DraftKings daily picks: Fantasy basketball lineup-January 5

Los Angeles Lakers forward Julius Randle (30) is ready for takeoff in tonight's DraftKings daily picks lineup. Mandatory credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Los Angeles Lakers forward Julius Randle (30) is ready for takeoff in tonight's DraftKings daily picks lineup. Mandatory credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) and Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) are both in today’s DraftKings daily picks. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) and Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) are both in today’s DraftKings daily picks. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

Check out today’s DraftKings daily picks as you set your roster for tonight’s 8-game DFS fantasy basketball slate including “Beard vs. ‘Brook III.”

Two of the biggest stars in DFS fantasy basketball go head to head tonight as the Thunder and Rockets meet for the third time this season. “The Brow” adds to the star power on display in tonight’s 16-team contests, so it should be a wild night with plenty of fantasy points all around. To see who you should try to get in your lineup and see what stars make sense, check out today’s DraftKings daily picks on the following slides.

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An hour before the Thunder and Rockets start the TNT double-header, the first game of the night again tips off at 7:00 PM ET which is when rosters will be locked in for the night. We start in the Eastern Conference where the Nets visit the Pacers at 7:00 PM ET, the Raptors host the Jazz at 7:30, and the Pistons take on the Hornets at 7:30 as well. Along with the mega-star PG showdown in Houston,  Anthony Davis and the Pelicans welcome in the Hawks in an interesting inter-conference matchup at 8:00. The last three games of the night feature six  Western Conference teams as the Suns visit the Mavericks at 8:30, the Spurs head to Denver at 9:00, and the Lakers visit Portland at 10:30.  Remember as you get your roster set up that the Hawks, Hornets, Thunder, and Blazers are on the second night of their back-to-back while the Nets, Rockets, and Lakers will be back in action again tomorrow.

With eight games on tap, there are some big names to consider as well as some solid sleepers to target. 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.

It’s time to get right into tonight’s DraftKings daily picks starting with a look at which star PG are worth considering even though they take a big chunk of your budget.

Reggie Jackson (1) is in today’s DraftKings daily picks. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Reggie Jackson (1) is in today’s DraftKings daily picks. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /