DraftKings daily picks: Fantasy basketball lineup-January 3

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Sacramento Kings forward DeMarcus Cousins (15) looms large over tonight’s DraftKings daily picks. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports /

The NBA has eight games lined up for the second day in a row, tonight, so get in on the DFS fantasy basketball action with today’s DraftKings daily picks.

While tonight’s 8-game DFS fantasy basketball slate doesn’t have the star-power of last night’s contest, there are still plenty of good options to consider if you’re putting together your roster for tonight. With just two players in five figures, you’ll need to spend wisely at each slot while taking risks where necessary to finish in the money in the format you choose to enter tonight. To see the players who come into tonight’s best matchups with the best form, check out my DraftKings daily picks on the following slides.

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As is most often the case, tonight’s NBA action tips at 7:00 PM ET which is when rosters will lock for DraftKings main competitions. There is only one game getting underway at 7:00 featuring the Timberwolves visiting the 76ers in Phily for a fun matchup between Karl-Anthony Towns and Joel Embiid. At 7:30, two more games get going as the Celtics host the Jazz while the Pacers visit the Pistons. No games tip at 8:00, but at 8:30, a pair of Texas-tilts get going as the Mavericks host the Wizards in Dallas and the Spurs welcome in the road-weary Raptors. At 9:00, the Suns host the Heat and the Nuggets are home in Denver where they’ll face DeMarcus Cousins and the Kings. The final game of the day tips 90 minutes later when the Lakers host the Grizzlies at 10:30. Of the 16 teams on the floor tonight, it’s worth noting that the Nuggets, Suns, Jazz, and Wizards will be playing for the second night in a row while the Grizzlies, Heat, and Kings are playing the first of their set of back-to-back games.

With those eight games to pick from tonight, there is a good group of stars and sleepers to select your team from for tonight. To see who I think are the top options based on form and matchup, scroll through my DraftKings daily picks on the following slides. My goal each day is to give you the information you need to build your own customized lineup to get you a win however you participate in DFS contests. In order to help you find what you need, I’ve separated my picks by position and price. You’ll find two slides per position–the first slide will feature the best high-salary options followed by some high-value options which cost less but still offer solid returns. Each slide contains at least two options with extras thrown in where possible.

I rank my picks for each contest using stars after each explanation to show my relative confidence in the pick. For a full explanation of the rating system, check out the last slide of this post, but in short, more stars means more confidence (on a point-per-dollar basis). Also on the final slide of the post, you can see how I’m putting together the best of my picks into my personal lineup for today’s competition. This post isn’t a place to find a copy-and-paste lineup since there are plenty of places that will sell you access to their picks. In this free daily post, I suggest you build your own customized team with the players that you like the most. As always, you’re welcome to check out my lineup and use it as a place to get started.

Just one more quick reminder that each day in my DraftKings daily picks, all salary references and references to “fantasy points” refer to DraftKings pricing and scoring. If you are looking for similar coverage specifically for FanDuel, check the box above for related posts or find the latest on the fantasy basketball hub. If you have any questions or are looking for any updates as the games get closer, follow @FansidedFantasy on Twitter. I’ll also use that account to tweet out links when we add new stories to the fantasy basketball hub.

With those pregame festivities aside, let’s get right to tonight’s DraftKings daily picks