Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Monday, December 22nd

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2025-12-22 21:41:29 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. 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 plays, 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.

Happy Monday!

We are officially 3 days from Christmas for those who celebrate. We have an exciting week of sports. For Christmas this year, we have a 5-game NBA slate and a 3-game NFL slate. It should be one of the best sports days of the year, at least from a DFS perspective.

We have 7 NBA games on the schedule tonight and 14 games on the schedule tomorrow. We won’t have any games on Christmas Eve, so that’ll provide us a nice little break before the big Christmas Day slates. We also have a Philip Rivers Showdown slate if anyone is interested in reading my Niners vs. Colts NFL Grind Down.

Let’s start the week off with some big DFS wins (screenshots sent my way are always welcome) and dive into tonight’s NBA slate.

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NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Monday, December 22nd

Slate Overview

• 7-game main slate
  - 7:00 pm ET – Charlotte Hornets at Cleveland Cavaliers
  - 7:30 pm ET – Indiana Pacers at Boston Celtics
  - 8:00 pm ET – Dallas Mavericks at New Orleans Pelicans
  - 9:00 pm ET – Utah Jazz at Denver Nuggets
  - 9:30 pm ET – Memphis Grizzlies at Oklahoma City Thunder
  - 10:00 pm ET – Orlando Magic at Golden State Warriors
  - 10:00 pm ET – Detroit Pistons at Portland Trail Blazers
• NBA DFS Optimizer
• NBA Starting Lineups
• NBA Injury Report
• Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays

News Updates

1:00 PM ET

We have some early injury news today.

Ryan Kalkbrenner has been ruled out for the Hornets, which makes Moussa Diabate a strong value play, especially if he draws the start.

Chet Holmgren has been ruled out for the Thunder. With Isaiah Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams also out, there are a lot of frontcourt minutes that have opened up.

T.J. McConnell has been ruled out for the Pacers. I’m still not interested in anyone from Indiana.

Team Previews

Charlotte Hornets (at CLE)

We kick off the slate with the Hornets, who draw a favorable matchup against the Cavaliers, who are 8th in pace and 20th in points allowed per game this season. The Hornets have a team total that is nearly identical to their season average. Grant Williams is out, while Collin Sexton is listed as doubtful.

This is the healthiest the Hornets have been in a while, so it’s not surprising that there’s not a single positive RGValue on the roster. I do think that game has shootout potential, so I don’t mind looking to LaMelo Ball in tournaments. He’s been volatile all season, but he has topped 55 fantasy points twice in his last 4 games. Miles Bridges, Kon Knueppel, and Brandon Miller should only enter the conversation if you are building 10+ large-field tournament lineups.

Cleveland Cavaliers (vs. CHA)

The Cavaliers have a mediocre matchup against the Hornets. While Charlotte plays at a slow pace, they are bottom 10 in points allowed per game and defensive rating. The Cavaliers are 9-point favorites and have a team total that is 5 points higher than their season average. Evan Mobley, Larry Nance, and Max Strus are all out.

Darius Garland is playing his best basketball of the season and has topped 45 fantasy points in 2 of his last 3 games. He has seen the biggest usage boost with Mobley off the floor and is viable in tournaments at his elevated price point. On a per-dollar basis, I do prefer Donovan Mitchell, who has an easier path to 5x his salary than Garland. Mitchell has scored at least 43 fantasy points in 7 of his last 9 games. Jarrett Allen has averaged 31 fantasy points with Mobley in the lineup and 35 fantasy points with Mobley out of the lineup the last two seasons. For large-field tournaments, this is an interesting bounce-back spot for Jaylon Tyson.

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