DraftKings NBA picks January 7: Go by the Booker

DraftKings NBA Point Guards:

Best Bets:

Kyle Lowry ($8,700): This is a great matchup for Lowry, and VanVleet is out. Lowry put up 46.5 DraftKings points on Saturday with VanVleet exiting early. There are a few other good options at the point, but I see no reason to choose them over Lowry. Use LeBron at SF. It’s a weaker position.

Spencer Dinwiddie ($7,600): Dinwiddie’s numbers have regressed a bit with LeVert back, but so has his price. Blame the Dallas debacle on foul trouble and a big deficit. Blame last night on the suffocating Orlando defense. Dinwiddie is still the focal point of this offense for as long as Kyrie is out. He should be at least close to 40 DraftKings points here.

Honorable Mention:

Chris Paul ($6,900): Paul had a pedestrian game against Cleveland because, well, the Thunder didn’t really need him. This is something that could become an issue, but it shouldn’t be tonight. Brooklyn is weak against the point, but they also play a lot of close games. Expect Paul to bounce back tonight. Prior to the game against Cleveland, he had at least 35 DraftKings points in five straight. He was back at it again last night.

Ja Morant ($6,800): Morant’s inconsistency is maddening. About all we can do is play him when the matchups look good. It did against Phoenix on Sunday, but that didn’t really work out. Minnesota has all kinds of issues at the point. Morant put up 33.5 DraftKings points on them the first time, which is right about 5x value. There is enough upside here to consider him though.

Dennis Schroder ($6,500): Thunder guard leapfrog continues as Schroder outplayed the other two last night. SGA’s numbers have been trending downward lately, and his price isn’t low enough to pique my interest again. Schroder on the other hand is cheap with a high floor. 28.25 DraftKings points is his low mark in the last month.

Dark Horses:

Jarrett Culver ($5,000): I guess we don’t really know where Culver fits into this whole thing, but he got good run even with Wiggins and Teague back on Sunday. Culver still has some battles with inconsistency, but he has at least 30 DraftKings points in three of the last four games. His defense is something the Timberwolves sorely need, so I expect Culver to keep getting good minutes even if he doesn’t start.

Dante Exum ($4,300): This was the game that Utah fans were dreading. Exum racked up 37.25 DraftKings points with 28 actual points in just 24 minutes on Sunday. Expect Exum to keep eating into the minutes of Garland. It’s easy to forget that Exum is still very young. If he can stay healthy, he should surpass Garland at some point. That point isn’t here yet, but Exum’s ceiling is much higher and he should be afforded more minutes after his show on Sunday.

Alex Caruso ($3,500): Caruso is far less volatile than Rondo and the fans love him, so he should still get good minutes off the Lakers bench. He has at least 20 DraftKings points in two of the last three games. The minutes should be there as long as Bradley is sidelined. There’s little upside, but are we really going to complain if Caruso keeps breaking 20? Update: If Avery Bradley is active like he says he is, find value elsewhere. There’s no guarantee that Caruso will see enough run.