DraftKings daily picks: Fantasy basketball lineup-January 14
High Salary PG
Stephen Curry-Golden State Warriors (10,600): Curry and the Warriors will look to erase last night’s loss as they face the Lakers. LA has allowed the most fantasy points to opposing PG by a significant margin, so Curry should be set to go off. His shin appears to be no longer an issue as evidenced by his 38 points last night. He has at least 30 points in three straight games and has over 55 fantasy points in two of those three contests. He has at least 43 fantasy points in each of his last four, so as long as his minutes are limited by a blowout he should be ready to pour it on tonight. ∗∗∗
Rajon Rondo-Sacramento Kings (8,600): Rondo had 17 points and ten assists in just 30 minutes last night in the Kings’ loss to the Pelicans. He finished with 42.75 fantasy points giving him at least that many in four of his last five games. Tonight, he’ll face the Jazz who also lost last night while giving up a big game to Damian Lillard. While Rondo isn’t nearly the scorer that Lillard is, he should still be a good pick to return value tonight and be right around 40 fantasy points yet again. When the Kings beat the Jazz in their previous meeting back on December 8, Rondo finished with an impressive 17 points, 13 assists, seven rebounds, and two steals. ∗∗∗∗
Ishmael Smith-Philadelphia 76ers (7,000): Smith is on the opposite end of the consistency spectrum from Rondo, but his upside is pretty incredible to be able to grab at 7K. He has at least 42 fantasy points in five of his last eight games and has thrived since rejoining the Sixers. He came close to a triple-double in his last start against Cleveland with 18 points, ten assists, and seven rebounds. The rebounds are the outlier there since Smith has double-digit assists in four of his last eight games and double-digit points in seven of his last nine. Tonight, he’s in a good matchup against the Bulls who have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing PG on the season and the fourth-most of any time in the NBA over their last five. There’s some risk with Ish, but his potential to go off makes him worth taking a chance on. He may not even have to deal with Derrick Rose since Rose is questionable, but Smith is worth a look whether Rose is active or out. ∗∗∗∗
Mario Chalmers-Memphis Grizzlies (6,300): The team that Tony Parker (more in a minute on him) carved up on Tuesday is back in action tonight as well as Detroit visits the Grizzlies. There’s a good chance that Chalmers returns to the bench in this game since Mike Conley appears to be nearing a return, but it’s impossible to overlook Chalmers if he keeps his starting job. Chalmers had only ten points against Houston on Tuesday but supplemented nicely with nine assists and three steals to get to 32.25 fantasy points. He has at least 30 fantasy points in three of his last four games and will get a ton of playing time once again if Conley is out tonight. If Conley returns, he carries some value since he’ll still get enough time coming off the bench, but if he gets the start he’ll be a great play once again. Conley returns-∗ No Conley-∗∗∗∗
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