Written By: Ryan Humphries on Twitter & LineStar chat @Ryan_Humphries

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NBA DFS & Props Shows w/ Shannon & Tyler!

DFS Main Slate Rundown 📰

An eight-game slate hits the board on Thursday! This is far from the most injury-ridden slate we’ve seen, but there are plenty of big names that are either being listed as “out” or “questionable” for tonight. This slate won’t tip off until 7:30 ET and seven games will get underway at 8:00 ET or later, so there will be some additional time to tinker with lineups and/or late swap to different players as additional news drops. Should be a fun one so let’s dig in! Best of luck!

Today’s Key Injuries

Pistons: I. Stewart - OUT, K. Hayes - Probable, A. Thompson - Probable

Celtics: J. Brown - OUT

Pacers: T. Haliburton - Questionable, B. Brown - OUT

Bulls: N. Vucevic - OUT, Z. LaVine - OUT, T. Craig - OUT

Jazz: S. Fontecchio - Questionable

Pelicans: None

Mavs: L. Doncic - OUT, K. Irving - OUT, M. Kleber - OUT

Timberwolves: K. Towns - Questionable

Grizzlies: J. Morant - Questionable, S. Aldama - Questionable, L. Kennard - OUT, D. Rose - OUT

Nuggets: A. Gordon - OUT, R. Jackson - Questionable

Spurs: D. Graham - OUT

Trailblazers: A. Simons - Questionable, S. Sharpe - OUT, D. Ayton - OUT

Heat: J. Butler - OUT, C. Martin - OUT, K. Lowry - OUT, J. Richardson - Doubtful

Warriors: D. Green - OUT, G. Payton II - OUT

Hornets: L. Ball - OUT, G. Hayward - OUT, M. Williams - Doubtful, B. Miller - Questionable

Lakers: A. Davis - Questionable, L. James - Questionable, C. Reddish - Questionable, J. Vanderbilt - Probable, G. Vincent - OUT

Main Slate Match-Ups w/ Game Totals & Point Spreads

Top DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Plays

Note: NBA position designations are never going to perfectly align between the major DFS sites. For the purposes of these newsletters, positional designations will default to DraftKings.

Point Guards/Shooting Guards to Consider 🏀

PG/SG Anfernee Simons, POR | DK: $8.2k, FD: $8.1k | vs. SAS

The Blazers will be without a pair of starters tonight with SG/SF Shaedon Sharpe and C Deandre Ayton sidelined. This should once again lead to massive usage for Anfernee Simons, who has put up at least 20 shots in eight of his last ten games since returning from a thumb injury. In total, Simons has only played in 11 games this season, but he has shot noticeably better at home (48.3% FG%) than on the road (40.7% FG%). This is also a cakewalk match-up against the Spurs, who check in at 25th in DEFRTG and have ranked 29th against starting PGs L20Games. Finally, it’s a significant pace boost for the Trailblazers (22nd in pace) as the Spurs have played at the 3rd fastest pace this season. Simons is not immune to a dud performance, but that seems very unlikely in this spot tonight, and he brings 55+ FP upside to lineups as well.

Update: Simons (illness) has been downgraded to “questionable” for tonight’s game. So, it looks like we’ll have some more news to monitor here. This is a 10:00 ET tip-off so we likely won’t know Simons’ status until after the first games get underway. If Simons is ruled out, Malcolm Brogdon and Scoot Henderson should be upgraded.

PG/SG Derrick White, BOS | DK: $7.1k, FD: $7.9k | vs. DET

Ideally, my approach tonight will be to mostly fade the lone 7:30 ET tip-off game on the slate so I can adjust my lineups as needed in response to any late-breaking injury news. However, Derrick White is one piece of the Celtics/Pistons match-up that I’ll be interested in. Jaylen Brown (back/out) will be missing just his second game of the season. White has already been stepping up in recent games, scoring at least 46.5 DKFP/46.9 FDFP in four of his last six starts. But in 141 minutes played with Jaylen Brown off the floor this season, White has taken on a team-high +6.95% usage boost and has scored +17.11 fantasy points per 48 minutes. He is racking up plenty of steals/blocks lately (3.6 STL+BLK/gm L5Games) which bodes well in this match-up -- the Pistons give up the most steals/gm (9.0) in the NBA and the 6th most blocks/gm (6.5). Even without Brown in the lineup tonight, the Celtics are massive 17.5-point home favorites, so the blowout potential is real versus this awful 2-28 Pistons team which hasn’t won a game since before Halloween. Nonetheless, if the Pistons keep things somewhat close, Derrick White could easily pop off with another big performance.

