Early DraftKings NBA picks January 20: Is Giannis worth it?
By Mike Marteny
Early DraftKings NBA picks January 20: Is Giannis worth it?
The NBA celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday features a massive 14 game DraftKings NBA slate. This would be the largest of the season, but DraftKings chopped it up. We have nine early games, which makes that the main slate. Who won’t be able to participate in the activities today?
Out: Joel Embiid (finger), Zion Williamson (knee), Jonathan Isaac (knee), RJ Barrett (ankle), Richaun Holmes (shoulder), Wendell Carter (ankle), Luke Kennard (knee), Mo Wagner (ankle), Rui Hachimura (groin), Otto Porter (foot), Daniel Gafford (thumb), Alex Len (back), D.J. Augustin (knee), Justise Winslow (back), Kent Bazemore (traded), DeAndre Jordan (finger), Kevin Porter (knee), Jabari Parker (shoulder), Wilson Chandler (hamstring), Anzejs Pasecniks (ankle), Brandon Knight (knee), Garrison Mathews (ankle), Anthony Tolliver (traded), Robin Lopez (illness), Nene (hip), Gerald Green (foot), Abdel Nader (ankle), Turd Ferguson (personal), Andre Roberson (knee), Kevin Durant (Achilles), John Wall (Achilles), Blake Griffin (knee), Al-Farouq Aminu (knee), Dylan Windler (leg), Ante Zizic (illness), Dennis Smith (oblique), Chandler Parsons (knee), Bruno Caboclo (knee), Andre Iguodala (personal), Darius Miller (Achilles).
Questionable: Al Horford (hand), Jrue Holiday (elbow), Derrick Favors (back), Marvin Bagley (foot), Jordan McRae (ankle), Jahlil Okafor (back), Wayne Ellington (illness), John Henson (back), Austin Rivers (thumb), Rajon Rondo (finger), Brandon Knight (knee), Reggie Jackson (back), Kenrich Williams (back), Justin Patton (illness).
That’s a lot to keep track of early on. Horford and Holiday are the big ones we have to keep track of. The same is true for Favors, whose absence could mean a huge game for Hayes.
Both of my lineups were in the top 350 last night. They were mostly different, yet less than two points apart. Dougie McBuckets helped propel the line that I faded Jokic in. The other had Bam and Jokic with Sabonis, so I had pretty much the right player pool.
victoryformation1776 took it down with 324.25 DraftKings points. He built with Sabonis, Bam, Jokic, and DeRozan and got nice value out of Nunn, McDermott, McConnell, and Marco Belinelli.
Just because you don’t see someone on here doesn’t mean they aren’t a good play. I only have so much room, and I’m not going anyone a favor if I recommend more than half of the players at a position. If you have a feeling about someone, by all means, follow that. I mostly follow numbers and trends.