DraftKings NBA Picks February 6: Turn Jokic loose on the Nets!
By Mike Marteny
DraftKings NBA Picks February 6: Turn Jokic loose on the Nets!
We have eight more games for our DraftKings NBA tournament tonight. Four players are in five figures, and three are over $11,000, but it is generally believed that Davis wont play tonight anyway even though he was cleared. Add to that the resting of LMA and DeRozan tonight, and we have some interesting value open up, but it also opens up one game to a blowout that otherwise may not have been. Can we trust any Warriors now?
More from DFS
- DraftKings Open Championship picks 2023: Best PGA DFS golf lineup
- Genesis Scottish Open DraftKings picks 2023: Best PGA DFS golf lineup
- Rocket Mortgage Classic DraftKings picks 2023: Best PGA DFS golf lineup
- US Open DraftKings picks 2023: Best PGA DFS golf lineup
- RBC Canadian Open DraftKings picks 2023: Best PGA DFS golf lineup
With so much value available, I decided to attack the $3 20 max. I put in 14 lineups and placed eight of them above the money line of 293 DraftKings points. My highest finished at 343, but was cruising for a top 50 finish until the Heat started doubling C.J. Overall, it was a strong night. My core pieces of Westbrook, George, Rabb, and Aaron Gordon were true.
JBCJBCJBC took it down with 372.25 DraftKings points. He built with Westbrook and Kemba and got huge value out of Collin Sexton, Burks, Hayward, Rabb, Ross, and capped it off with the late night hammer in Hassan Whiteside.
If you would like to try DraftKings for the first time, use this link for the referral bonus! It is good for $10 in free DraftKings entry tickets with your first deposit of $5 or more.
DraftKings NBA Point Guards:
Best Bets:
Luka Doncic ($9,500): I never thought that I would say that this price for a rookie looks cheap. Don’t get caught up in the semantics argument that he played in the EuroLeague. Did it help his growth? Probably. However, Doncic is still just 19! He wont be 20 until the end of this month! No matter how you chalk it up, that’s a rookie. Doncic is going to dominate the rest of the season since Matthews, Smith, and Jordan are all gone. Dallas has nothing else. Lock him in and enjoy the production!
Kemba Walker ($8,800): I have a feeling that the Kemba train is going to be pretty full after his performance last night. He broke 60 DraftKings points for the second game in a row, but this is not a really great matchup for Walker. I tend to think that he wont draw Doncic though, so Kemba still makes my list. He could do some serious damage against Brunson and Harrris if given the chance. There is risk here, but the reward could be great. Just look at what Walker has done lately.
Honorable Mention:
Chris Paul ($7,100): Paul put up 43.5 DraftKings points in the first meeting with the Kings while playing about 32 minutes. That’s what our fear is here, right? Minutes? Well, Paul played 33 of them in an eight point win in Phoenix while chipping in 38.25 DraftKings points. I don’t see Paul having a huge game anytime soon, partially because I doubt the Rockets play him more than 32-33 minutes unless they absolutely have to. However, as he showed on Monday, that’s plenty of time to hit value. Paul has a strong floor and decent upside.
Eric Bledsoe ($6,800): Bledsoe put on a show in the first meeting with Washington, but missed the tilt last week. That massive 48 DraftKings point game has to be taken with a grain of salt. Giannis missed that game. However, Bledsoe only needs 34 DraftKings points to hit value here. He should at least hit that mark. Keep in mind that those 48 were put up in just 28 minutes.
Dark Horses:
Shabazz Napier ($5,300): For me, it doesn’t even matter if Napier starts. He’s always on my radar at this price, especially with LeVert and Dinwiddie still out. Napier is the backup for both guard slots and is going to play 30 minutes whether he starts or not. This isn’t a smash spot against Denver, but Napier has only been under 5x value once in the last six games.
Bryn Forbes ($4,300): Forbes’ minutes spiked to 32 with Derrick White out on Monday. Mills didn’t see much of a bump, but they are both worth a look if you need that kind of value tonight. Forbes is going to spend more time on the court, and if his shot is falling with regularity, he could see even more than the 32 he did on Monday. This is a pretty tough matchup for the Warriors, so I almost prefer Mills since he will deal with Curry less than Forbes will. Unless Mills ends up starting for DeRozan.
My pick: N/A; Napier(PG)
DraftKings NBA Shooting Guards:
Best Bets:
James Harden ($12,600): Harden rolled Utah, one of the better teams in the league against shooting guards. He has topped 70 DraftKings points multiple times with Paul in the lineup. Hell, he is even being mentioned along with Wilt Chamberlain as the only player to do something. What will it take to get you guys to stop fading him? I’ll take all Beard, all day. I don’t even care about the matchup anymore. Harden is that good with Capela out of the lineup.
Jrue Holiday ($9,000): Holiday’s price is getting a little out of control here. I don’t argue that he’s a threat to hit value here, I just think it takes a really strong game to do it. I don’t like using players when the pretty much need a ceiling game to hit value. That said, Holiday torched the Bulls for 51 DraftKings points earlier this year. The Pelicans are still missing most of their starting lineup. I could get on board with using Holiday over Harden if you do something special with the money saved. A more likely solution is to use them together.
