NBA DFS Core Plays LIVE: Tuesday, December 19th
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.
Happy Tuesday! We are officially 6 days away from Christmas.
The three core plays from last night (Trae Young, PJ Washington, Isaiah Jackson) all exceeded expectations, so hopefully this article helped point you in the right direction. If all we accomplish at RotoGrinders this holiday season is allowing you to put a few extra presents in your stockings, then we’ve done our job.
The magical Elf on the Shelf at our house, aka Pocket, has brought us tickets to see ‘Elf the Musical.’ It starts at 6:00 PM ET tonight, so hopefully, we won’t have any major injury news after the start of the show. I’ll still have my phone on me and will be able to post updates, but the rankings tables won’t change after about 5:30 PM ET. I wanted to give everyone a heads-up. Luckily, this is only a 4-game slate, and there aren’t a ton of players on the injury report.
NBA DFS Top Picks: Core Plays LIVE for Tuesday, December 19th
Slate Overview
- 4-game slate
- 7:30 PM ET – Memphis Grizzlies at New Orleans Pelicans
- 8:00 PM ET – San Antonio Spurs at Milwaukee Bucks
- 10:00 PM ET – Boston Celtics at Golden State Warriors
- 10:00 PM ET – Phoenix Suns at Portland Trail Blazers
- Teams on the front end of a back-to-back: Celtics
- Teams on the back end of a back-to-back: Grizzlies
- NBA DFS Injury Report: The Situation Room
- Scroll to FanDuel and DraftKings Rankings & Core Plays
News Updates
7:15 PM ET – Intermission time at the musical! Zion Williamson will play tonight.
5:20 PM ET – Kristaps Porzingis has been ruled out of tonight’s game. Al Horford will likely draw the spot start. Here’s the CourtIQ query with him off the floor:
12:10 PM ET – Zion Williamson is now listed as questionable, while Naji Marshall is now expected to play. If Williamson ends up being out, Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum would see sizable upticks in per-minute production, Jonas Valanciunas could see rebounding and usage boosts, Herbert Jones would become more interesting, and Trey Murphy could draw the spot start.
Team Previews
Memphis Grizzlies (at NOP): With only 4 games on the schedule tonight, we can do a slightly deeper dive into the team previews. The Grizzlies are coming off a blowout loss to the Pelicans, but their wait is officially over — Ja Morant is set to return to the lineup after being suspended for the first 25 games of the season. His conditioning is anyone’s guess, but it’s unlikely that he’s going to play 40 minutes in his first game of the season.
A matchup against the Pelicans is a decent one, as New Orleans is ranked 8th in pace and 10th in defensive rating. Derrick Rose, Luke Kennard, Marcus Smart, and Bismack Biyombo are all expected to be out again tonight. I don’t have much interest in the Grizzlies because they are all priced as if Morant is still out. I suppose Jaren Jackson is still worth a look in tournaments, as he has historically played well alongside Morant.
New Orleans Pelicans (vs. MEM): The Pelicans have won 4 games in a row and 7 of their last 10 outings. Tonight, they host the new-look Grizzlies, who will finally have Morant back in the lineup. While Memphis is still short-handed, this hasn’t been an overly great matchup for fantasy production this season. The market seems to like the spot for the Pelicans, as they are 7-point favorites and have a team total that is 5.3 points above their season average.
Larry Nance and Matt Ryan are still out, while Naji Marshall is listed as questionable. Zion Williamson is priced under $8,000 on both sites and has averaged 43 fantasy points over his last 3 games. Jonas Valanciunas has quietly been playing his best basketball of the season, topping 44 fantasy points in 4 straight games. He should have no problem posting a double-double against the depleted Grizzlies’ frontcourt. Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum are reasonable options, while Trey Murphy and Herbert Jones are best suited for large-field tournaments.
San Antonio Spurs (at MIL): The Spurs are 4-21 on the season, but they don’t have the worst record in the league or the longest losing streak. Those trophies belong to the Pistons. Tonight, the Spurs travel to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks, who are ranked 3rd in pace and 24th in defensive rating. There is serious blowout concern here (16.5-point spread), but the Spurs have an implied total that is 7.0 points higher than their season average. This has the potential to be the best game environment on the slate.
