Main DraftKings NBA picks January 14: Will Lillard dominate this slate?

The Sunday games are split with two in the afternoon and two at night. The best guards are in the main slate. The best mathups also are in the main slate, so it is a little tougher to build the lineup. Who are the best picks?

Point Guards:

Best Bet:

Damian Lillard ($8,700): Lillard put up 48 DraftKings points in the first meeting with the Timberwolves this year. He has also hit value in each of the last two games. The Timberwolves still struggle defending the point, so Lillard is a strong play tonight.

Honorable Mention:

Darren Collison ($5,300): Collison has another outstanding matchup tonight against the Suns. He torched the Cavs on Friday night for 34 DraftKings points. There is a great chance that Collison comes close to that again tonight. If you aren’t paying for Lillard, Collison is a suitable plan B.

Shabazz Napier ($5,000): The Blazers started Napier with McCollum and Lillard on Friday with Evan Turner out. Even if Turner doesn’t miss tonight’s game, there is a chance that the Blazers liked the look of the lineup enough to run with it for a while. Napier put up 38 DraftKings points in that game, and the Blazers put up 113 points. The bad part about this is that this game tips too long after lock to get an accurate starting lineup. That said, Napier may get enough run to warrant using him whether he starts the game or not.

Dark Horse:

Tyler Ulis ($4,000): Ulis is still seeing significant run for the Suns, but he doesn’t always put up the numbers he should. Still, Ulis has three straight games of at least 20 DraftKings points. He will put up enough to hit value so long as Canaan remains out. After that, it becomes more of a crapshoot again.

My pick: Lillard(PG), Collison(G)

Shooting Guards:

Best Bets:

Victor Oladipo ($9,400): Oladipo struggled against Cleveland, so I am a bit nervous about this. The matchup is a good one for Oladipo since the Suns doesn’t really defend any position well. Oladipo relies so much on scoring that another poor shooting day at this price will destroy his value. There are safer options, but there are very few players that could hit 50 tonight. Oladipo has the skill and the matchup do it is as well.

Jimmy Butler ($8,900): Butler scorched the Blazers for 57.5 DraftKings points in the first meeting. He was hot from the line and the floor in that game en route to 37 points. We know that Butler is capable of this on any given night. However, he has had quite a few of those nights lately.

Honorable Mention:

Devin Booker ($8,500): Booker filled the stat sheet against Houston, but his nights like that are pretty far between lately. You can always rely on Booker to score, but he needs to do more than that to hit value at this price. I would prefer to gamble on Butler because of his recent success.

Dark Horses:

Lance Stephenson ($5,100): Stephenson has been hot over the last couple of games. He will get plenty of opportunities against the running Suns. There is simply no reason for the Pacers not to play Stephenson right now. Just make sure to keep an eye on the starting lineup. Stephenson may not play enough otherwise.

Jamal Crawford ($3,500): Crawford is a pure shooter who can really light up the scoreboard off the bench. Of course, there is inherent risk in this proposition, but if you need a cheap scorer, Crawford has a decent shot to get you value.

My pick: Butler(SG)

Small Forwards:

Best Bet:

T.J. Warren ($6,600): Warren was a pretty big disappointment against the Rockets. Or was he? Ariza is a very good defender, so Warren still getting 30 DraftKings points was a solid output. I would expect at least that from him against the Pacers tonight.

Honorable Mention:

Dragan Bender ($4,800): Bender has been outstanding with Chriss out. To the point that Bender has likely carved out a large role for himself regardless of the status of Chriss tonight. Bender is a chalk play, but for 76 DraftKings points over the last two games at this price, he should be.

Al-Farouq Aminu ($4,800): Bender is a far better option, but if you are paying up at guard, you may have to use both of them. Aminu has been scoring more lately, which makes him a solid play in most games. However, he could have his hands full with the Timberwolves tonight.

Dark Horse:

Bojan Bogdanovic ($4,300): Bogdanovic is still starting for the Pacers, but could lose some minutes to Stephenson like he did against Cleveland. However, if you need a cheap player, Bogdanovic is still the starter and can put up big numbers if he gets hot.

My pick: Bender(SF)

Power Forwards:

Best Bets:

Domantas Sabonis ($6,700): Sabonis is a must-play if he is able to play. His shoulder still has him as questionable for tonight. If Sabonis sits, it opens up a lot of value in the Indiana frontcourt. Personally, I’m hoping for Sabonis. He will crush value against Phoenix if he is in there.

Honorable Mention:

Taj Gibson ($5,700): Gibson struggled against Portland in the first meeting, so there is some risk involved here. The Blazers are the fourth worst team in the league against power forwards, so there is potential here.

Thaddeus Young ($5,400): Keep an eye on Sabonis and his status leading up to this tipoff. If Sabonis is out, Young could be in for a huge game. He is already going to see more minutes with Myles Turner out, so I like Young anyway. If Sabonis sits, Young is a must play as well.

Dark Horses:

Gorgui Dieng ($3,700): Dieng has at least 5x value in six of the last seven games. He struggled in the first meeting with Portland, but Dieng didn’t see hardly any minutes in that game. Now Dieng is up to about 22 minutes per game or so. That gives him plenty of chances to hit value.

Ike Anigbogu ($3,000): Anigbogu played just four minutes in the last game, but he racked up 14 DraftKings points. If Sabonis is out, Anigbogu becomes the favorite to eat a lot of those minutes. Even if Sabonis gives it a go, I would expect Anigbogu’s minutes to go up based on that performance. He could be a great value at minimum price.

My pick: Sabonis(PF), Young(F), Dieng(UTIL)

Center:

Best Bet:

Karl-Anthony Towns ($9,200): Portland did a good job of containing Towns in the first meeting, but they are one of the few teams that has. Towns has eight straight double-doubles now,and just had his latest against a solid New York frontcourt. I wouldn’t count out Towns tonight either.

Honorable Mention:

Jusuf Nurkic ($6,500): Nurkic put up 35.25 DraftKings points in the first meeting against Towns and the Timberwolves. Towns is still not a strong defender, so it wont matter what Towns does to Nurkic offensively. Nurkic will still hit value from his offense alone.

Dark Horses:

Tyson Chandler ($4,400): For some reason, the Suns keep rolling with Chandler over Greg Monroe. Regardless of whether it makes sense to us, this is the Suns decision and us DFS players just have to ride the wave. Chandler is still a very strong defender, and his rebounding ability alone has him at value at this price in nearly every game. Chandler doesn’t have much for upside, but he is a solid value play on a short slate.

Al Jefferson ($3,000): Jefferson is seeing quite a few minutes lately with the injuries in the Pacers frontcourt. He is a shadow of what he used to be, but with Jefferson priced at the minimum and playing 20 minutes per game, he will have no problem hitting value. Just be aware of Anigbogu sneaking some minutes.

My pick: Nurkic(C)

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