Donovan Mitchell ($8,700): Mitchell had a poor shooting night against the Rockets, but he still finished with 47.5 DraftKings points thanks to strong peripheral numbers. If his shooting gets back on track against the Suns, Mitchell is capable of numbers that can vault you to the top. Booker is a solid defender, but Utah doesn’t really have any other scoring. It’s Mitchell or bust right now. If Booker sits, Mitchell becomes one of my favorite plays. I’m not sure the Jazz are really capable of blowing anyone out.
Honorable Mention:
Buddy Hield ($6,700): This is a fairly high price on Hield, but he has at least 28 DraftKings points in 11 of the last 12 games. He put up 37.5 in the first meeting with Houston. This is going to be a fast game since both of these teams love to run. That should increase the ceilings of everyone involved. It’s kind of hard to stack this game if using Harden, but there is still enough Houston value to get it done.
Zach LaVine ($6,600): This looks pretty cheap for LaVine here. LaVine had 36.75 DraftKings points in the first meeting with the Pelicans. His ceiling is down with Dunn a fixture in the lineup as well, but that just means the ceiling is no longer 50’s. Low 40’s is the best you’re going to do from LaVine, but at this price, that’s a really good return. In this matchup, it’s possible he flirts with 40.
Malcolm Brogdon ($5,700): Brogdon just continues to put up game after game of solid performances. I can count his outliers from the range of 24-36 DraftKings points on one hand (blowouts excluded) this season. That’s how consistent he is. I still like Brogdon more in cash games, but in two games against Washington this year, Brogdon has 68.75 DraftKings points. That’s 6x value, giving him enough upside for use in GPP’s too.
Malik Beasley ($5,700): Beasley is still my favorite target in the Denver backcourt. I feel like we should go after at least one of them tonight. We can pretty much ignore Monday’s game since Denver lost by 26 points. No one played the minutes they usually do. That’s the reason for the lower scores. If Murray returns, I like all of the guards a lot less, but I think Beasley still gets run regardless. I’m not sure we can say that for Morris.
Dark Horses:
Tim Hardaway Jr. ($4,900): Let’s see here……THJ is traded out of basketball purgatory and now gets one of the most gifted ballhandlers feeding him. And his price drops? Thanks DraftKings. You created THJ chalk. I’m happy to deal with it. This could be a big game for Junior.
Patty Mills ($4,200): I covered most of this under Forbes, but Mills is going to see a lot of action tonight. He has been lately anyway, but I think there’s a good chance that he plays upwards of 30 minutes. Mills can be dangerous when he gets hot. The Spurs are going to need all of the help they can get if they don’t want to get blown out.
Alfonzo McKinnie ($3,200): This is purely a speculative play banking on a blowout. McKinnie has played 41 minutes over the last two games anyway. He could see a nice jump here once the Spurs are down 30. That could happen by halftime.
My pick: Harden(SG), Mills(PG), Hardaway(G); Hield(SG), LaVine(G)
DraftKings NBA Small Forwards:
Best Bet:
Kevin Durant ($9,300): Durant put up 54 DraftKings points on the Spurs the first time around. The chances of that happening again are practically zero. The Spurs are missing White, and LMA and DeRozan are out. That would make them mortals against most teams. Against the Warriors it makes them grist for the machinery. If one Warrior does go off though, my money would be on KD.
Honorable Mention:
Harrison Barnes ($5,700): Barnes is kind of a risky proposition here, but SF is very weak tonight, especially given this is an eight game slate. The good news is that Barnes pretty much has the frontcourt to himself with marginal production from Kleber and Powell. Dallas is going to be an interesting team when PorzinGOD gets back. Until then, it’s going to be fun to watch Luka win ROY, THJ regain his mojo, and Dirk bolster his HOF resume 20 minutes at a time.
Kenrich Williams ($5,000): Williams went from relative unknown to churning out 131 DraftKings points over the last four games. His price is still too low. That means Williams has averaged 6.8x value over those four games. Don’t overthink this. It may be the Bulls, but the Pelicans only have about nine healthy players. All of them are going to get run no matter what the score is. Williams is still a great value play at this price.
Dark Horses:
Marco Belinelli ($4,000): Many a value play has come to die against the Warriors this year for various reasons. Number one is that despite the high point totals, the Warriors do play good defense. We are essentially running bench pieces out there against mostly elite defenders. What could possibly go wrong? The prices are right, but this is no guarantee. There are two ways to approach this: Stack Spurs value and play whatever studs you want, or just avoid this entirely. I’m mostly choosing the latter.
Andre Iguodala ($3,900): Iggy struggled against the Spurs in the first meeting, but they are down, oh, just about everything tonight. Iguodala is safe since he plays the same minutes, about 27 per game, whether the Warriors are up 30 or down 20 (right…..like that happens). Iguodala has one of the safer floors for a value pick.
