DraftKings NBA Picks for January 28

There are seven games for our Saturday DraftKings main tournament. Some of these teams are on the tail end of a back to back outing, so watch out for sitting players. There were a ton of players sitting last night. Will it happen again tonight?

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:

Kemba Walker ($7,800): The Kings aren’t all that tough on the outside, so Walker should see plenty of open shots in this one. Jeff Teague put up over 40 DraftKings points on the Kings last night. I would have to think that Walker does the same, which puts him at 5x value.

Ricky Rubio ($7,000): Rubio’s price has ballooned to the point where he is no longer a certain 5x value. He has a great matchup tonight against the Jeremy Lin-less Nets, so fire him back up! Rubio has at least 30 DraftKings points in the last eight games besides the one he left with an injury.

Honorable Mention:

Eric Bledsoe ($8,900): Bledsoe fell a little short of 5x value against Denver on Thursday, but it was right in line with his season totals against the Nuggets. In three games against Denver, he has 124 DraftKings points. That could leave him a little shy of 5x value again, but we all know that Bledsoe can go off at any time.

Reggie Jackson ($6,400): On paper, this isn’t a great matchup against the Heat, but Jackson’s price is too low for his production lately. Jackson has averaged 37.5 DraftKings points over the last three games. He racked up 37 in the first meeting with the Heat, and the Heat are playing the second night of a back to back. I like Jackson’s chances here.

Dark Horses:

Austin Rivers ($6,000): Rivers picked up 20.5 DraftKings points against the Warriors in the first meeting in 28 minutes. He has been seeing upwards of 30 minutes with Chris Paul out, so we can expect a little bump in production. Rivers still produced with Blake Griffin back in the lineup on Thursday, so that shouldn’t have any ill effects on Rivers.

Jameer Nelson ($5,300): Emmanuel Mudiay is not traveling with the team over the weekend, which means Nelson will see as many minutes as he can handle. He played a whopping 42 minutes against Phoenix on Thursday, piling up 37 DraftKings points in the process. He is a great bargain with Mudiay out.

Randy Foye ($3,000): Foye outplayed both Spencer Dinwiddie and Isaiah Whitehead last night with 34.5 DraftKings points in his starting role. The Nets offense looked better than it had since Lin went out again. Don’t be surprised if Foye earned another start. If he did, he is the bargain of the night.

My pick: Nelson(PG), Foye(G); Rubio(PG), Jackson(G)

Shooting Guards

Best Bets:

Nicolas Batum ($7,300): Batum is still not the most consistent guy on the court, but starting any shooting guard against the Kings is a good idea. C.J. Miles put up good numbers on them last night. There is no reason that Batum wont tonight.

Devin Booker ($7,100): Booker has 109.25 DraftKings points in three games against Denver this season. He also has topped 33 DraftKings points in seven of his last eight games. That makes Booker a guy with a great matchup, a solid floor, and a whole lot of potential for a big game tonight.

Honorable Mention:

Dion Waiters ($6,900): Waiters has been a staple in my lineup with Tyler Johnson out, but its a little bit of a tougher sell tonight. Waiters was still above 30 DraftKings points for the fourth straight game last night, but he did fall a bit short of 5x value. Detroit has been tough on SG’s this year. Waiters himself was held to 17.5 DraftKings points in the first meeting, but he did play just 21 minutes. Waiters hasn’t been that low since January 8th. If you project that out to his current 35 minutes per game, he would be right around 5x value.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ($5,500): On paper, this is a tougher matchup for KCP, and we all know how much he has struggled against good teams this year. However, He has racked up 76.75 DraftKings points in two games against the Heat this season. Both of the shooting guards in this game carry a big upside, but there is risk involved.

J.J. Redick ($5,200): Redick is only a shooter, but he has seen a lot more shots with Chris Paul out. That said, the Warriors locked Redick down in the first meeting, holding him to just three points. Redick is a risk, but he is hitting shots right now, going over 25 DraftKings points in each of the last three games.

Dark Horses:

Sean Kilpatrick ($4,400): Kilpatrick topped 30 DraftKings points for the third time in four games last night, but that was with Caris Levert out. Will that affect his output with Lavert back tonight? He ceded a lot of minutes on Wednesday night, so stay tuned to see if you hear anything. From all accounts, Levert was just resting last night.

Caris Levert ($4,000): Levert could very well end up seeing more minutes that Kilpatrick. We will likely see something on this before tip off, giving us a hint at which way we should go. Judging by what we saw last night, I am guessing that Foye and Bogdanovic are the only locks in the Nets lineup for tonight. This one likely wont shake itself out until just before tipoff.

My pick: Booker(SG); Rivers(SG)

Small Forwards

Best Bets:

Andrew Wiggins ($7,200): Wiggins went off on the Nets in the first meeting. He tuned them up with 52 DraftKings points in one of his best games of the season. Expecting that again is being a little too optimistic, but 5x value should come easily, especially with the Nets scoring more points lately.

Jabari Parker ($7,100): Parker still has some issues with consistency, but at least his minutes are consistent. Lately Parker has had a more stable floor than earlier in the season. He has been over 30 DraftKings points in 11 of the last 12 games. That isn’t always 5x value, but it isn’t a total that will kill your lineup either. The Celtics are pretty beat up right now, so Parker could have a nice game tonight.

Honorable Mention:

Gordon Hayward ($6,800): The stats say that this isn’t a good matchup, however Hayward has played well against Memphis this year. He has 108 DraftKings points in just three games against them, which puts him well over 5x value. That said, the matchup with Denver this week looked good as well, and the entire team struggled. They did look better with Rodney Hood back in the fold though.

