DraftKings NBA Picks for January 7

We have another eight games on our DraftKings NBA tournament tonight. We had a decent night last night when flipping Towns to Melo and Embiid. The second lineup still didn’t place.

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:

Russell Westbrook ($12,900): So us here at Fantasy CPR were all over fading Westbrook on Thursday due to his poor past history against Patrick Beverley. As if in response to us, Westbrook put up 72 DraftKings points on the Rockets. That marked his second straight game of over 70 DraftKings points. Considering he put up 79.75 in his first game against Denver, there is strong evidence suggesting he makes it three straight.

Kemba Walker ($7,900): Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Hot player comes in averaging over 6x value in the last five games, put up 48.75 DraftKings points in his first meeting with the Spurs. Great play, right? I thought so until Lowry got punched in the mouth by the Spurs. Will Walker have the same fate?

Honorable Mention:

Isaiah Thomas ($8,500): Thomas came crashing back to earth with a generally poor outing last night against Philadelphia. The stats say that he has a good chance to rebound against New Orleans, but it is on the second day of a back to back set. Thomas is always a threat to go off, but there are a few warning flags tonight.

Kyle Lowry ($8,400): Lowry racked up 55 DraftKings points on a really good Utah backcourt on Thursday after laying an egg against the flimsy Spurs. He has a tough draw again tonight against the Bulls, with with Rajon Rondo in the doghouse and not playing, this isn’t as tough of a matchup as you may think. Lowry could go off again.

Reggie Jackson ($7,000): He’s back! And he is playing well above his price level right now. Jackson has 170 DraftKings points over his last four games. I want him in my lineups at this price against a weaker perimeter team like Portland.

Dark Horses:

Derrick Rose ($5,900): Most of the season Rose has been between 24 and 28 DraftKings points, but there have been some nights where he has shown flashes of his former self. That was the case in the first game with Indiana this year. Rose put up 40 DraftKings points in that one. If he comes close to that this time around, he is a superb bargain.

Michael Carter-Williams ($5,000): With Rajon Rondo currently persona non grata in Bulls nation, MCW has picked up the last two starts. He has responded with 51.5 DraftKings points in the two games. He isn’t setting the world on fire, but he is getting 5x value and he has a great matchup with Toronto.

My pick: Jackson(PG), Carter-Williams(G); Westbrook(PG), Carter-Williams(G)

Shooting Guards

Best Bets:

DeMar DeRozan ($8,000): DeRozan has been constantly between 35 and 45 DraftKings points over the last month or so with only a horrible shooting night against Brooklyn keeping him out of that range. He fared well against a solid Utah perimeter on Thursday, so I don’t see any issues playing him against the Bulls.

Victor Oladipo ($6,600): Oladipo’s price is starting to get to the point where he is no longer a lock for 5x value. That said, this is a delicious matchup against a porous Denver perimeter. Oladipo dropped 48 DraftKings points on the Nuggets in their first meeting.

Honorable Mention:

Zach LaVine ($6,100): I can hear it already….but….he’s playing UTAH. How can he get value against Utah? Well, DeRozan had a solid game against Utah earlier this week. Perhaps more convincing is what LaVine did to the Jazz in the first meeting. Zach racked up 51 DraftKings points in his first tilt with the Jazz. Can he do it again at home?

Avery Bradley ($6,100): Bradley got back on track last night against Philadelphia, racking up 45.25 DraftKings points on them. He picked up 35 DraftKings points against New Orleans in the first meeting. That would leave him near 6x value if he can do it again. I don’t see any reason why he can’t.

Dark Horses:

Seth Curry ($4,300): Curry has been getting more run lately, which limits the value of Wesley Matthews. Don’t get me wrong, I like Matthews tonight against Atlanta as well. They are fourth worst in the league against shooting guards. I just see Curry as less of a risk because he sees nearly as many minutes as Matthews and costs less.

Buddy Hield ($4,300): The rookie is finally starting to heat up with his increase in playing time. Hield has racked up 64 DraftKings points over the last two games. He has a fairly tough matchup with Boston, but with the way Hield is shooting, and contributing overall, he should have little issue hitting 5x value.

My pick: Oladipo(SG); N/A

Small Forwards

Best Bets:

Jimmy Butler ($8,900): Butler started slow against Cleveland, but still managed to top 40 DraftKings points once again. He has a nice matchup against Toronto tonight, but the return of Dwyane Wade could tamp down his fantasy output some.

Kawhi Leonard ($8,100): Leonard has topped 5x value in five of the last six games. The only exception was Atlanta on New Year’s Day. Leonard put up 47.25 DraftKings points against Charlotte in their first meeting. That will put Leonard a little above 5x value.

Honorable Mention:

Tobias Harris ($6,200): Harris has finally added some consistency to his game this year. He has been over 25 DraftKings points in each of the last seven games, and he has topped 32 in the last three outings. The Blazers are right in the middle of the pack against small forwards, so expect Harris to be right around 5x value again.

