly yours,
– Noto
I hope everyone had a better slate than I did last night. On top of the bad DFS lineup, I decided to bet on a team with a 24-game losing streak. Spoiler alert, the losing streak is now at 25 games. Let’s not go there.
Despite last night, I am still having a great week. We are close to Christmas, we have no shortage of sports on at the moment, and the weather here in Utah is unseasonably warm. I also received a very nice message from a fellow contributor here at RotoGrinders. There was nothing in it for them, but this person went out of their way to spread some positivity. I will be looking to return the favor to others over the next few days.
For those relying on this article to know how many days we have until Christmas, we are down to three! Now, let’s dive into tonight’s 6-game slate.
NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Friday, December 22nd
Slate Overview
- 6-game slate
- 7:00 PM ET – Toronto Raptors at Philadelphia 76ers
- 7:30 PM ET – Denver Nuggets at Brooklyn Nets
- 8:00 PM ET – Dallas Mavericks at Houston Rockets
- 8:00 PM ET – Atlanta Hawks at Miami Heat
- 10:00 PM ET – Phoenix Suns at Sacramento Kings
- 10:00 PM ET – Washington Wizards at Golden State Warriors
- Teams on the front end of a back-to-back: Raptors, Nuggets, Nets, Hawks, Mavericks, Rockets, Warriors, Kings
- Teams on the back end of a back-to-back: Wizards
- NBA DFS Injury Report: The Situation Room
- Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays
News Updates
This section will be updated as injury news is released throughout the day.
Team Previews
Toronto Raptors (at PHI): We kick off tonight’s 6-game slate with Raptors, who are only 3-8 on the road this season. To make matters worse, they draw a difficult matchup against the Sixers. On the season, Philadelphia is ranked 2nd in rebounding rate and 2nd in defensive rating. The Raptors’ team total is the 2nd lowest on the slate. The slate is small enough that you can consider Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes in tournaments, but they are far from priorities.
Philadelphia 76ers (vs. TOR): The Sixers have won 7 of their last 10 games and have been one of the best home teams in basketball this season. A matchup against the Raptors is about as mediocre as you will find, yet the Sixers have a team total that is 3.8 points below their season average. Nicolas Batum is still out and De’Anthony Melton is listed as questionable after leaving the last game with a thigh injury. Kelly Oubre could be a decent mid-range option, as he should draw another spot-start. At this point, we should be targeting Joel Embiid every slate. He has now topped 60 fantasy points in 12 straight games. During that stretch, he’s topped 70 fantasy points in 6 games.
Here is an example of the DFS tables that are provided to our Premium Subscribers
Want to read more? Sign up for Premium!