Danilo Gallinari ($6,000): Gallinari put up 37.75 DraftKings points on the Suns on Thursday night. Not much has changed since then. I like Gallinari for close to 6x value once again.

Jae Crowder ($5,800): Crowder has stepped up big over the last few games with his teammates dropping like flies. He has averaged 34.25 DraftKings points over the last eight games, and is showing no signs of slowing down. The Bucks are really missing Khris Middleton considering they have the worst small forward defense in the league right now. Trust in Crowder again.

Dark Horses:

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist ($5,300): MKG will have more value if Cody Zeller is out again, but even if he plays, there is potential here. The Kings weren’t that strong at the position even with Rudy Gay healthy. With Gay out and Omri Casspi questionable, the Kings are even more weak at small forward. He could have a good game here.

Wayne Ellington ($4,300): Ellington’s price is tempered because he is not a starter, however, he has played more than 35 minutes in each of the last four games with Johnson out. Johnson is still out, and Ellington has averaged 28 DraftKings points per game with Johnson out. He is an easy 6x value lately.

Jaylen Brown ($3,000): There is a very high risk play, but Brown went nuts against Orlando last night. He played 30 minutes and picked up 34 DraftKings points. Most people were off of him because of his disastrous first start against Houston, but it may be pertinent to explore him as an option tonight against the Bucks.

My Pick: Gallinari(SF), Crowder(F); Wiggins(SF), Parker(F)

Power Forwards

Best Bets:

DeMarcus Cousins ($11,000): Ho-hum, another 5x game for Boogie last night. Charlotte is solid in the middle, but I don’t think it matters right now. Memphis is the only team that has been able to limit him in the last three weeks, and his foul trouble limited almost as much as the Grizzlies did. He is one of the safest high priced option around right now, and we have seen him top 60 in half of his last ten games.

Draymond Green ($7,700): Green’s production has been volatile at times this year because of the presence of Kevin Durant. However, his price is low enough that he has a really good chance at 5x value whenever he takes the court because his skill set is still there. He put up 39.25 DraftKings points on the Clippers the first time around. That would leave him right around 5x value.

Honorable Mention:

James Johnson ($5,600): Johnson actually had more rebounds and assists than points against the Bulls last night, but that highlights why he is a solid play most nights. His shooting has cooled off, but he can still provide some pretty good numbers. He picked up 68.75 DraftKings points in the first two games against Detroit this year, so their size in the middle hasn’t bothered Johnson any.

Kenneth Faried ($5,000): His skill set is tailor made for a game with the Suns, yet he only played 21 minutes against them on Thursday. He still put up 24 DraftKings points, and Faried’s earlier games against the Suns this year were big. Considering him a medium risk, high reward type of play.

Dark Horses:

Quincy Acy ($3,000): This hinges on the availability of Trevor Booker. Booker missed last night with an illness, so it seems unlikely that he would be 100% by tonight. Acy picked up 5x value last night, and would be in line for more meaningful minutes again tonight if Booker sits.

Thon Maker ($3,000): Miles Plumlee was ineffective last night. Surprisingly, Greg Monroe was too. However, instead of putting John Henson back in the fold, Maker put up 12.5 DraftKings points in just eight minutes. With the way the Bucks rotation has fluctuated, Maker could have earned himself some minutes here, but he is still a huge risk.

My pick: Cousins(PF); Faried(PF)

Center

Best Bets:

Andre Drummond ($7,400): There is a horde of horrible matchups plaguing the top centers tonight. Karl-Anthony Towns is priced way too high to get value against Brooklyn. Hassan Whiteside is optimistically listed as questionable, and even if he plays, he has struggled against Detroit. Nikola Jokic is out. Marc Gasol has struggled against Utah. DeAndre Jordan is not near as much of a threat with Griffin back. So fire up Drummond and his 112.25 DraftKings points in just two games against the Heat this year.

Al Horford ($7,000): Are you concerned about Drummond being highly owned? Look no further than the most consistent center in the league over the last month. We have to go back over a month to find the last time Horford didn’t top 30 DraftKings points. He provides a high floor and consistent production, making him a great building block for any lineup. However, there is a bit of concern over the groin injury that kept him out of last night’s game, though the team says he will play tonight.

Honorable Mention:

Brook Lopez ($6,300): Lopez should be well rested against a Minnesota team that is more offensive minded in the frontcourt. Lopez has topped 40 DraftKings points in four of the last five games. The only time he missed was against the Spurs, who have contained many a team. Lopez should be in line for another good night.

Zach Randolph ($5,600): Utah is a terrible matchup for any frontcourt, but now that Randolph plays exclusively off the bench, he gets more of a run against the second team. That has translated to 98.25 DraftKings points in three games against the Jazz this year, putting him at 6x value.

Dark Horses:

Willie Reed ($4,800): Reed is only in play if Whiteside sits again. James Johnson has played well enough to hold down the power forward job, and Reed’s production is way too inconsistent for the price if he comes off the bench.

Jusuf Nurkic ($4,300): Nikola Jokic will miss at least tonight’s game with a sore hip flexor. That vaults Nurkic into nearly every lineup. Now, Denver’s lineups are never a sure thing, and Faried and Darrell Arthur could be great bargains as well, but Nurkic will be given first crack. Given that he has played well off the bench lately, I expect a huge game for this price tag.

My pick: Drummond(C), Nurkic(UTIL); Horford(C), Nurkic(UTIL)

Stay tuned for our FanDuel picks, and our picks for NHL and the PGA tour! We even have some EPL picks coming your way!