DraftKings NBA Picks February 22: The King rules over Washington

The NBA is back after a week layoff. Did you enjoy the All Star festivities? I didn’t participate in the showdown leagues on DraftKings. They are trying to force this to catch on. In fact, the only thing they can do to improve their NBA games is to BRING BACK LATE SWAP! Those putzes have done everything but!

Point Guards:

Best Bets:

Russell Westbrook ($11,500): Westbrook went hard into the break with 70.25 against the Grizzlies. Now he gets a Kings team that is significantly weaker at the point with George Hill in Cleveland. The Kings wont be able to hold Westbrook to 50 this time around. Russ only has 100 DraftKings points in two games against Sacramento this year. I’m guessing he comes closer to the Memphis score than his average against the Kings.

Stephen Curry ($9,800): I don’t usually flock to Curry with Durant on the floor, especially after a subpar shooting effort in the All Star game. However, Curry has 121.25 DraftKings points in only 59 minutes against the Clippers this year. Those numbers are astronomical! Curry could be worth the price here. He has owned the Clippers even in limited minutes against them this year.

Honorable Mention:

Kemba Walker ($8,600): Kemba continues to play at a high level, especially against teams that have trouble guarding perimeter shooters. Brooklyn certainly qualifies as one of those. Walker has hit value even at this price six times in the last ten games going into the break. He is playing at a high level right now. If you aren’t paying for elite, Walker should still put up strong numbers.

Lou Williams ($6,900): While a return to a sixth man role would crush the value of most players, it hasn’t for LouWill. All it has done it served to get Williams’ price down to a more manageable level. Williams has at least 5x value in four straight games, but he has not been below 30 in that span. That is a solid floor for a shooter that can get really hot at any time.

Dark Horses:

Tomas Satoransky ($5,500): With Kris Dunn on an unofficial minutes limit, I would avoid the rest of the middle tier. Especially with Satoransky putting up numbers like he has been lately. Satoransky has put up 110.25 DraftKings points over the last three games heading into the break. John Wall is still a ways from a return, so ride this value while you can! You need it to roster a stud or two tonight.

Austin Rivers ($5,100): Rivers is playing big minutes on the new look Clippers with solid results. With the team at full strength, Rivers doesn’t have huge upside. However, he is a lock for 5x value making him a low risk value play and a cash game commodity.

Jerian Grant ($4,600): Grant was huge for the Bulls with Kris Dunn out. The return of Dunn sapped a lot of his value, but this is a decent matchup here and Grant should still play at least 25 minutes. He could be a sneaky value pick, though with little upside.

My pick: Westbrook(PG), Rivers(G); Satoransky(PG)

Shooting Guards:

Best Bets:

Bradley Beal ($9,400): Beal put on a show against the Knicks on Valentine’s Day, racking up 63.25 DraftKIngs points. Beal has at least 5x value in eight of the last 11 games, and has topped 60 twice in that span. He is a strong play with big upside here against Cleveland. I have a feeling that Hill will try to guard Beal, but that’s fine. Beal should still hit 40 tonight.

Zach LaVine ($7,000): LaVine had his first stinker since his return against the Raptors in a blowout loss heading into the break. That can be excused. Toronto may be the best defensive team in the East. He should get back on track here against a Philadelphia team that LaVine hung 36.25 DraftKings points on in just 24 minutes shortly after his return. You could make an argument to go LaVine over Beal tonight.

Honorable Mention:

Tim Hardaway Jr. ($6,300): Hardaway went nuts on the Magic in his only game against them this year for 43.75 DraftKings points. THJ also stormed into the break with a season-best 50.25 performance against the Wizards. Hardaway is playing well right now after a few rusty shooting games upon his return. This looks like the potential for another big game for Hardaway.

D’Angelo Russell ($5,600): Russell played 25 minutes or more in the last three games leading into the break, putting up 103.5 points in that span. Since Russell is now getting the minutes, he is a strong value play at this price. The upside on Russell is significant, but this is a tougher matchup against Charlotte.

