DraftKings NBA picks January 17: Domantas is Lithuanian for dominant

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Hassan Whiteside #21 of the Portland Trail Blazers reacts during the first half (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /

DraftKings NBA centers:

Best Bets:

Hassan Whiteside ($8,400): By all accounts Dallas should not be a team that is tough on centers, yet they have somehow managed to pull it off. Whiteside put up just 24 DraftKings points in 25 minutes in the first meeting. He never got into a groove because Whiteside was in foul trouble the whole game and ultimately fouled out. Whiteside has had some big games lately, so there’s always a chance. He has arguably the best upside at the position, but this is hefty risk with this kind of price tag.

John Collins ($7,700): We haven’t seen much of Collins’ ceiling since he got back. A lot of that is because this is Young’s team. The Hawks are also wary of his minutes, so Collins rarely plays more than 30 per game. He can do a lot of damage in that time, especially against an aging Spurs team that is mostly incapable of keeping up with the NBA’s youth movement. I expect a strong game from Collins here.

Honorable Mention:

Al Horford ($7,500): Horford has between 33 and 42 DraftKings points in every game with Embiid out. That’s the kind of consistency we’re looking for in cash games. He’s also a solid GPP play with most of those clearing 5x value even at this price.

Jonas Valanciunas ($6,900): Jonas has massive upside, but he’s still a lot more inconsistent than we would like. Valanciunas only gets about 28 minutes per game, but he has become Whiteside-like in those minutes. It’s not uncommon to see him blow past 50 DraftKings points in the right matchup. This could be one of those.

Dark Horses:

Gorgui Dieng ($5,600): During this whole month-long charade of Towns sitting and the Timberwolves imploding, the team has only ruled him out more than four hours in advance once. I would like to take this opportunity to express my displeasure with everything this franchise is right now. The only Timberwolves I would even consider are Covington and Dieng. I would Culver if his price weren’t out of control. Those are the only islands of reality in this ocean of diarrhea. And if Towns does play by some miracle, Dieng and Covington islands disappear into that ocean as well.

Luke Kornet ($4,900): Kornet is about the only healthy center left on the Bulls roster right now. Carter, Porter, and Gafford are all injured. I’m not sold on Kornet’s basketball skills, but he should be able to produce 5x value at this price since he should play close to 40 minutes. The Bulls don’t have other alternatives.

Marc Gasol ($4,800): Ibaka is back on the bench already. Gasol put up 33.25 DraftKings points in 32 minutes in his return to the lineup. He is going to destroy Washington up front at a very low price. This is your last chance to get the discount on Gasol. He’ll be 6k next slate.