SG/SF Justin Holiday, DEN | DK: $3.2k, FD: $3.8k | vs. MEM

There have been a couple of bizarre injuries to NBA players this season. The first was Kelly Oubre Jr. getting hit by a car and the latest involves Aaron Gordon (hand/face/out) suffering significant lacerations from a dog bite. Gordon will miss some time so that should lead to Justin Holiday stepping in as an interim starter. Holiday has not been a prolific fantasy scorer, averaging just 0.65 FPPM this season. But he is dirt cheap and has a chance at some quality minutes tonight. He’s also SG-eligible on both sites even though he’ll likely operate as the Nuggets’ SF when he’s on the floor. Peyton Watson (DK: $3.8k, FD: $4.4k) is another cheap Nuggets player who should see additional run while Gordon is out. Watson has been earning more minutes off the bench in recent weeks and is a better per-minute fantasy point producer than Holiday. Watson is only PF-eligible on DraftKings but has SG eligibility on FanDuel.

Other Guards to Consider

SG Anthony Edwards, MIN | DK: $9.3k, FD: $9.5k | vs. DAL

PG/SG Tyler Herro, MIA | DK: $8.4k, FD: $8k | @ GSW

PG/SG Terry Rozier, CHA | DK: $8.3k, FD: $9.2k | @ LAL (DK Preferred)

PG Coby White, CHI | DK: $8.1k, FD: $8k | vs. IND

SG/SF Desmond Bane, MEM | DK: $8.1k, FD: $8.9k | @ DEN (Boost if Morant is out)

PG Jamal Murray, DEN | DK: $7.7k, FD: $8.2k | vs. MEM

PG/SG Malcolm Brogdon, POR | DK: $7.4k, FD: $7k | vs. SAS

SG/SF Tim Hardaway Jr., DAL | DK: $6.6k, FD: $6.4k | @ MIN

PG/SF Dante Exum, DAL | DK: $6.3k, FD: $7.5k | @ MIN (DK Preferred)

PG/SG Brandon Podziemski, GSW | DK: $5.7k, FD: $6.7k vs. MIA (DK Preferred)

SG/SF Alex Caruso, CHI | DK: $5.5k, FD: $5.7k | vs. IND

PG/SG Marcus Smart, MEM | DK: $5.4k, FD: $5.9k | @ DEN (Preferred if Morant is out)

PG Scoot Henderson, POR | DK: $5k, FD: $5.3k | vs. SAS

PG TJ McConnell, IND | DK: $4.4k, FD: $5.2k | @ CHI (Only if Haliburton is out)

SG/SF Cody Martin, CHA | DK: $3.8k, FD: $3.7k | @ LAL

Small Forwards/Power Forwards to Consider 🏀

SF/PG LeBron James, LAL | DK: $9.8k, FD: $9.9k | vs. CHA

As usual, LeBron brings a “questionable” tag into tonight’s game but the Lakers haven’t played since Christmas Day -- a game in which LeBron played -- so we can assume he’ll be suiting up tonight. He also now has PG eligibility on DraftKings, which makes sense given how often he’s been running point (and has averaged 9.8 APG L5Games). The Lakers have been in a bit of a funk since winning the In-Season Tournament, and they’ve lost six of their last eight games. This is a good spot to regain some momentum heading into the New Year, and the Lakers step in as -12.5 home favorites versus the 7-21 Hornets. LeBron has put up at least 56.5 DKFP/54.5 FDFP in five of his last six games, and he has averaged +16% more FPPG when well-rested. He falls under $10,000 on both sites today so I have no issues spending up on LeBron tonight. Just be sure to have a backup plan in place in the event that he is ruled out since this is the latest tip-off of the night (10:30 ET).

SF/PF DeMar DeRozan, CHI | DK: $8.3k, FD: $8.8k | vs. IND

The Bulls continue to play without Zach LaVine (foot/out) and Torrey Craig (heel/out). They’ll now be without starting center Nikola Vucevic (groin/out) for a second consecutive game. In just under 200 minutes played with Vucevic, LaVine, and Craig off the floor this season, DeRozan has seen a team-high +6.04% usage boost and +11.5 fantasy point per 48 minute increase. We haven’t seen very many ceiling games out of DDR this season, but he should provide a high floor out of the $8k range today while playing massive minutes (pending blowout). This is also going to be a stellar match-up at home versus the Pacers (2nd in pace, 28th in DEFRTG). DeRozan is shooting 49.1% at home this season as opposed to 41.7% on the road. With the increase in possessions and added usage, DeRozan makes for a strong DFS option this evening.