Bogdan Bogdanovic ($5,600): It was a strong run into the break for Bogdan. He scored at least 30 DraftKings points in three straight and four of the last five. Oh, and he won MVP of the Rising Stars challenge despite Buddy Hield starting over him in that game. Bogdanovic is firing on all cylinders right now, and gets an Oklahoma City team that has been victimized by shooters since Roberson went down. This should be another 30+ performance for Bogdanovic.

Dark Horses:

J.J. Redick ($5,300): There are few pure shooters in the league like Redick. He has been one of the most consistent DFS pieces this entire season. I prefer him in cash games, but in a smaller slate in which you need value, Redick is a low risk with medium reward potential against Chicago.

Allen Crabbe ($5,300): Crabbe has arguably been the best player for the Nets over the last four games. Crabbe has racked up 152 DraftKings points over his last four games. With Caris LeVert still out, Crabbe is a huge value play tonight with more upside than most priced thousands more. Be prepared for high ownership, but you need this kind of value in your lineup.

Buddy Hield ($4,600): Don’t get me wrong. Hield was a monster in the Rising Stars Challenge as well. I’m hoping he can parlay that into the offensive force of the second team like he did earlier in the season. At the very least, Hield’s performance over the weekend should earn him solid run against the Thunder. Hield could be a nice value play here, but with him, there is always risk involved.

My pick: Crabbe(SG); Hardaway(SG), Crabbe(G), Hield(UTIL)

Small Forwards:

Best Bets:

LeBron James ($11,800): LeBron should be arrested for what he has done to the Wizards this season. The King has 153 DraftKings points in just 84 minutes against them. That is not a typo. James has dominated Washington, and is absolutely worth the price here tonight. Westbrook may come close to this, but at this point, LeBron is the best bet to be the highest scorer of the night.

Ben Simmons ($9,000): Durant went into the break with a monster against Portland and had a solid All Star game, but he didn’t hit value that often in the month leading up to the break, and certainly hasn’t come close against the Clippers. I would much rather go with Simmons against the weak Bulls defense. Simmons has lit up the Bulls for 125.5 DraftKings points in two games this season. His numbers were trending upward again heading into the break, so Simmons looks like a safe alternative if you fade LeBron.

Paul George ($8,800): George had six straight games of more than 40 DraftKings points heading into the break. Three of those topped 50. George is on a roll lately, and will be well rested coming into this one. The Kings are in some trouble here.

Honorable Mention:

Otto Porter ($7,300): Porter has helped keep the Wizards afloat by picking up his offense with Wall out. Porter has at least 30 DraftKings points in eight of the last nine games. After a tough late January, Porter is back on track, and so are the Wizards. Expect Porter to be a big part of the offense at a reasonable price tonight.

Danilo Gallinari ($6,100): Gallinari is the most accomplished scorer of the new-look Clippers, at least in the starting lineup. That keeps him as a strong play at this price. Gallinari doesn’t have huge upside since he doesn’t do much besides score and grab a handful of rebounds. That said, he is a consistent producer in the middle tier of players.

DeMarre Carroll ($6,100): Carroll has at least 30 DraftKings points in five straight games. This is going to be short lived with LeVert and RHJ nearing returns, but for tonight, Carroll is a very strong play at this price. He also has ample upside for GPP usage.

Dark Horses:

Rodney Hood ($4,900): Hood has morphed into one of the better scorers off of the Cleveland bench. Of course, if we learned anything from his days in Utah, Hood is about as inconsistent as they get. However, Hood has been over 5x value in all of his games in a Cleveland uniform. He lacks significant upside here, but Hood can be a solid value play on the cheap.

Marco Belinelli ($4,100): Belinelli put up 17 points in his Sixers debut, but his lack of anything else held him under value. Still, his role on the second unit in his first game was prominent enough to consider using Belinelli as a value play. He has no upside, but there is blowout potential against the Bulls, which could lead to a slightly larger workload for Belinelli.

Justin Jackson ($3,900): Jackson played more than 30 minutes in both the games leading up to the break with positive results. He put up 52.75 DraftKings points in those two games. The Kings have reiterated over and over again that they are going to play their youngsters down the stretch. That means the minutes should be there for Jackson, and his production has been solid when they are.

