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We're set for our first big slate of 2023, as there are 10 games on the docket for the main slate for both DK and FD on Monday night.
We also have five games with projected totals of more than 230 points, which is a recipe for what should be a night of very elevated DFS scores thanks to plenty of elite individual performances.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 1/2/23. Remember to monitor the NBA injury report as the slate can completely change before lineups lock, which is at 7:00 pm ET tonight. Good luck, RotoBallers.
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DraftKings and FanDuel Guards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
LaMelo Ball - PG, CHA vs. LAL ($10,000 DK; $9,700 FD)
Ball continues to be one of the few bright spots for the Hornets, spearheading Charlotte's attack with averages of 23.7 points, 7.9, 5.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals. The 2020 third overall pick has scored over 40 DK points in all 10 games since his return from his latest multi-game absence, a stretch that includes a prior meeting against the Lakers where he put up 51 DK/49.6 FD points across 37 minutes.
Ball therefore makes for an intriguing option for Monday's rematch, as Los Angeles checks in allowing the 12th-highest offensive efficiency rating to PGs (26.9), along with the third-most DK (52.1) and second-most FD (51.1) points per game to the position. The Lakers are also ranked in the bottom 10 of the league in assists allowed per road game (26.6) and have given up an NBA-high 9.5 steals per contest when traveling as well, furthering Ball's case.
Kyrie Irving - PG, BKN vs. SAS ($8,700 DK; $8,800 FD)
Irving enters Monday's favorable matchup against the Spurs running hot, as he's averaging an elevated 29.6 points (on 52.4 percent shooting, including 43.4 percent from three-point range), 6.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists across his last nine games. Irving has actually been at his best on the road this season, but the Spurs could certainly help coax one of his highest-percentile performances out of him.
Not only does Monday's game carry as high as a 236.5-point projected total, but San Antonio is allowing the second-highest offensive efficiency rating to PGs (30.6), along with the most DK (61.5) and FD (61.6) points per game to the position over the last seven games. What's more, the Spurs have yielded the second-most assists (27.8) and fifth-most steals (8.2) per road game, which bodes well for Irving's overall production.
Tre Jones - PG, SAS at BKN ($5,900 DK; $6,200 FD)
Having just made a case for Irving, Jones is also a consideration on the other side of the Spurs-Nets clash. The young guard has been putting together some impressive performances of late, averaging 14.9 points, 5.9 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals while shooting 51.2 percent across 29.1 minutes per contest. Zooming out further, Jones has been at 30 or more DK points in seven of the last 12 games and eclipsed 30 FD points on seven occasions in that span as well.
The Nets have been right around the middle of the league in offensive efficiency allowed to point guards (26.1), but they've allowed an elevated 55.4 DK/54.1 FD points per game to the position over the last seven games. Then, it's worth noting Jones is averaging a career-high 1.4 steals per contest, while Brooklyn checks in allowing the eighth-most steals per game of any team on its home floor (8.0).
ALSO CONSIDER: Luka Doncic - PG, DAL at HOU ($12,400 DK; $12,400 FD)
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DraftKings and FanDuel Forwards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Pascal Siakam - PF/C, TOR at IND ($10,200 DK; $10,500 FD)
Siakam has offered elite DFS scores aplenty on both sites this season, and he'll come into Monday's very favorable matchup riding a particularly strong stretch of play. The big man is already averaging career highs in points (26.5) and assists (6.7) for the season, and he's putting up 32.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.0 steal while shooting 50.0 percent over his last seven games. He's also been at his best on the road this season, averaging 54 DK/52.4 FD points per game in that split while shooting 49.8 percent.
The Pacers make for good candidates to coax another elite performance out of Siakam, as he's facing a Pacers squad allowing 57 DK/55.8 FD points per game to centers. Indiana is also conceding the 11th-highest offensive efficiency rating to centers for the season (33.3), and the sixth highest in the paint (61.5). The Pacers are even ranked in the bottom 10 in three-point shooting percentage allowed at home (37.0), a vulnerability the floor-spacing Siakam is equipped to exploit (4.1 three-point attempts per game).