SF Taurean Prince, LAL | DK: $4.8k, FD: $5.1k | vs. CHA

Prince is rarely an exciting option but he’s averaging over 35 minutes/gm across his last five starts and can deliver 6x value at his current DFS salaries. He also averages +23% more FPPG when well-rested and there are zero concerns with the match-up. The Hornets check in at 29th in DEFRTG and have ranked 28th versus opposing starting SFs over their last 20 games. As long as he continues to log mid-30s minutes, Prince shouldn’t burn you in this spot.

Other Forwards to Consider

PF/C Victor Wembanyama, SAS | DK: $8.7k, FD: $10k | @ POR (DK Preferred)

PF/C Kristaps Porzingis, BOS | DK: $7.8k, FD: $8.4k | vs. DET

SF/SG Brandon Ingram, NOP | DK: $7.8k, FD: $8.3k | vs. UTA

SF/PF Jaime Jaquez Jr., MIA | DK: $6.3k, FD: $6.3k | @ GSW

SF/PF Michael Porter Jr., DEN | DK: $6.1k, FD: $7.3k | vs. MEM (DK Preferred)

SF/PF Derrick Jones Jr., DAL | DK: $5.1k, FD: $5.9k | @ MIN

SF/SG Julian Champagnie, SAS | DK: $4.4k, FD: $4.5k | @ POR (Only if he continues to start)

PF/C Jabari Walker, POR | DK: $4.2k, FD: $4.8k | vs. SAS

SF/SG Matisse Thybulle, POR | DK: $3.9k, FD: $4.5k | vs. SAS (Boost if Simons is out)

PF Peyton Watson, DEN | DK: $3.8k, FD: $4.4k | vs. MEM

Centers to Consider 🏀

PF/C Anthony Davis, LAL | DK: $10k, FD: $11.3k | vs. CHA

Just like LeBron James, we’ll have to make sure that Davis (ankle/questionable) clears his questionable designation. Davis has missed only two games this season and, based on having three days of rest, it’d be a surprise if he doesn’t play tonight. Davis will be a preferred target on DraftKings where he, for some reason, is priced back down to a flat $10,000. Davis has not scored below 50.0 DKFP in 13 consecutive games and he’s always a threat to drop 60+ DKFP, particularly when the match-up is this good. The Hornets have ranked 24th versus starting centers L20Games, they have allowed the 6th most points in the paint per game, and they check in at 25th in rebounding%. Barring an early blowout or injury, AD should excel in this match-up at home.

C Andre Drummond, CHI | DK: $7.5k, FD: $8.9k | vs. IND

After getting the spot start in place of the injured Nikola Vucevic on Tuesday, Drummond saw a significant price increase on both sites. That still won’t be enough to keep Drummond from being mega-chalk today. He played big minutes (38) on Tuesday and exploded for 24 points, 25 rebounds, three steals, two blocks, and an assist -- a performance that netted him 67.25 DKFP/68.5 FDFP. If you played NBA DFS back when Drummond was the everyday starter for the Pistons, you’ll know that sort of stat line isn’t all too unusual for him. Of course, he’s not necessarily in his prime anymore but his bench role with the Bulls seems to have kept him fresh for this interim starting position while Vucevic is sidelined. We can’t expect another 20/20 game but Drummond is a prolific rebounder and makes a large percentage of his shots around the rim, so I wouldn’t put it past him. The Pacers also allow the most points in the paint per game (63.0) and rank 26th in rebounding%, so there are absolutely zero match-up concerns. If Drummond plays 35+ minutes again, he should still pay off these elevated DFS salaries with ease, particularly at $7,500 on DraftKings.

Other Centers to Consider

C Bam Adebayo, MIA | DK: $8.8k, FD: $9k | @ GSW

C Jonas Valanciunas, NOP | DK: $7.1k, FD: $7.8k | vs. UTA

C Jalen Duren, DET | DK: $6.2k, FD: $7.6k | @ BOS (DK Preferred)

C Nick Richards, CHA | DK: $5.9k, FD: $6k | @ LAL

C Dereck Lively II, DAL | DK: $5.5k, FD: $6.5k | @ MIN

C Moses Brown, POR | DK: $3.9k, FD: $4k | vs. SAS

C Duop Reath, POR | DK: $3.8k, FD: $5.5k | vs. SAS (Better DK bargain, still playable on FD with Ayton out)

PrizePicks NBA Power Play ⚡

Here is a two-pick “Power Play” I’m liking for today's NBA action over on PrizePicks! Nothing is ever a guarantee to hit but I put my own money on these bets so I don't just lightly throw these out there without believing they'll cash! If it hits, it will return 3x the wager.

Andre Drummond MORE than 31.5 Points + Rebounds

Jrue Holiday MORE than 17.5 Fantasy Score (1st Half)

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That will wrap us up with today’s “Daily Dribble” edition! Once again, you can find me on Twitter or in LineStar chat @Ryan_Humphries. Good luck everyone!