DraftKings NBA picks February 23: LMA brings the Thunder
By Mike Marteny
DraftKings NBA Shooting Guards:
Best Bets:
Zach LaVine ($9,100): I still haven’t played LaVine much of late with the price this high. The last time I did was his last game agianst the Wizards in which he racked up 63.75 DraftKings points. He has torched Washington this year and I really don’t think that changes here. He’s a much safer play than Beal at $500 less.
CJ McCollum ($8,400): Another game without Dame was another 50 for CJ. That could happen against Detroit as well. The Pistons are embracing socialism, giving away Andre Drummond to those less fortunate (Cleveland) while at the same time releasing Reggie Jackson to the throngs of capitalism. They’re just as confused as the rest of the country. The youth movement is on in the Motor City and they have no one left to guard CJ. He’s going for 50 again.
Honorable Mention:
Jrue Holiday ($7,800): Forget Holiday’s lackluster performances against the Warriors earlier this year. Defensive stalwart Draymond Green is out and Burks, who may have been their best defensive guard, is in Philly. Holiday is a strong play here since he and Zion seem to coexist slightly better than Ingram and Zion.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($7,100): The recent huge play of Paul has undermined SGA some, but his output has been consistent. With the way DraftKings pricing is tonight, 5x value might put us in the money, even in GPP’s. The pricing is at the high end of the averages of many middle tier players. SGA is one of those. However, his talent makes him an intriguing play. He has more upside than anyone else on the team.
Malik Beasley ($5,800): Throw out the numbers here. Remember how huge Beastley was without Russell? That’s going to happen here against his former team. Beastley and Juancho didn’t get much of a chance in Denver. Both of them are going back to their former home and are going to show the fans how much they really gave up for cap relief and a first round pick. Beastley is dropping 50. He said so himself when Denver traded him. That is going to be DraftKings points and not actual points, but I’ll take it for this low price.
Dark Horses:
Coby White ($5,200): White is about as inconsistent as they come. He has alternated huge games, like 8x value games, with games under 20 DraftKings points. It doesn’t even seem to matter the quality of opponent. The minutes are there for White. but the shots wont be as plentiful if Satoransky doesn’t struggle again. Still, the upside of White is as high as anyone else in this game with the possible exception of LaVine.
Anfernee Simons ($3,900): The ownership is going to be high on Simons again, but should it be? He played good minutes on Friday but only came up with 19.75 DraftKings points. That’s fine when he’s almost minimum price, but we need more here. Can we get it?