My pick: James(SF), Jackson(F), Belinelli(UTIL); Porter(SF), Carroll(F)

Power Forwards:

Best Bets:

Draymond Green ($8,000): Green had three huge games going into the break, racking up 146 DraftKings points in that span. The Clippers are no longer much of a force up front, and Green could feast on Jordan with his caliber of defense. Green will look to keep his streak of three straight double-doubles alive. He shouldn’t have a problem doing that here.

Michael Beasley ($7,100): Beastley is listed as questionable, but I don’t know of anyone that really thinks he is going to miss this game. Both Beasley and Kanter have been huge with Porzingis out. Aaron Gordon will likely return tonight, but I don’t know that Orlando will really turn him loose. That leaves Beastley as a strong play again.

Honorable Mention:

Dario Saric ($6,500): Saric was huge against the Bulls earlier this season, putting up 84 DraftKings points in just 59 minutes against them in two games. He also entered the break with at least 30 DraftKings points in eight of the last nine games. He has little upside playing next to Embiid, but that isn’t entirely correct since his price is this low. Saric lacks the upside for a huge game, but he almost always hits value for this price.

Bobby Portis ($5,500): Yes, I am going Portis over Markkanen for the simple fact that Portis matches up much better with Philadelphia. Portis has 79.25 DraftKings points in just 47 minutes against the Sixers this year. Markkanen is almost 20 points under that in nearly 20 more minutes. Portis lacks real upside most of the time, but he seems to have Philadelphia’s number.

Markieff Morris ($5,400): Morris has nine straight games of more than 23 DraftKings points. He hasn’t put up any really big scores in that span, but that means he hits value more often than not. Morris is a solid value play, but he may be better suited for cash games at this point.

Dark Horses:

Larry Nance Jr. ($4,800): Nance is still getting integrated into the Cleveland system, but it appears as though he will have a clear path to minutes while Kevin Love is out. Nance put up 33.25 DraftKings points in the last game before the break, and has another really good matchup with Washington here. He likely wont start, but Nance should still see good enough run to go well over value tonight.

Montrezl Harrell ($4,200): Harrell is still the best option on the second unit for the Clippers. They look to have little intention of starting him, but as long as his price is in this range, he is still a solid option. There isn’t a ton of upside, but as far as value picks go, you can do worse.

Quincy Acy ($4,100): Acy is still the starter for as long as RHJ is out. That may only be for tonight, but this is still a good matchup for Acy. He lacks the productivity to turn this into a really big night, but he could turn in up to 7x value.

My pick: Harrell(PF), Acy(C); Saric(PF)

Center:

Best Bets:

Joel Embiid ($9,700): Embiid is one of those rare talents, but the Bulls did shut him down earlier in the season. Do with that information what you will. He came up big in the All Star game over the weekend. Will that carry over into the second half?

Dwight Howard ($8,400): The Nets are still easily the worst team in the league against centers. At this point, it isn’t even close. Howard is the top option on the interior tonight. Yes, even better than Embiid. And it all has to do with the matchup. The Nets are that bad on the interior.

Honorable Mention:

Enes Kanter ($7,600): Kanter has only been under 32 DraftKings points once since Porzingis went down. Even if Vucevic is back, it doesn’t seem to matter. Only Atlanta in a blowout held Kanter under 30. In fact, in that game and in only 27 minutes against Indiana are the only times Kanter has been held under 5x value.

Steven Adams ($6,600): Adams has had a strong season, and has proven that he can have big games against weaker interiors. Sacramento is not weak on the inside, but they aren’t that great either. His price has me a little less high on him, but Adams still has the ability to turn in a strong night. The question becomes how much will be left over after Westbrook and George get their fill?

Dark Horses:

Marcin Gortat ($5,000): The Cavs are still one of the weaker teams on the interior. but does Gortat even have the offensive chops to exploit that anymore? Gortat did put up 87.25 DraftKings points over the last three games before the break. He has as much potential as he can at this point in his career.

Robin Lopez ($4,300): Lopez didn’t do well in the first two games against Embiid, but teams have had success going at Embiid lately. The Bulls may try to do the same. Center is pretty weak tonight, so if you elect to save here, Lopez is the best bet.

My pick: N/A; Howard(C)

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