DraftKings NBA Shooting Guards:
Best Bets:
James Harden ($11,700): I’m not going to be the guy to tell you not to play Harden. He has at least 50 DraftKings points in all but the first game. Luka is more flashy and might have a higher upside, but Harden continues to deliver big lines. You really can’t go wrong with either one, but I bet you’ll find Harden at lower ownership.
Brad Beal ($9,600): Beal still continues to fly just under the radar even though his usage rate since John Wall went down last spring is almost as high as Harden or Luka. Beal is about all this Washington offense has. He may have a down game here and there, but his floor is still a hair above 4x value. If you go with a balanced build, it may be a good idea to try and fit Beal in there somewhere even though his price is a little high for something like that.
Honorable Mention:
Donovan Mitchell ($7,900): The potential for a blowout is concerning, especially since Mitchell doesn’t dominate usage the way that Luka does. We knew that Luka was going to get his no matter what the score. We need this game to stay close for Mitchell to get us the over 40 points we need. Mitchell has done pretty well keeping around that mark, but the rest of the talent on the team has limited his upside. He didn’t have another shooter like Bojan or a grinder like Conley to help him out last season.
Lou Williams ($6,600): I will admit that I was pretty disappointed in LouWill’s first game against the Rockets. The 34.25 DraftKings points weren’t bad, but Williams still needed almost 41 minutes to get to that point. Then again, I’m not sure the Rockets will have him shooting 8-22 from the floor again. Williams still carries a good amount of upside here.
Marcus Smart ($6,100): Smart keeps putting up big all-around numbers for Boston. He doesn’t excel in any one area, but he does enough of everything to keep his floor high. Smart has only been under 30 DraftKings points (27.5) once in the last seven games. I’ll take that floor even though the upside isn’t high, but Smart is probably better for cash games.
Dark Horses:
Duncan Robinson ($5,000): It’s really an embarrassment of riches on the wings for Miami. Robinson buried nine triples against the Cavs and has no less than three treys in four straight games. Wednesday’s outburst probably represented a ceiling game, but Robinson is still getting the minutes and the price is low enough to take a shot with him in one lineup.
Nicolas Batum ($4,100): Batum has mostly been a huge disappointment since his return, but I think that changes here. The Wizards may have beaten the Spurs, but that defense still isn’t good. Batum will see a slew of open shots. All he has to do is take them. Batum shot just once in 26 minutes against the Nets on Wednesday.