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NBA DFS sleepers and values plays for DraftKings and FanDuel on December 26, 2022. Juan Carlos Blanco gives you his top NBA DFS picks and lineup targets.
We have a seven-game Monday night slate to follow up Sunday's Christmas Day showcase, and there are some solid plays at each position across the salary cap. There are several games with elevated projected totals as well, making it an especially appealing night for tournaments.
Injuries to key players are still taking their toll, but Monday's player pool still has plenty of elite options to choose from when paying up at one or two positions on your rosters.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 12/26/22. 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
Tyrese Haliburton - PG, IND at NOP ($9,500 DK; $10,000 FD)
Haliburton has been a linchpin for the surprising Pacers all season, averaging a career-high 20.7 points and 10.5 assists while shooting a career-best 48.1 percent, including 40.5 percent from three-point range. The star guard just sunk the Heat on Friday night with a three-pointer at the buzzer, and he'll check into Monday's contest averaging 48.9 DK/46.3 FD points over his last five games while shooting an even better 50.0 percent overall.
The Pelicans allowed 52 DK/56.7 FD points to Haliburton over 34 minutes in their one prior encounter with him this season, and New Orleans also checks in allowing 51.7 DK/48.8 FD points per game to point guards in the last 15 games. Haliburton's ball-handling responsibilities and his ability to contribute across the stat sheet give him the upside of a five-figure-salary player any time he takes the floor, making him worth the investment on both sites in what could be of the most competitive games of the night.
Donovan Mitchell - PG/SG, CLE vs. BKN ($8,900 DK; $9,100 FD)
With 14 teams hitting the floor Monday and Mitchell coming off a clunker against the Raptors on Friday night, he could be a tad lower-rostered than usual. However, the star guard is always under consideration at his current salaries, especially considering he's averaging 44.4 DK/42.5 FD points thus far in his first Cavs season. Mitchell's minutes should be locked in Monday as well, considering the Nets-Cavs showdown should be one of the most competitive of the night.
Mitchell is averaging career highs in points (28.9), field-goal percentage (49.7 percent), and three-point shooting (42 percent), and he faces a Nets squad allowing the fifth-most DK and sixth-most FD points per game to shooting guards for the season. Brooklyn is also surrendering 38.8 percent three-point shooting to two-guards, leading to Jacque Vaughn's squad conceding an NBA-high 3.9 made threes per game to the position. Mitchell is shooting an especially impressive 43.7 percent from downtown on his home floor, making him very well-equipped to capitalize.
Jordan Clarkson - PG/SG, UTA at SAS ($6,800 DK; $7,500 FD)
Clarkson is carrying very reasonable salaries for a player that has flashed a ceiling of more than 40 fantasy points on either site on multiple occasions this season. The veteran guard checks into Monday's favorable matchup running hot as well, considering he's averaging 23.8 points (on 47.2 percent shooting, including a blistering 48.8 percent from three-point range), 4.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.2 steals over his last five games. That's led to averages of 36.3 DK/33.8 FD points per game in that span, and the Spurs could well facilitate more of the same.
San Antonio is allowing 44.7 DK/43.8 FD points per game to shooting guards for the season, along with the seventh-highest offensive efficiency rating to the position (23.7). The Spurs are giving up the second-most points (25.29), fifth-most made threes (3.4), and third-most steals (1.96) per contest to two-guards as well, and they check in conceding NBA-high 39.3 percent three-point shooting overall. Considering this matchup also carries a projected total of up to 235.5 points as of early Monday, Clarkson makes for a very viable mid-salary option.
ALSO CONSIDER: LaMelo Ball - PG/SG, CHA at POR ($10,200 DK; $8,900 FD)
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DraftKings and FanDuel Forwards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Zion Williamson - PF, NOP vs. IND ($10,300 DK; $10,500 FD)
Williamson will come into Monday night's matchup refreshed after last taking the floor seven days ago due to a stint in COVID-19 protocols. The big man didn't seem to deal with any serious symptoms, so the time away should lead to a well-rested Zion roaring into what should be a very favorable matchup. Williamson was tearing through virtually any opponent put in front of him before this brief absence, as he'd averaged 28.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 63.5 percent in the previous 11 games, a stint that coincides with Brandon Ingram's ongoing absence due to a toe injury.
The Pacers make for great potential facilitators of continued success for Zion, as they'll come in having allowed 48.4 DK/46.1 FD points per game to power forwards in the last 15 games. Indiana has also conceded the seventh-highest offensive efficiency rating to four on the season (27.8), along with the second-most rebounds per away game (54.9). Meanwhile, Williamson sports a 29.1 percent usage rate and is averaging 48.8 DK/48.4 FD points per 36 minutes without Ingram on the floor, making his case even stronger.
Anthony Edwards - SF/SG, MIN at MIA ($9,200 DK; $9,000 FD)
Edwards already lit up the Heat for 46.8 DK/47.4 FD points in his one prior encounter with Miami this season, and he'll check into Monday night's rematch with averages of 24.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 2.6 steals during Karl-Anthony Towns' ongoing 12-game absence due to a toe injury. Edwards is sporting a team-high 29.5 percent usage rate and averaging 45.6 DK/45.1 FD points per 36 minutes with Towns off the floor this season, certainly making him viable at his salaries.
The Heat also check in allowing over 40 DK points per game to shooting guards for the season, and Miami is tied for the third-highest three-point percentage surrendered by any team on its home floor (38.2). The Heat is giving up the league's fourth-highest success rate from behind the arc in the last three contests overall (41.9 percent), making this an attractive spot for Edwards to try and build up his already elite 40.4 three-point road shooting percentage.
Jabari Smith Jr. - PF/C, HOU at CHI ($5,300 DK; $6,200 FD)
Smith is one of the night's most intriguing value plays at any position Monday, as the rookie has shown an impressive ceiling and the Bulls have proven largely powerless against power forwards all season. Smith comes into the favorable matchup having just put together what may be his best all-around performance as a pro yet, as he generated a 24-point, 10-rebound double-double Friday night against the Mavericks that netted 45.5 DK/42.5 FD points across 34 minutes. The tally marked was his third over 40 on DK and second on FD.
The Bulls come in allowing an NBA-high 29.8 offensive efficiency rating to power forwards on the season, along with the second-most DK (48.7) and fourth-most FD (46.3) points per game to the position. Chicago is also conceding Eastern Conference-high 38.0 percent three-point shooting overall, while the floor-spacing Smith is shooting a respectable 34.4 percent from distance on an elevated 5.8 three-point attempts per game. What's more, he's been an even better long-range marksman on the road, where he's drained 37.0 percent of his shots from behind the arc.
ALSO CONSIDER: Lauri Markkanen - SF/PF, UTA at SAS ($8,300 DK, $8,200 FD)
DraftKings and FanDuel Centers - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Nikola Vucevic - CHI vs. HOU ($7,500 DK; $7,900 FD)
Center is a position with some absences and injury question marks attached Monday, making Vucevic even more appealing than usual. The big man comes in playing what might be his best ball of the season, as he's averaging 19.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.1 steals while shooting 59.2 percent, including 44.2 percent from three-point range, in his last nine games. Vucevic has scored at least 20 actual points six times during that stretch and has eclipsed 40 fantasy points on either site on five occasions as well.
Vucevic has yet to face Houston this season, but the Rockets check-in allowing 38.3 percent three-point shooting in the last three games and 36.9 percent overall for the season. The veteran is shooting 40.4 percent from distance overall at home, and Houston is giving up 39.0 percent three-point shooting to centers. Houston is also giving up over 50 fantasy points per game on either site for the season, cementing Vucevic's case as a great mid-salary play.
Jusuf Nurkic - C, POR vs. CHA ($6,200 DK; $6,800 FD)
Nurkic is listed as probable to play with his lingering calf strain, and he'll draw one of the best matchups in the league for centers. The Hornets are surrendering the most DK (61.7) and FD (61.1) points per game to centers, along with an NBA-high 36.2 offensive efficiency rating to fives. Charlotte is also yielding an Eastern Conference-high 55.1 rebounds per contest, along with the fourth-most points in the paint per road game (53.1).
All of those numbers naturally bode well for Nurkic, who's averaging 33.6 DK/32.7 FD per game and who's recording 9.7 rebounds per contest as well. Nurkic is also scoring just over 63% of his points in the paint this season and is averaging a double-double at home (16.1 points, 10.9 rebounds) while shooting 56.1 percent there, including 45.5 percent from behind the arc.
Walker Kessler - C, UTA at SAS ($5,400 DK; $6,000 FD)
Kessler should be in line for another start Monday night with Kelly Olynyk (ankle) still sidelined, and the young big comes into the contest having put up 25.5 to 36 DK/27.3 to 35.3 FD points in his first three turns with the first unit. The rookie has eclipsed 35 DK points on four occasions and 32 FD points in five instances overall this season, giving him substantial upside for his salaries.
The Spurs make for solid targets, considering San Antonio is allowing a Western Conference-high 35.2 offensive efficiency rating to centers, along with over 59 DK and over 57 FD points per game to the position in the last 15 contests. The Spurs are also giving up the fourth-most rebounds per home game (53.9) and second-most points in the paint (56) in that split as well, while Kessler, who's shooting 75.2 percent and has produced all four of his career double-doubles in December, is scoring over just over 86% of his points in the painted area.
ALSO CONSIDER: Jakob Poeltl, C, SAS vs. UTA ($6,000 DK; $7,100 FD)
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