Daily Fantasy DraftKings and FanDuel NBA Picks - Monday, December 18, 2023

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Point Guard/ Shooting Guard

Trae Young FD - $10100 DK - $10000
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 57.24 DK - 61.81

Dejounte Murray FD - $7900 DK - $8700
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 46.24 DK - 48.4

The Hawks face the Pistons, who have lost one million games in a row at this point, and one has to believe that no team in the league wants that streak to end on their watch. It feels like that is going to be the case going forward and the Hawks end up in a great spot here.

Even thinking about stacking these two guards on this slate would make sense, considering the matchup. The Pistons play the fifth-worst defense in the league and run a top-5 pace. That’s coming close to the sweet spot for where we want to be in cash games. Trae Young is the highlight here, and you’ll have to pay top-tier prices. But he’s averaging career-highs with 28 points and 10.8 assists a game.

There isn’t as much for Dejounte Murray after that, but the 20/ 5.5 / 4.4 line with nearly two blocks + steals does get the job done on FanDuel, at least in this pricing tier.

Cade Cunningham FD - $8200 DK - $8200
Opponent - ATL
Proj Pts FD - 38.39 DK - 42.45

Speaking of great DFS matchups, the Pistons arguably get an even better one (than playing themselves) going the other direction with the Hawks on Monday. Atlanta has the second-worst defense in the league with the second-fastest pace. This game has the second-highest total on the slate (243.5), though Atlanta is -11 favorites, which (again) puts the Pistons in the blowout zone. But if you think there’s any way they keep things close-ish then there is upside on Cade Cunningham’s price.

He’s getting up 19 shots per game, shooting better from three and getting to the line as well. The team stinks, but he’ s a DFS play for sure.

Injury news and notes

If Tyrese Haliburton is out then T.J. McConnell (FD 5800 DK 6300) is a play once again on both sites, but especially on FanDuel.

Keon Ellis (FD 3600 DK 4700) and Malik Monk (FD 6200 DK 6800) are both in play if De'Aaron Fox were to sit again.

Small Forward

Keegan Murray FD - $6500 DK - $7000
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 35.4 DK - 37.6

Kevin Huerter FD - $4700 DK - $5500
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 32.03 DK - 34.67

Even without the Fox injury news going in, I think we can consider both Keegan Murray and Kevin Huerter on this slate because of the matchup. Washington has the worst defensive efficiency in the NBA and run the second-fastest pace. This is basically the best matchup you can get from a DFS perspective, and having Kings in cash will make a lot of sense, almost no matter how their starting lineup shakes out.

Keegan Murray is coming off the best game of his career, shooting 16-23 from the field, 12-15 from three, dropping 47 points against the Jazz. Frankly, it was one of the best shooting displays you’ll ever see, and he came two threes away from tying the all-time record in a game.

Meanwhile, Kevin Huerter would be a higher-floor, lower-ceiling play who looks better is Fox is out of the lineup.

Cam Thomas FD - $6400 DK - $7300
Opponent - UTA
Proj Pts FD - 36.27 DK - 38.62

The Nets get a good matchup against a Jazz team who are quietly tanking and are completely uninterested in winning games on a consistent basis. Cam Thomas is risky here because so much of his value is tied up in the scoring seeing as how he doesn’t do much else in the box score.

But he can score with the best of them when things are going well and is coming off another 40+ point game last time out, that one against the Warriors. Utah doesn’t have much point-of-attack defense and Cam should be able to take advantage.

Injury news and notes

Talen Horton-Tucker (FD 5800 DK 6200) is a solid play if he is back in the starting lineup.

Power Forward/ Center

Domantas Sabonis FD - $10200 DK - $9800
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 63.68 DK - 68.43

Mentioned this with Keegan Murray and the rest of the Kings, but they are in such a great spot that stacking them nearly across the board should have plenty of floor for DFS lineups. Sabonis is clearly the key piece, averaging 18.5 points, 12.3 rebounds, and seven assists. His numbers, season-over-season, are just the same each and every time out. It’s almost eerie. The price on both sites is completely reasonable, considering the matchup. The Wiz don’t have anyone to really deal with him at all (not like they care anyway).

Scottie Barnes FD - $9200 DK - $9400
Opponent - CHA
Proj Pts FD - 51.3 DK - 53.67

We’ve focused mostly on the Kings and Hawks here, but the Raptors are in a good spot in their own right against the Hornets. Charlotte is the 29th-ranked defense on the season and doesn’t have the personnel (or seemingly the desire) to get any better going forward. Scottie Barnes has taken the leap this season and scores across the stat line in a way that keeps the floor high on a night-to-night basis. I like him more on FanDuel, where we have to start two power forwards.

Injury news and notes

Onyeka Okongwu (FD 6200 DK 6300) and Bruno Fernando (FD 4500 DK 4500) would be interesting if Atlanta was without Clint Capela once again.