Monday's NBA slate offers plenty of opportunity for fantasy managers and DFS players willing to navigate shifting NBA lineups and a lengthy injury report. With multiple teams shorthanded and several star players listed as questionable, staying on top of the latest NBA news and player injuries is critical when building lineups. This breakdown covers NBA games today, highlights elite and value DFS options, and factors in recent NBA stats, player roles and matchup context. Whether you're using projections, monitoring starting lineups or adjusting builds based on late injury news, this guide is designed to help optimize decisions across season-long fantasy basketball and NBA DFS formats.
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Slate Overview
IND at PHI: Pacers 2-17 on road; 76ers 10-11 at home
PHO at BRO: Suns 11-12 on road; Nets 6-15 at home
BOS at DET: Celtics 14-8 on road; Pistons 16-4 at home
MIA at GS: Heat 7-13 on road; Warriors on three-game winning streak, 16-6 at home
For the latest spreads and over/unders, visit RotoWire's NBA Odds page. There you can also find player props, futures, picks, articles and sportsbook bonus codes.
Injuries to Monitor
For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.
IND - Bennedict Mathurin (thumb): OUT
PHI - Joel Embiid (knee), Paul George (knee): Questionable
PHO - Devin Booker (ankle), Jalen Green (hamstring): Questionable
BRO - Cam Thomas (hamstring), Day'Ron Sharpe (illness), Egor Demin (foot): OUT
BOS - Chris Boucher (back): Probable; Josh Minott (ankle): OUT
DET - Ronald Holland (illness): Questionable
MIA - Davion Mitchell (shoulder), Jaime Jaquez (knee): Probable; Tyler Herro (rib): OUT
GS - Draymond Green (ankle): Questionable; De'Anthony Melton (knee), Gui Santos (ankle): OUT
Elite Players
Guards
Cade Cunningham, Pistons 
($10,300) vs. Celtics
Cunningham contributed just 27.3 DK points in Saturday's blowout win over Indiana, though he played only 21 minutes. This contest figures to be much more competitive, as the top two teams in the Eastern Conference face off. Cunningham has impressed in three outings against Boston this season, during which he has averaged 33.0 points, 7.7 assists and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 50.0 percent from beyond the arc in 36.7 minutes per game.
Tyrese Maxey, 76ers 
($9,900) vs. Pacers
Maxey enters a favorable matchup and will look to remain productive after finishing with 55.8 DK points in Friday's loss to Cleveland. The star point guard has logged at least 44.8 DK points in 10 of his last 12 appearances, averaging 28.8 points, 6.2 assists, 4.3 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 1.3 blocks in 38.3 minutes per game during that period.
Forwards/Centers
Michael Porter, Nets 
($8,900) vs. Suns
Porter sat out Sunday's loss to Chicago due to rest purposes but will return to action in the second leg of this back-to-back set. The 27-year-old forward could see increased shot attempts with Cam Thomas (hamstring) and Egor Demin (foot) unavailable. Porter has registered more than 39.2 DK points in 10 of his last 11 outings, during which he has averaged 26.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 41.4 percent from three-point range.
Pascal Siakam, Pacers 
($8,700) at 76ers
Siakam continues to operate as Indiana's top option and has notched at least 35.5 DK points in 10 of his last 11 appearances, including 45.0 or more in each of his last three. Across that 11-game span, the star forward has averaged 25.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.1 steals per contest.
Bam Adebayo, Heat 
($7,700) at Warriors
Adebayo is coming off a 30-point double-double during Saturday's win over the Thunder and has tallied 32.5-plus DK points in four consecutive contests. The Heat will likely lean more heavily on the star big man in Tyler Herro's (rib) absence, and the former put up 22 shots without Herro on Saturday.. Over that four-game stretch, Adebayo has averaged 21.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.0 steals per tilt. He also produced 40.3 DK points in a win over Golden State on Nov. 19.
Expected Chalk
Jaylen Brown, Celtics 
($10,100) at Pistons
Brown has generated 34.3 or more DK points in seven of his last eight outings and has recorded at least 44.0 in six of them. The star forward has been extremely productive in three outings against Detroit this season, during which he has averaged 36.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.7 combined steals-plus-blocks in 36.3 minutes per game.
Mid-Range Money
Andrew Nembhard, Pacers ($6,800) at 76ers
Nembhard has been productive in January, recording 37.3-plus DK points in all but one of his seven appearances thus far. The 26-year-old point guard is averaging 18.4 points, 8.9 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.0 steals while shooting 50.5 percent from the field and 42.4 percent from downtown in 32.6 minutes per tilt this month. Nembhard had 36.3 DK points in a loss to Philadelphia on Dec. 12.
Nic Claxton, Nets ($6,400) vs. Suns
Claxton has reached 20.5 or more DK points in six straight outings, including four games with at least 28.0. The big man isn't expected to score double-digit points every night, though he continues to provide value through his peripheral numbers. During that six-game stretch, Claxton has averaged 10.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.4 combined steals-plus-blocks in 27.3 minutes per game.
Value Picks
Sam Hauser, Celtics ($5,100) at Pistons
Hauser is coming off a season-high 50.0 DK points in Saturday's win over Atlanta, when he scored 30 points and knocked down a career-high-tying 10 triples. While the sharpshooter shouldn't be expected to come anywhere near that production on a regular basis, he has logged at least 20.0 DK points in four straight games, averaging 18.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.0 three-pointers and 2.3 assists in 31.0 minutes per contest over that stretch.
Davion Mitchell, Heat ($4,700) at Warriors
Mitchell is likely to return from a two-game absence due to a left shoulder contusion, and the Heat will need his playmaking in the absence of Tyler Herro (rib). Mitchell has finished with 20.8 or more DK points in seven of his last eight outings, averaging 8.5 points, 7.3 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 0.9 steals in 28.0 minutes per tilt during that period.
Duncan Robinson, Pistons ($4,200) vs. Celtics
Robinson has been hot from beyond the arc of late, shooting 63.0 percent from deep in his last four games while finishing with at least 18.3 DK points in all of them. The 31-year-old swingman has averaged 16.8 points, 4.3 three-pointers, 1.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists across 25.0 minutes per game during that span.
The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire.
