DraftKings NBA Picks for January 5

We are back up to eight games on our DraftKings NBA tournament tonight. A few of our friends are on the second night of back to backs. Will that affect their performance? Is it enough to think about fading Westbrook or McCollum?

Don’t forget to follow @fantasycpr on Twitter for lineup updates as we get them leading to the tipoffs of the games! I am not always able to get back in here and fix my picks when someone sits for the night, but we will update it on Twitter.

Point Guards

Best Bets:

Jeff Teague ($7,400): Teague has a juicy matchup with the Nets while Kemba Walker has a tough one against Detroit. The Thunder quashed Kemba’s hot streak last night, so no reason to think he will get it going against the ninth best team against point guards. I also don’t trust Kyle Lowry against a good Jazz backcourt after the egg he laid against what is supposed to be a porous San Antonio backcourt. That moves Teague to the top of the list.

Jrue Holiday ($7,200): Holiday has topped 40 DraftKings points in each of his last two games. He should make it three against an Atlanta team that still struggles against the point. Elfrid Payton notched 36 DraftKings points on the Hawks last night. Holiday should at least reach that mark.

Honorable Mention:

Russell Westbrook ($12,300): Westbrook has outdone Harden in the first two rounds of the head to head series, but he is still only at 115 DraftKings points in those two games. That leaves him a little shy of 5x value, and on the second night of a back to back, you have to think that the Thunder may try to ease his workload a little if they can.

Eric Bledsoe ($7,300): Bledsoe has averaged 45.1 DraftKings points over his last four games. He has been a great value lately, but he could have trouble making that much of an impact against a solid Dallas backcourt. I still like him to be near 5x value though.

Dark Horses:

Reggie Jackson ($6,700): Jackson is still cheap enough that he only needs 33.5 DraftKings points to hit 5x value, a mark that he has topped in three straight games. He has a tougher matchup with Charlotte tonight, but he has shaken the rust off. I think he performs at a high enough level to get value still since his price is still below where it will finally end up.

D’Angelo Russell ($6,000): Russell has blown past 5x value in each of his last three games. The matchup with Portland looks good anyway, but when you factor in that Lilliard will likely be limited even if he can take the court, the door is wide open for another 6x value game for Russell.

Isaiah Whitehead ($3,400): Jeremy Lin has already been ruled out for tonight, so Whitehead will make another start at point guard. Whitehead has been in the low 20’s for DraftKings points when he starts, so he is a solid bet to get near 6x value tonight.

My pick: Jackson(PG), Russell(G); Holiday(PG), Whitehead(G)

Shooting Guards

Best Bets:

C.J. McCollum ($9,000): McCollum’s price is dangerously high, but he has a good matchup on tap against the Lakers. McCollum torched the Warriors last night with 57.25 DraftKings points. That makes an insane 119 DraftKings points over the last two games. Do you dare fade him?

Nicolas Batum ($7,700): Batum topped 5x value for the eighth straight game and 11th time in his last 12 games. At this point, I don’t really care that he is facing Detroit. He should get close to 40 DraftKings points once again.

Honorable Mention:

James Harden ($12,100): Someone with Harden’s ability is always a threat to put up a huge game. That said, Harden has not fared well against his former team this year. In the two previous games, Harden only has 99 points. That puts him just barely above 4x value. There are better ways to spend your money tonight.

Victor Oladipo ($6,000): Oladipo has played more than 30 minutes and topped 5x value in each of the last two games. He is safe to use as you normally would. He has a nice price tag right now since he only needs 30 DraftKings points to reach 5x value. He has put up 77.25 DraftKings points in the previous two games against Houston. I trust him a whole lot more at this price than I do DeMar DeRozan against Utah’s number one ranked SG defense.

Dark Horses:

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ($5,800): I know most of you have been burned by KCP this year. I have as well. However, in two games against Charlotte this year, KCP has 66.25 DraftKings points. That puts him closer to 6x value than 5x. If you can stomach using him know what his low point is, it could pay off for you tonight.

Gary Harris ($4,900): Harris is a much safer alternative than the somewhat inconsistent Will Barton. Harris doesn’t have the upside of Barton, but he has 23 or more DraftKings points in nine of the last 12 games. He should easily make that against the Spurs.

My pick: Oladipo(SG); McCollum(SG), Harris(UTIL)

Small Forwards

Best Bets:

Paul George ($8,700): George has started to get back on track lately, topping 40 DraftKings points in four of his last five outings. He racked up 40.75 DraftKings points on the Nets in the first meeting. If he comes up with that again tonight, he will be a little below 5x value. He may remain down there if this game gets out of hand.

Kawhi Leonard ($8,500): Leonard has topped 5x value in four of his last five games as well. He has a pretty good matchup for tonight as well in Denver. If you are looking to spend at the position tonight, George and Leonard will be nearly equally used. I do think Leonard has more upside, but George has a slightly better matchup.

Honorable Mention:

Harrison Barnes ($7,000): Barnes closed out 2016 in style, picking up 73 DraftKings points in the last two games of the year. He parlayed that into a 44.25 DraftKings point outburst against Washington on Tuesday. Barnes is rolling right now, and with the Mavs welcoming the fast paced Suns to town, that shouldn’t change tonight. Barnes could score within 8-10 points of the top scorers at the position at a much cheaper rate.