My pick: Williams(SF), Iguodala(F); N/A
DraftKings NBA Power Forwards:
Best Bets:
Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,400): Giannis put up 54 DraftKings points in the first meeting against Washington. If he does that again, I think we may be disappointed in that output. Blowouts have limited Giannis’ minutes lately, and have depressed his ceiling some. Still, Giannis has arguably the biggest upside on the slate for the price. It’s a toss up between he and Harden.
Julius Randle ($7,700): Randle is finally listed as questionable. It should go without saying that he is a must play against the Bulls should Randle return with no minutes limit. Whatever happens between now and Thursday with the Pelicans is mostly irrelevant for DFS. Payton, Davis, and Mirotic are all still out. There is value to be had here whether its with Randle or someone else.
Honorable Mention:
Kenneth Faried ($7,000): See Denver? This is what happens when you actually play the talent you have. Faried has a new lease on his NBA career. He is putting up 30’s all the time for Houston. I doubt Faried has any trouble doing it here against the Kings either.
Lauri Markkanen ($6,900): Markkanen has only been under 30 DraftKings points once in the last nine games and only under 40 twice more. Markkanen is finally back to the kind of production that we have come to expect from him. He looks like an elite play against the Pelicans, especially if Randle remains out.
Josh Jackson ($5,500): Jackson continues to beast with Warren out. He is even more reliable that Oubre right now, and he’s a few hundred cheaper. Jackson has three straight games of more than 30 DraftKings points. That streak is in serious jeopardy against Utah, but I still think Jackson will be right around 5x value.
Dark Horses:
Jeff Green ($5,000): Green has carved out a solid role for the Wizards, a role that doesn’t appear to be diminishing anytime soon. There are few certainties in life. Death. Taxes. The Knicks tanking. And Jeff Green is going to get 31.25 DraftKings points tonight. He has had that exact total in both meetings against the Bucks this year.
Mason Plumlee ($4,400): Plumlee was huge when thrown into a starting role with Millsap sidelined. If Millsap is out again, Plumlee is a must play against this Brooklyn front. I really hope Millsap sits because I really want this value. I would consider Millsap too. I just think Plumlee is better suited here.
Cheick Diallo ($3,700): Diallo has 64.25 DraftKings points over the last two games. Many of us have like the upside with Diallo. It’s nice that he is finally getting run. Of course, if the Pelicans get the entire Lakers team sans LeBron, Diallo’s value will be very short lived. I love Diallo at this price. He will be in every single lineup I make, even if Randle comes back.
My pick: Green(PF), Diallo(UTIL); Jackson(SF), Diallo(PF)
DraftKings NBA Centers:
Best Bets:
Nikola Jokic ($10,600): HE’S PLAYING THE NETS! A team that Jokic throttled for 72.75 DraftKings points in the first meeting. If you don’t play him, thanks for your donation!
Rudy Gobert ($8,500): This is a good matchup for Gobert, but there is some blowout potential here. Regardless of how this goes, Gobert is one of the guys that should hit value regardless of how this games turns out, but I do have serious doubts about his upside.
Honorable Mention:
Jahlil Okafor ($7,300): I was off of Okafor because of the tougher matchup on paper for him against Indiana. Okafor responded with a punishing 47.75 DraftKings points. I would prefer more consistency out of Okafor, but I can’t argue with this matchup. He could destroy the Bulls here.
DeMarcus Cousins ($6,800): Boogie topped 40 DraftKings points for the first time this season against the Lakers last time out. He could do that against the Spurs tonight considering they are resting their two best players. Cousins is still playing only 25 minutes per game though, so we are taking a sizeable risk using him at this price.
Deandre Ayton ($6,500): Ayton has been solid since his return, and on paper, this looks like a good matchup. Gobert has been better defensively lately. Enough better that I don’t know how much I trust this. Ayton does have a lot going for him, price being one of them. However, with as many good options at center as there are, I’m not sure we need to take a chance on Ayton.
Dark Horses:
Bobby Portis ($5,900): Portis wrecked the Hornets on Saturday for 49.75 DraftKings points right after he dominated the Heat in just 24 minutes. I would feel a whole lot better about this if Portis actually started the game like he did on Saturday. If Portis starts, he is an absolute must for your lineups. This is a smash spot for Portis against a depleted Pelicans front.
Marvin Bagley ($5,800): There are rumors that WCS could be on the move, which could move Bagley into a permanent starting role. Bagley is tearing apart opponents lately. That should continue against the Rockets. Houston isn’t really what I would call weak up front, but I could see both Bagley and Faried having good games.
Brook Lopez ($5,500): BroLo has done some serious damage against Washington this year. In two games, Lopez has 71.25 DraftKings points. That includes 39 against them two games ago. Lopez has the looks of a great value here again.
My pick: Jokic(C); Jokic(C), Portis(F), Lopez(UTIL)
Next. NBA DFS best plays and fades February 6. dark
Stay tuned to Fantasy CPR for a ton of NFL advice and DFS plays for the EPL, PGA tour, and much more!