DraftKings NBA picks February 8: Right said Fred
By Mike Marteny
DraftKings NBA Point Guards:
Best Bets:
De’Aaron Fox ($8,000): It will be easier going tonight against the Spurs than last night for Fox. Actually, it’s more than PG is much more thin tonight. Fox hasn’t played the Spurs yet, but they don’t defend the point very well. Honestly, this isn’t a lock play, but I’ll probably run Fox once. He has good upside and a nice matchup at a reasonable price.
Elfrid Payton ($7,500): The one thing the Knicks have done right this season is given the keys to the offense to Payton. He has three straight games of 44 or more DraftKings points. On top of that, they are against Cleveland, Orlando, and Memphis, teams that are in the top 15 in fantasy points allowed to point guards. Forget Detroit defensive numbers. This team is a lot different right now and is thin at guard. I fully expect Payton to blow past 40 again tonight.
Honorable Mention:
Lonzo Ball ($7,200): We all saw what Lowry just did to the Pacers in two straight games, right? I’m not saying Lonzo is Lowry. He’s not the scorer Lowry is. However, it does give me reason to be optimistic about his prospects here. Ball has at least 35 DraftKings points in in four straight and seven of the last ten. That’s a very nice floor.
Devonte Graham ($6,800): Graham lit up Dallas in the first meeting. He doesn’t seem to have that kind of upside anymore, but his strong game against Houston has me thinking he can still hit 6x value against a Dallas team on a back to back without Luka that just lost to the Wizards. It was mostly Beal that torched the Mavs, but Ish had a solid game too. This looks like the time to jump back on the Graham-wagon.
Jamal Murray ($6,100): Murray’s return has diminished the numbers of some, but not Jokic. Murray didn’t appear to be on a minutes limit anymore when he put up 42 DraftKings points in 43 minutes on Utah. He wont play that much against Phoenix, but he wont need to either. Murray has averaged 43.1 DraftKings points per game in the three games against Phoenix so far this year in 36.4 minutes. I’ll say he stays close to those averages, which puts him over 7x value.
Dark Horses:
Jordan McLaughlin ($4,300): McLaughlin put up 33.25 DraftKings points on the day that Shabazz got traded. Sure, it was the Hawks, but the Clippers without Beverley aren’t a lot different. If Russell plays, I’ll move off of this, but right now, McLaughlin looks super cheap and more reliable than Culver.
Terence Davis, Raptors ($3,800): Davis has been raking with Powell out. He could have even more of a boost tonight with Lowry out. I love Davis for the price here. He is the one value play that you absolutely need.
Alex Caruso ($3,400): There’s a reason teams were asking about Caruso a few days ago. He’s a solid player when LeBron feels like he needs a break from ball-handling duty. Caruso has cracked 20 DraftKings points twice in the last three games. Play him while you can. The return of Collison is going to spell the end of minutes for him and/or Rondo.