Tobias Harris ($6,100): Harris is never the most consistent fantasy producer, but he has put up 69 DraftKings points in two games against the Hornets this year. In fact, Harris has not had a truly bad game since December 19th, and has even topped 40 DraftKings points twice since then. He may finally be stabilizing.

Dark Horses:

Maurice Harkless ($4,800): Harkless once again put up a game within his 21 to 29 DraftKings point range. He rarely gets out of this zone in either direction, which makes him a play with very little upside, but he also wont torpedo your lineup if you go cheap.

Allen Crabbe ($4,400): This play only holds if Damian Lillard sits again Crabbe had his best game since the opener last night against the Warriors. Crabbe dropped 30 DraftKings points, and is a threat to do it against the Lakers if he starts again.

My Pick: Barnes(SF); George(SF)

Power Forwards

Best Bets:

Anthony Davis ($10,000): Davis’s price has dropped to a more manageable range now where he only needs 50 DraftKings points for 5x value. Davis has topped that mark in six of his last seven games. Davis did struggle in his first game against the Hawks this year, only posting 25.25 DraftKings points. However, he only played 18 minutes. If he stays on the court, 5x value is likely.

Julius Randle ($7,100): Portland has struggled at the PF position all season long offensively and defensively. Unfortunately for them, a white hot Julius Randle is coming to town tonight. Randle has averaged just under 40 DraftKings points per game over his last eight games. That includes games against Charlotte and Cleveland, who are solid up front. Randle is a great play tonight!

Honorable Mention:

LaMarcus Aldridge ($7,100): LMA has been dominant for the Spurs lately. If you take out his horrible game against his former team on December 30th, Aldridge has averaged 47.7 DraftKings points over his last six games. On average! Denver will provide some resistance up front, but probably not enough to hold him under 5x value.

Trevor Booker ($5,600): Booker continues to routinely hit 5x value, and occasionally approaches 7x value. Booker had a great performance against a strong Jazz frontcourt on Monday. He put up 42.25 DraftKings points in that game, and has now been over 5x value in each of the last three games. Booker has 64.75 DraftKings points in two games against Indiana this year.

Dark Horses:

Derrick Favors ($4,900): Favors saw his minutes increase to 29 on Tuesday night, and that was in the second night of a back to back! He has shown no ill effects since, so we should see Favors at or near that mark in minutes tonight against the Raptors. Favors put up 29.5 DraftKings points against Boston on Tuesday. Get him at this price while you still can!

Dirk Nowitzki ($4,400): Dirk saw 24 minutes on Tuesday night making it his largest workload since his return. He was a rebound shy of a double double, making it his best game since he returned on December 23rd. He could see his minutes inch upward against Phoenix tonight, but there is also a chance that the Suns run him ragged. Nowitzki is still a sizeable risk with a minutes limit, but we all know the talent is there.

My pick: Randle(PF), Favors(F); Booker(PF)

Center

Best Bets:

Andre Drummond ($7,800): Drummond has racked up 103.5 DraftKings points over the last two games, and gets a Charlotte team that has had trouble defending the interior at times this year. Drummond put up 71.5 DraftKings points in two games so far against the Hornets. It is possible that he is held to that 36 point average tonight, but even if he is, that is still very close to 5x value.

Rudy Gobert ($7,300): Gobert struggled against Boston on Tuesday, going just 3-8 from the floor. Expect him to far better tonight against Toronto, who has been inconsistent at best guarding the interior. A lot of that has to do with the shuffling of Noguiera and Valanciunas. At any rate, expect a bounce back game from Gobert, who picked up 35 DraftKings points in the first go round with the Raptors.

Honorable Mention:

Nikola Jokic ($7,100): Do you dare bet against Jokic right now? He has five straight games of more than 38 DraftKings points with one of those topping 50. He is performing at a high level, and while the Spurs are good enough in the middle to slow him down some, I doubt they drop him under 5x value.

Myles Turner ($6,800): Turner has dominated average teams in the middle. The Nets certainly qualify as such. In the two prior games, Turner dropped 70.25 DraftKings points on them with only 28 minutes per game. Turner in playing close to 35 minutes per game now, so he could be in for a big game tonight.

Dark Horses:

Steven Adams ($5,600): Adams has put up back to back games of more than 40 DraftKings points. He doesn’t have the terrible games that counterpart Enes Kanter has at times. His starting job means that Adams’ floor is consistently around 20 DraftKings points. He should be well above the floor against a Houston team that has allowed 61.75 DraftKings to Adams in two games this year.

Montrezl Harrell ($5,500): Harrell has racked up 95 DraftKings points in the last three games. He is clearly the starter for Houston while Clint Capela is sidelined. Harrell picked up 11 DraftKings points in his only meeting with the Thunder this season, but he played just 12 minutes. If you take that out his current minutes total, Harrell is at 34 DraftKings points. That is a great return for your dollar.

My pick: Turner(C), Harrell(UTIL); Adams(C), Harrell(F)

Next: FanDuel NBA Picks

Stay tuned for our FanDuel picks, our DFS NHL picks, and plenty of NFL advice heading into your weekend. We will also have the College Football Championship game prediction coming, against the spread of course!