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The top daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on December 21, 2023. Dawn Tepper provides NBA DFS analysis and sleeper picks for building optimal DFS rosters.
'Twas the Thursday night before Christmas, and all through the league, the players were stirring, especially in the 'Cleve! There are injuries to monitor; Mitchell is now out. The Cavs stepped up last night; Sam Merrill left no doubt!"
Please hold your applause until the end of the article... Happy Thursday, RotoBallers! We have a larger-than-usual Thursday slate tonight, featuring eight games and five teams playing back-to-back, including the Los Angeles Clippers, Chicago Bulls, Utah Jazz, Indiana Pacers, and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Let's get into it!
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 12/21/23. Remember to monitor NBA injury news and our awesome new NBA injuries report tool, as the slate can completely change before lineups lock at 7 PM ET.
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DraftKings and FanDuel Guards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Collin Sexton, UTA at DET – PG/SG ($7,700 DK; $7,200 FD)
Utah travels to Detroit after last night's loss to the Cavaliers, where, despite the loss, Sexton shined with 20 points, three rebounds, and two assists. The Jazz have a great matchup against Detroit tonight. This season, the Pistons are allowing 120.8 points per game, 12 turnovers, and six steals.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC vs. LAC – PG/SG ($10,000 DK; $11,600 FD)
The Clippers are the underdog tonight, with the Thunder favored at home by (currently) 5.5 points. It's still early, but if the Thunder are favored, we are certainly missing some Clippers tonight. Most likely Paul George, among a couple of others.
SGA has 30.7 PPG for the season, with 5.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists. Those numbers jump to 33.2/6.0/6.8 in his last five games. The Thunder are scoring 123 points per game at home this season, and the Clippers are putting up 117.9 points on the road, one point more than at home. OKC has the edge tonight, but both teams will be putting up points.
Ja Morant, MEM vs. IND – PG/SG ($9,500 DK; $9,800 FD)
Morant showed us what we had been missing these last 25 games, putting up 27 of his 34 points in the second half of last night's stunning win over the Pelicans. The Pacers are coming to town, and this will be one of the highest-scoring games of the night. The Grizzlies are in the middle of the league this year when it comes to their overall defense, but the Pacers are near the bottom, especially on the road.
While Morant stays under 10k on DraftKings, I'll be loading up as it won't last long. I'm expecting another big game tonight, even after last night's emotional and exhausting return to the court.
ALSO CONSIDER: Jeremy Sochan - PG/SF ($5,600 DK; $5,900 FD), Max Strus - PG/SF ($6,900 DK; $5,900 FD)
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DraftKings and FanDuel Forwards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Bojan Bogdanovic, DET vs. UTA – SF/PF ($6,700 DK; $6,800 FD)
Killian Hayes is now listed as questionable for tonight's game against the Jazz, which will give Bogdanovic a slight usage bump. Oh, and did I mention that Detroit is playing Bogdanovic's former team tonight? Yes, the Jazz are in town. Bojan is posting 21.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game; in his last four games at home, he is 23.5/2/3.3. I'm never one to shy away from revenge games, which continues in this contest versus Utah.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL vs. ORL – PF/C ($11,000 DK; $12,200 FD)
$11,000 seems like a bargain for Giannis, am I right? The Bucks have a team total of over 120, and if the Magic can keep tonight's game competitive, which they can certainly do, the Greek Freak can and will go off. The Magic are looking to stop a three-game losing streak in Milwaukee tonight. If there's a time to push Giannis into putting up a fantasy 70-burger, tonight is the night.
DeMar DeRozan, CHI vs. SAS – SF/PF ($8,400 DK; $8,100 FD)
The Bulls are playing DeRozan's former team tonight, the San Antonio Spurs, who are in the bottom five in the league in points allowed and bottom seven in defensive efficiency. In DeRozan's last game versus the Spurs this season, he put up 20 points, six rebounds, 10 assists, and three steals.
He and Coby White have been lighting it up for the Bulls these last few games, and I see no reason why it will stop tonight versus the Spurs.
DraftKings and FanDuel Centers - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Nikola Vucevic, CHI vs. SAS – PF ($8,100 DK; $8,600 FD)
Victor Wembanyama is playing tonight, which could keep people away from Vucevic and keep his ownership low. The Bulls will rack up points tonight versus the Spurs, and DeRozan and White won't be the only ones doing so. In Vucevic's last game versus the Spurs this season, he put up 21 points, 16 rebounds, and two blocks, and that game was one in which Wemby played and put up similar numbers.
I expect Vuc to do the same tonight and at suspected low ownership, a nice pivot off of DeRozan.
Chet Holmgren, OKC vs. LAC – PF/C ($7,400 DK; $8,500 FD)
OKC has won four games in a row at home. In those four games, he is averaging 28 minutes per game, and has 18 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists. The former Gonzaga big man has been stirring up conversations in the media about possibly earning his way to All-Star status as a rookie. Whether it's just conversational clickbait or a real possibility, Holmgren is making an impact. Versus a Clippers team that is allowing centers 14.9 blocks per game this season, he should continue to do so.
Jaren Jackson Jr., MEM vs. IND – PF/C ($7,900 DK; $8,300 FD)
I stopped adding Jackson to my fantasy lineups a while ago due to his history of foul trouble, but I'm willing to give him another chance tonight at home versus the Pacers. Indiana is allowing 28 points per game to power forwards, and with Jackson being able to play PF and C on DK, this feels like a great spot for him.
I could see Ja Morant being exhausted after his big game last night and Jackson and his teammates stepping up to play extra minutes.
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