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DraftKings NBA picks December 28: Who’s the best star?

By Mike Marteny

Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks the ball (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks the ball (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Jonas Valanciunas #17 of the Memphis Grizzlies looks on (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images) /

DraftKings NBA early slate:

Paul Millsap is the only injury that we have to think about here. However, with a strong as Memphis is up front anyway, I wouldn’t have been high on Millsap anyway. That could open up some value for Miles Plumlee and Jerami Grant if Millsap sits though. Will we need it?

We will if we want to use Nikola Jokic at captain. That leaves us just $6,580 to spend per flex slot. However, Jokic was a total dud against Memphis in the first meeting, only mustering 26.75 DraftKings points in 25 minutes in the blowout. Memphis should manage to keep this one close, but I still don’t feel that Jokic is worth $3,600 more than anyone else.

Jamal Murray torched Memphis for 67.5 DraftKings points in his best game of the season in the first meeting. I don’t expect another game like that from Murray, but I would say he’s just as likely to hit 40 DraftKings points as Jokic is and he’s much cheaper. That leaves us $7,300 for each flex slot, which is only really a hinderance if we still want to use Jokic.

If you want a Memphis player at captain, it has to be Jonas Valanciunas. Jonas has been a consistent force lately and put up 29.25 DraftKings points in just 22 minutes in the first meeting. Jonas is my favorite captain besides Murray. I’m leaning towards Jonas since we would still have $7,660 per flex slot.

If you want to afford anyone you want a flex, I would consider Brandon Clarke as the captain. He’s on a roll right now, and he put up 27.25 DraftKings points in just 24 minutes in the first meeting. He’ll get more minutes than that today. Clarke could hit 50 DraftKings points with the 1.5x bonus, but it will hurt if Murray goes off again. Using Clarke gives us $8,200 per flex slot. You just have to decide if it’s worth the risk.

With the captain figured out, we have to figure out who we want locked in a flex. Murray is a must. So is the upside of Jaren Jackson. I understand everyone’s reservations about fading Jokic, but that enables me to get all of the solid mid-range pieces without having to reach, so I’m going to do it and hope for another dud.

Besides, with $6,833 per flex slot, it’s really easy to get Will Barton and/or Gary Harris in there too. The only one I would make sure to steer clear of is Dillon Brooks