Kawhi Leonard - SF/PF, LAC vs. MIA ($8,100 DK; $8,400 FD)
Leonard is in a prime spot Monday against a Heat team that's been a sieve against small forwards all season, and the multi-time All-Star also checks in looking much more like previous versions of himself than earlier in the season. Leonard is averaging over 40 fantasy points on either site over the last eight games, putting up 23.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.3 steals per contest while shooting 53.0 percent, including 36.4 percent from three-point range.
The Heat checks in allowing an NBA-high 29.4 offensive efficiency rating to small forwards, along with the fourth-most DK (44.4) and FD (42.8) points per game to the position. Miami also ranks in the bottom five in points (23.3) and made threes (3.2) per game surrendered to SFs, and they're yielding the most assists (4.7) per contest to the position as well.
Draymond Green - PF, GSW vs. ATL ($6,000 DK; $6,200 FD)
Green has averaged approximately 30 fantasy points per game on either site over the last seven games following a 27-minute clunker against the Pacers back on Dec. 14 when he scored one point in 27 minutes. The versatile veteran continues to contribute across the board as a scorer, rebounder and facilitator, and he's averaging 33 DK/31.9 FD points per 36 minutes without Stephen Curry (shoulder) and Andrew Wiggins (illness) off the floor this season.
The Hawks make for a good target, as Atlanta is allowing the 11th-highest offensive efficiency rating to power forwards (26.9), along with the fourth-most DK (48.3) and sixth-most FD (46.3) points per game the position. Atlanta is also ranked in the bottom half of the league in assists allowed per contest in the last three (28.0) and in rebounds surrendered per road game for the season (53.1), strengthening Green's case as a solid mid-range play Monday.
ALSO CONSIDER: Jerami Grant - SF/PF, POR vs. DET ($7,300 DK, $7,300 FD)
DraftKings and FanDuel Centers - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Joel Embiid - C, PHI vs. NOP ($11,300 DK; $11,400 FD)
Embiid has put together some especially elite showings of late, averaging just under 60 fantasy points per contest in his last 10 games while averaging 34.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.3 steals. The big man is shooting 53.1 percent, including 37.0 percent from three-point range, over that span as well, giving him what is essentially a bulletproof fantasy profile.
Embiid faced this same Pelicans squad two games ago and contributed 56.5 DK/55.1 FD points across 37 minutes in a road loss for the 76ers. He's now back on his home floor for the rematch, where he's averaging 60.7 DK/59.9 FD points per game and has shot an impressive 52.6 percent overall. The Pels have also been more giving to centers of late, giving up 58.4 DK/57.7 FD points per contest to fives over the last 15 games.
Bam Adebayo - C, MIA at LAC ($8,900 DK; $8,600 FD)
Adebayo has been particularly productive of late as well, averaging a well-rounded 22.6 points, 11.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.4 steals over his last eight games. The big man is averaging over 43 fantasy points per game on either site during that span, and two games prior to that stretch, it's worth noting he put up 52 DK/50 FD points against the Clippers on the strength of a 31-point, 10-rebound double-double.
The Clippers come into Monday's rematch ranked in the bottom half of the league in offensive efficiency rating allowed to centers (31.8), along with over 56 DK points and over 55 FD points per game to the position in the last 15 games. Los Angeles is also surrendering 51.4 rebounds per home game, along with the fifth-most steals (8.2) in that split, furthering Bam's case at salaries he's proven capable of overdelivering on plenty.
Thomas Bryant - LAL at CHA ($5,900 DK; $6,000 FD)
Centers have been exploiting the Hornets' weak frontcourt defense all season, and Bryant is in an excellent position to do so himself Monday while continuing to fill in for Anthony Davis (foot). The big man has been a hit during his eight-game starting stint thus far, averaging 14.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists and exceeding 30 DK points on four occasions and 30 FD points in three instances.
Bryant now faces a Charlotte team allowing an NBA-high 62.4 DK/61.5 FD points per game to centers in the last 15 games, along with an NBA-high 35.9 offensive efficiency rating to the position for the season. The Hornets are also giving up an NBA-high 6.4 blocks per game and Eastern Conference-high 54.9 rebounds per contest, plus they've yielded the seventh-most points in the paint (56.7) in the last three games.
ALSO CONSIDER: Nicolas Claxton, C, BKN vs. SAS ($6,300 DK; $7,000 FD); Mason Plumlee, CHA vs. LAL ($5,900 DK; $6,400 FD)
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