Jae Crowder ($5,300): Crowder was largely ineffective last night against Philadelphia, but there is reason for optimism tonight. The Pelicans are the sixth worst team in the league defending the small forward position. Even if Tyreke Evans slides down, his minutes are still being limited. Crowder is big enough to push around Solomon Hill and Dante Cunningham.

Dark Horses:

Maurice Harkless ($4,600): Harkless has been over 22 fantasy points in ten of the last 11 games. He has also not topped 30. You know exactly what you are getting from Harkless, which makes him significantly more valuable in 50/50 or cash game formats.

Jeremy Lamb ($4,000): Nicolas Batum is out, which means Lamb is in line for a lot more minutes over the next couple of games at the least. When Lamb gets minutes, he has been very effective. Lamb has only been under 20 DraftKings points once since December 1st when he plays 18 minutes or more. He should be a lock for 5x value tonight, and likely more.

My Pick: Lamb(SF); Butler(SF), Lamb(SG)

Power Forwards

Best Bets:

Anthony Davis ($10,600): Oh, Boston has been abused up front lately. Enter Anthony Davis, who has been over 50 DraftKings points in seven of his last eight games. Boston certainly wont be able to keep him under than mark unless they injure him. That’s how much of a lock Davis is tonight.

LaMarcus Aldridge ($7,100): We can give Aldridge a pass for his poor outing against Portland on December 30th. In the other six of the last seven games, he has been well above 5x value. The Hornets are right in the middle of the pack against power forwards. They gave up 40.25 DraftKings points to LMA in the first meeting. Aldridge should be in that area tonight.

Honorable Mention:

Thaddeus Young ($5,500): The Knicks limited Kristaps Porzingis in his return last night. It stands to reason that the will tonight since it is a back to back. That is why I’m off Melo tonight after taking him last night. I also like Young’s chances against a tired/beat up Knicks team tonight. Young put up 36.25 DraftKings points on the Knicks in their first meeting. Don’t be shocked if he does it again.

Derrick Favors ($5,200): Favors has seen his minutes keep picking up to the point where he is playing nearly 30 minutes per game. That is more than enough for him to hit 5x value while he is still this cheap.

Dark Horses:

Jon Leuer ($4,900): This looks like a great matchup for Leuer tonight since Portland has struggled against every power forward that didn’t previously don their uniform lately. Leuer doesn’t have a really high ceiling, but we have consistently seen him in the high 20’s in DraftKings points every time he has a good matchup. Use him if you need to go cheap.

Spencer Hawes ($4,000): Hawes has seen his minutes pick up lately since he is essentially outplaying Roy Hibbert. Is that enough to keep him in the mix? Us DFS players sure hope so. Hawes has scored 75 DraftKings points over his last three games. This is a good matchup against the Spurs if you are willing to roll the dice that his playing time stays over 20 minutes again.

My pick: Davis(PF), Young(F); Young(PF), Leuer(F), Favors(PF)

Center

Best Bets:

Karl-Anthony Towns ($8,700): Towns has only been held under 40 DraftKings points by the Thunder over the last three weeks. That’s it. His game is so well rounded that he has a high enough floor that an underwhelming night wont destroy your lineup. Utah is a tough sell, but Towns has proven that he can play against anyone.

Myles Turner ($7,200): Turner is an insane bargain at this price against the Knicks. He put up 44.25 DraftKings points against the Knicks in their first meeting. He wont find the going as easy as he did against Brooklyn on Thursday when he made a lot of us some cash, but I will be shocked if he doesn’t hit 40.

Honorable Mention:

Rudy Gobert ($7,100): Turner has a better matchup and higher upside than Gobert, but Rudy put up more DraftKings points against tonight’s opponent (45.25 against Minnesota) than Turner did against his. If you are worried about high ownership on Turner, Gobert is a suitable fade option.

Al Horford ($6,700): The Pelicans have had issues at center all season long. Al Horford will be the latest to take advantage. Anthony Davis wreaks havoc against power forwards, but Alexis Ajinca and Omer Asik don’t intimidate anyone. Horford should be closer to 6x value than 5x.

Dark Horses:

Steven Adams ($5,700): Adams is the solid part of the Thunder frontcourt, but Enes Kanter seems to have a bit higher ceiling. Adams is much more consistent. Kanter has been in single digits three times over the last nine games. That is too much of a risk for me. I would much rather roll with the higher floor of Adams.

Jusuf Nurkic ($3,600): Nikola Jokic was battling an illness during practice yesterday, so look for Nurkic to absorb some extra minutes. Even if Jokic plays, I doubt he is at full strength, which makes Nurkic much more likely to hit value than Jokic tonight. If Jokic sits entirely, Nurkic will be a fantastic bargain.

My pick: Turner(C), Nurkic(UTIL); Nurkic(C)

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!