DraftKings Early NBA Picks for February 25
By Mike Marteny
DraftKings Early NBA Picks for February 25
There are only two NBA games in the afternoon on this Saturday. You know what? That’s still enough to make a DraftKings tournament out of it! Where do we can separation from the pack? Let’s crunch some numbers!
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There are no players priced above $8,000 in this slate, so we may leave some money on the table. The flip side to this is that we should be able to get whomever we want in our lineup!
Most of my picks end up being a little on the conservative side, so these lineups may be better suited for cash games, though I usually play both types.
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Point Guards
Best Bets:
Kemba Walker ($8,000): Walker put up 45.25 DraftKings points in the first meeting with the Kings. The Kings have a ton of guards, but quantity doesn’t always mean quality. Walker has three straight games of more than 45 DraftKings points. I would bet on this being a fourth. Get your separation elsewhere. Walker is the best player on the afternoon slate.
Dennis Schroder ($6,200): Schroder was suspended last night because he was late getting back from Germany after the All Star Break. All should be well for Schroder now, who has averaged 41.3 DraftKings points in three games against the Magic this season. Schroder had more than 30 DraftKings points in five of the last six games before the All Star Break. He may finally be finding some consistency!
Honorable Mention:
Elfrid Payton ($5,500): Payton has put up some robust numbers for his price against the Hawks. Schroder is often a matador on defense. Payton has taken advantage with a 35.8 DraftKings points average in three games against Atlanta this year. Payton is a great place to save some money if you need to. Or just to gain separation from those that go with Schroder or Walker instead
My picks: Walker(PG), Payton(G)
Shooting Guards
Best Bet:
Nicolas Batum ($6,900): Batum picked up 36.75 DraftKings points in his first meeting with the Kings, which is right around his season average. Batum is mostly a consistent producer, even in tough matchups. He has a high floor, which makes him more attractive to cash games, but he can also be a good GPP anchor. Especially in a light slate like this early one.
Tim Hardaway Jr. ($5,700): Hardaway will see a decrease in playing time again, but he is a good enough shooter than he can often get close to 5x value even with bench minutes. Something to take away from last night’s blowout is that he still got more minutes – and more shots – than Thabo Sefalosha and Kent Bazemore.
Honorable Mention:
Buddy Hield ($4,600): Hield played 26 minutes and picked up 27 DraftKings points in his Sacramento debut. He didn’t start, but he played more minutes than starter Ben McLemore. The Kings have been enamored with Hield since before the draft. They got the guy they wanted to build around. Slide him in your lineup and enjoy the ride!
Terrence Ross ($4,500): Ross also performed well in his new digs, racking up 27.25 DraftKings points in 33 minutes for the Magic. Atlanta has a lot of guards who play a little defense. Ross could have another big day for his price, even if he does spend much of his time at small forward.
Dark Horse:
Jeremy Lamb ($3,100): Lamb has 13 fouls in just 43 minutes over his last three games. His playing time has fallen off sharply with Marco Belinelli in the mix, but Lamb is the much better offensive player. He has the ability to put a lot of points on the board in a little time, and could be just the dart throw that you need to separate yourself from the pack….or sink yourself to the bottom. There is no in between.
My pick: Batum(SG), Ross(F)
Small Forwards
Best Bet:
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist ($5,200): MKG racked up 26.5 DraftKings points in just 18 minutes in the first game with Sacramento. The Kings are very small right now, so MKG should be able to push them around and capitalize on his already above average rebounding ability. He was a monster against Detroit, and now has 75 DraftKings points over his last two games. He could have another big game against the Kings.
Tyreke Evans ($5,000): Evans also played well in his Kings debut, sitting right at 5x value in 26 minutes. The team is still feeling out what they have from all of their guards, and they have stated that Evans is on a strict 27 minute limit to help keep his knee healthy. Evans is a solid source of 5x value, but has limited upside because of the cap, leaving him better suited for cash games.
Honorable Mention:
Anthony Tolliver ($4,000): Tolliver is going to get a lot of minutes because he has to. He played 31 minutes against Denver, and likely will in every game. His production wont be nearly as consistent as his minutes. He put up 35.25 DraftKings points against Charlotte in the first meeting, but he hasn’t been anywhere near that mark in over a month. Don’t expect miracles, but 5x value is on the table.
Dark Horse:
Mario Hezonja ($3,200): Hezonja is playing more minutes than Jeff Green, and still played 25 minutes with Ross on the team. The Magic seem committed to giving him around that many minutes per game, and he has responded with 5x value or better in three of the last four games.
My Pick: Kidd-Gilchrist(SF)
Power Forwards
Best Bet:
Paul Millsap ($7,300): Millsap has played well in three games against Orlando, putting up a combined 111 DraftKings points. Those were all against Serge Ibaka. Will facing Gordon be better or worse? We just don’t know. What we do know is that Millsap has not been over 4x value since February 13th. Can he get back on track?
Frank Kaminsky ($6,500): Injuries to Cody Zeller and Miles Plumlee have afforded Kaminsky a lot of run lately, and he is proving to be quite a useful player. He seems to be playing better than Zeller was when he was starting. Tank has topped 5x value in five of the seven games with Zeller out. He could feast against the undersized Kings tonight.
Honorable Mention:
Aaron Gordon ($5,400): Gordon averaged 25.5 DraftKings points in three games against the Hawks playing as a small forward. His first game back at his natural position went well against Portland with 27.25 DraftKings points in 29 minutes. Gordon is a solid 5x value, and judging by some of the games he has had in his career, there is plenty of potential upside here.
Marvin Williams ($4,900): Williams is only in play if Cody Zeller and Miles Plumlee can’t give it a go. Williams has played at least 33 minutes in each of the last ten games, and gone over 5x value seven of those times. His minutes will likely take a tumble when Charlotte’s rebuilt frontcourt gets completely healthy, but he is worth a shot if one or both of Zeller and Plumlee sit.
Dark Horse:
Skal Labissiere ($3,000): Those who took a shot on Georgios Papagiannis had to be disappointed. It was Labissiere that played most of the bench minutes up front against Denver with modest success. Labissiere put up 20.25 DraftKings points in only 14 minutes! He is still a risk when only playing about a quarter at a time, but I’m thinking his time will go up after a solid showing on Thursday.
My pick: Millsap(PF)
Center
Best Bets:
Dwight Howard ($6,800): Howard hasn’t always been worth using in his return home, but he has dominated Nikola Vucevic and the Magic. Not only is he holding the more expensive Vucevic to just 27.9 DraftKings points per game in the three meetings, Howard has average 37.3 against him. I doubt that trend changes here.
Willie Cauley-Stein ($5,600): Most of us have been wondering what WCS could do if the Kings finally turned him loose. We found out on Thursday. He put up 43.5 DraftKings points in 35 minutes. This is not an isolated incident. He is completely worth his price until it increases to match his production.
Honorable Mention:
Kosta Koufos ($3,900): The new frontcourt tandem looked pretty good for the Kings against Denver. Koufos picked up 19.5 DraftKings points in 21 minutes. Though his minutes may decrease a little, it looks like his production wont suffer. However, he still lacks upside.
My pick: Howard(C), Cauley-Stein(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! Once again, make sure to follow our Twitter feed leading up to tipoff!