The big story with the Spurs tonight is that Victor Wembanyama has been ruled out. He’s responsible for so much production on both ends of the floor that everyone will see a boost in his absence. With that said, here are the main beneficiaries with Wemby off the floor this season:
Zach Collins, Devin Vassell, and Keldon Johnson rate out as three of the top point-per-dollar plays on the slate. We can also expect 30+ minutes from Jeremy Sochan and Malaki Branham. If the Spurs keep this game within 10 points, I expect at least three of their players to find their way into the optimal lineup.
Milwaukee Bucks (vs. SAS): After a somewhat shaky start to the season, the Bucks have won 4 games in a row and are now 2nd in the Eastern Conference standings. They draw an elite matchup at home against the Spurs, who are ranked 3rd in pace and 24th in defensive rating. The big question here is whether the Spurs will put up a big enough fight to keep Boston’s starters in the game in the fourth quarter. The risk is likely worth it, as the Bucks have a massive team total of 133.3 points.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is coming off of two quiet outings in a row, but before that, he had scored at least 57 fantasy points in 8 straight games. He makes sense as a bring-back if you are stacking the Spurs and should have a monster outing if this game stays competitive. The problem is that pesky salary cap because he’s expensive. Damian Lillard is in a great spot as well and is more affordable than Giannis. Perhaps Khris Middleton can get his 26-28 minutes without playing much in the fourth quarter. If that’s the case, he might be the safest target on the Bucks.
Boston Celtics (at GSW): The Celtics have won 5 games in a row and are tied with the Wolves for the best record in basketball. Tonight, they travel to California to take on the Warriors, who are ranked close to the league average in both pace and defensive rating. They come into this game with a team total of 119.3 points, which is slightly higher than their season average.
Luke Kornet is still out for Boston, but Al Horford will be back in the lineup tonight. The big question mark for tonight’s game is the status of Kristaps Porzingis. With the Celtics playing again tomorrow, they may opt to save him for that game. With that said, let’s consider him questionable for now. If he’s out again tonight, Horford would slide into the starting lineup. From a projections standpoint, Jayson Tatum stands out as the top target of the Celtics.
Golden State Warriors (vs. BOS): The Warriors have had a tough season. They are 12-14 in the standings and will be without Draymond Green for at least four more weeks. Tonight, they host the Pacers, who are ranked 23rd in pace and 3rd in defensive rating. This is one of the worst matchups on the board, and the Warriors are the only team on the slate that is projected to score fewer points than their season average.
There’s not much that stands out in the projections when it comes to the Warriors. There’s not a single player with a positive RGValue. A case can always be made for Stephen Curry in tournaments, but it’s hard to prioritize him over the other superstars on the slate. I’d love to take a chance on Brandin Podziemski, but this doesn’t feel like the right matchup or the right price point. I should note that Chris Paul is questionable, so we’ll have to keep an eye on his status.
Phoenix Suns (at POR): The Suns have lost 6 of their last 10 games and can’t seem to stay healthy. They will be without Bradley Beal and Josh Okogie tonight against the Blazers. While we should like their chances of winning this game, this isn’t the best matchup for fantasy production. The Blazers are ranked 24th in pace and 17th in defensive rating. The Suns have a team total that is surprisingly 4.4 points higher than their season average.
With Beal out, we can expect the offense to flow through Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. They have both been priced above $10,000 at points this season, so they both feel a tad underpriced this evening. If you are into narratives, this is a revenge game for Jusuf Nurkic. In his first meeting with the Blazers earlier this season, he put up 44 fantasy points. This will be the first time he’s faced the Blazers in Portland since being a member of the Suns.
Portland Trail Blazers (vs. PHO): The Blazers have lost 7 games in a row, and much like the Suns, they have not been able to stay healthy this season. While both of these teams are below the league average in defensive rating, they both play at a very slow pace. The Blazers are 7.5-point underdogs and come into the game with an implied total of 112 points.
The good news for the Blazers is that they are starting to get their players back. Shaedon Sharpe is the only player on the injury report this evening. He’s listed as questionable. Even with Sharpe in the projections at the moment, Anfernee Simons and Jerami Grant both projects as positive RGValues.
NOTE: The closer it gets to the slate locking, the less likely it is that I will have the necessary time to update the tables below. For the most up-to-date information, make sure you are watching Crunch Time and monitoring LineupHQ for my Core Play tags and updates to our Premium NBA Projections.
NBA DFS Rankings & Core Plays
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