DraftKings NBA picks January 27: Spend up front
By Mike Marteny
DraftKings NBA Shooting Guards:
Best Bets:
Donovan Mitchell ($7,900): If Harden sits, I probably wont use Mitchell. I can’t see the Rockets staying close. There are some good shooters off that bench, but with no other playmakers, I expect a short night for Mitchell and the other Jazz starters. However, Mitchell is reasonably priced, so he can hit value at this price even if he only plays 30 minutes.
Derrick Rose ($7,800): Rose has scored 20 or more actual points in a dozen straight games and has topped 40 DraftKings points in eight of those. He’s still got it, just in a different way than in his Bulls heyday. The Pistons needed a scorer, and Rose has stepped up in a way that no one thought was still possible. We may as well keep using him until Rose cools off.
Honorable Mention:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($7,300): I don’t usually use guards against Dallas, but the Thunder trio all did well the first time around against the Mavs. We all know their roles by now. Paul is the steady one, SGA has the highest upside, and Schroder is the biggest risk. I will limit exposure just because it’s Dallas, but SGA did go for 43.5 DraftKings points the first time around.
Eric Gordon ($6,900): I’m going to start this by saying that this price is absurd. Gordon has gotten back on the horse lately, but jumping $1,600 after a 28.25 DraftKings point outing is a bit much. Sure, Gordon is going to see an increase in shots, but with no one to take the pressure off of him and Mitchell guarding him, and I can Gordon coming up short tonight. This is a huge risk, all things considered.
Ben McLemore ($5,800): One would think that there’s a ton of value on the Rockets, but that may be a bit of a stretch. Many of the Rockets’ guards are high priced. Look, no one off that bench is Harden or Russ. We can’t expect them to produce like it, especially against a team like Utah. This is likely going to be a blowout. Who’s going to be on the court when it gets out of hand? Good luck predicting that.
Dark Horses:
Bogdan Bogdanovic ($5,300): Bogdan’s first start wasn’t a great one and he didn’t play any more minutes than usual. This is still a risk, but I’m going Bogdan over Hield again. Price is a factor, but Bogdan lit up the Timberwolves in the first meeting. He scored more than Hield in that game and likely will again.
Derrick White ($5,000): You can argue quite successfully that White has been the best Spurs guard over the last two weeks. Of course, Pop is finding minutes for Mills, White, Forbes, Murray, and Belinelli, so it’s really hard for any of them to find a groove. White has played at least 25 minutes in five straight, so it’s not a coincidence that the production is up. The only question is whether the minutes will stay that way. Since White has at least 29 DraftKings points in all of those games, he’s a nice bargain right now.
Seth Curry ($4,300): Let someone else deal with the THJ headache. Curry has outperformed Hardaway in both of his games in the starting lineup. There is a chance that WCS starts for the Mavs tonight. If that’s the case, I’m moving off of Curry. If Curry starts, lock him in.