Core Plays LIVE: NBA DFS Picks for Monday, December 8th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2025-12-08 23:16:47 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!

I spent the weekend in a small town in Southern Utah. I’ve been going to this small town ever since I was born (it’s where both of my parents are from), so it was fun to be able to share some of the traditions with my now family of five. While I love to travel and love spending time with my family and friends, I love being home. The older I get, the more I enjoy coming back home after a trip.

We have a quiet week in the association. We have 3 games today, 2 games tomorrow, 2 games on Wednesday, and 4 games on Thursday. I enjoy these small slates because we get to roster some of the fringe players that never warrant consideration on large slates. I have my eye on quite a few of those players. I’ll be on Crunch Time if anyone wants to watch live and ask questions about tonight’s slate. I’ll be on at 6:15 PM ET.

Editor’s Note: Looking for more places to play? Check out our Underdog promo code and PrizePicks promo code, two of the best DFS apps available today.

NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Monday, December 8th

Slate Overview

• 3-game main slate
  - 7:00 pm ET – Sacramento Kings at Indiana Pacers
  - 7:30 pm ET – Phoenix Suns at Minnesota Timberwolves
  - 8:00 pm ET – San Antonio Spurs at New Orleans Pelicans
• NBA DFS Optimizer
• NBA Starting Lineups
• NBA Injury Report
• 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

Sacramento Kings (at IND)

We open tonight’s small slate with the Kings, who have a nice matchup on the road against the Pacers. On the season, Indiana is 10th in pace and bottom 10 in both defensive rating and points allowed per game. The Kings are 4-point underdogs and have a team total that is 3 points higher than their season average. Domantas Sabonis is out, while Keegan Murray and Dennis Schroder are questionable.

The Kings have been a tough team to trust in DFS this season. While the low spread and high team total are encouraging, there’s not a single player in LineupHQ with a positive RGValue. Russell Westbrook has flashed 2 ceiling games recently (50+ fantasy points), but he’s priced up and has been held under 36 fantasy points in 7 of his last 9 games. Zach LaVine has been even more volatile than Westbrook — in his last 7 games, he has topped 45 fantasy points twice and has been held under 20 fantasy points three times. Both players are best suited for large-field tournaments.

While Westbrook and LaVine have been volatile, DeMar DeRozan hasn’t shown much of a ceiling. He’s been held under 35 fantasy points in 14 of his last 16 games. Keegan Murray might be my favorite target from the Kings if active, but that’s not saying a whole lot. If he’s out, the Kings become more interesting as a whole. Maxime Raynaud is projected to start and has scored 32 and 42 fantasy points in the last 2 games. He’s only $5,000 on DraftKings and facing a bad rebounding team. For large-field tournaments, Malik Monk is worth a look. He has a low floor, but he has topped 40 fantasy points in 2 of the last 3 games.

Indiana Pacers (vs. SAC)

The Pacers draw an elite matchup at home against the Kings, who are 7th in pace, 30th in rebounding rate, and 26th in points allowed per game. The Pacers are rarely favored these days, but they are 4-point favorites and have a team total that is 8 points higher than their season average. Tyrese Haliburton, Aaron Nesmith, Ben Sheppard, Obi Toppin, and Quenton Jackson are out.

Andrew Nembhard has topped 33 fantasy points in 3 straight games and has had a usage rate of at least 22% in each game. He has an elite matchup at home and is still only $6,300 on DraftKings. After a string of poor performances, Bennedict Mathurin put up 46 fantasy points against the Bulls. This is a similar matchup on paper, and Mathurin is only $6,800 on FanDuel. Garrison Mathews might draw another start, but he’s not going to play big minutes. We should have more interest in T.J. McConnell off the bench, who is capable of a slate-breaking performance, especially in a matchup like this.

Pascal Siakam has been a steady producer for the Pacers, topping 45 fantasy points in 5 of his last 8 games. He’s viable in both cash games and tournaments. Jay Huff has been a solid per-minute producer (1.07 DK / 1.15 FD) and has played at least 25 minutes in 3 of his last 4 games. He’s getting expensive, but I still like him for tournaments. Isaiah Jackson is only $4,000 on DraftKings and should push for 18 minutes off the bench against the worst rebounding team in basketball.

Want to read more? Sign up for NBA Premium!

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