NBA DFS Picks: Nikola Jokic Looks Like Sunday's Prime Time Player

Sunday’s NBA slate rings in the new year with plenty of decision points, despite only six teams in the player pool. Keep tabs on the news as something funky always seems to occur on Sundays, and that is without New Year’s Eve revelry.

The action for the three-game main slate gets underway at 8 p.m. ET on DraftKings and FanDuel. Let’s look at the player pool to discuss the top NBA DFS building blocks for DraftKings and FanDuel lineups.

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NBA DFS Picks: Sunday, Jan. 1

Core Play of the Day — Nikola Jokic: Denver Nuggets-Boston Celtics

Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 65.98 | FanDuel: 63.49
Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings 32.4% | FanDuel: 19.8%
DFS Salary: DraftKings: $12,100 | FanDuel: $12,400

This should be a fun matchup with the Nuggets home-court betting underdogs by a bucket. It seems like everyone should be a go for Denver, aside from Jamal Murray (knee), though he is expected to suit up for this marquee matchup. Nikola Jokic has the best median fantasy projection, and with Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee) a potential rest candidate for the Milwaukee Bucks against the Washington Wizards tonight, “Joker” is the top card.

Though the two-time reigning NBA MVP has seen a 6% drop in his fantasy production from last season, he is still averaging 25.5 points, 10.9 rebounds, 9.5 assists and 2.1 combined blocks and steals. Even with Murray and Michael Porter Jr. back on the court, it has not overly impacted the fantasy prospects of Jokic. From a game theory perspective, only Steven Adams and Brook Lopez carry center-only eligibility on FanDuel, so there is essentially no opportunity cost by choosing to start lineups with Jokic.

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Memphis Grizzlies

This is a back-to-back for the Grizzles, who defeated New Orleans Pelicans 116-101 on Saturday. Memphis already ruled out Desmond Bane, Brandon Clarke, Santi Aldama and Ziaire Williams. That gives a major boost to Jaren Jackson Jr., who is coming off an sublime 50 fantasy point performance, buoyed by six blocks and three steals. While we should not expect that again, this should be an easier matchup against the soft Sacramento Kings frontcourt, and he is less likely to draw a lot of fouls against Domantas Sabonis and company.

Ja Morant should of course thrive in this lively matchup, and we can also look to Tyus Jones, who should see minutes in the upper-20s. If Morant gets the night off, then Jones is the best play on the slate. Adams, Dillon Brooks and John Konchar are all reasonable value options, and David Roddy or Xavier Tillman are long shots for those building more than 100 lineups.

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Jackson Jr. is an intriguing option with a 16.5 over/under on his points prop in his matchup against the Kings on his home floor. Over the past two seasons, Jackson is averaging just over 16.0 points per game and tonight should see extra field goal attempts with several key Grizzlies on the sidelines.

The NBA Bet Pro projections have him rolling up 20.5 points for a 61% probability of surpassing this milestone; at -110 on BetMGM, this works out to an expected ROI of 11%.

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Milwaukee Bucks

Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton are out, and George Hill is a game-time decision. The only reason Antetokounmpo did not draw top honors tonight is that he has been managing knee soreness, and coach Mike Budenholzer has opted to rest his top trio together on more than one occasion. Fortunately, all three games tip off at the same time, so we should have the necessary information in plenty of time to react.

Pat Connaughton, Grayson Allen and Jevon Carter are fine discount options, though none is particularly enthralling, despite the good matchup. Joe Ingles is finally healthy and coming of a stellar 30 fantasy point performance Friday. He has slowly seen his minutes tick up after missing the better part of a year, and over the last two weeks he has gone from 15 minutes to a high of 25 in his most recent game. Be on the train early as quite a few people could miss the boat on this somewhat sneaky (for a three-game slate) play that may have been overlooked during the holiday festivities.

Bobby Portis is a neutral play, but he becomes a core option if Antetkounmpo is out. Lopez is a neutral tournament option as long as he is in the starting lineup, as the Bucks will need his size against the Wizards frontcourt.

Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks Building Blocks Today

Keep an eye on the news as all three games are tipping off at 8 p.m. ET, which is right up against Sunday Night Football.

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Author

Eric MacPherson

Eric "EMac" MacPherson won the 2007 Fantasy Baseball grand prize (trip for two to the MLB All-Star game) in the Roto format on ESPN. He won again in 2008, this time in the H2H format. As one of the early adopters of daily fantasy sports, EMac has been providing content for baseball and basketball as well as both professional and college football since 2012 for a variety of websites including DraftKings Playbook, FanVice, RotoWorld, Daily Fantasy Bootcamp, and RotoGrinders. He is well into his third decade of fantasy sports and has a wealth of knowledge and experience. Follow him on Twitter @EMacDFS or contact EMac by emailing [email protected].