DraftKings NBA picks August 3: Don’t pay up for Lakers

DraftKings NBA forward plays:

Just the fact that the Sixers made it interesting against a gutted Indiana squad has me wanting to jump all over Joel Embiid again. The Spurs can’t guard him with no Aldridge. If you play that narrative, you’d better be grabbing Tobias Harris and DeMar DeRozan as well. They could break the slate in a good or a bad way. I don’t think there’s an in between.

T.J. Warren‘s price went up, but not enough. That said, Troy Brown could do almost the same at a much lower price.

Don’t play the Gallinari revenge against Denver theme. He was awful against them both times earlier this year. There’s no reason to take big risks today. There are clearly defined values at every position and in the middle tiers.

Jaren Jackson is the man you want in the Memphis frontcourt. Valanciunas has a higher ceiling, but he’s more of a risk. I’d much rather play Thomas Bryant for $1,600 less than Jonas.

Steven Adams quietly had two big games against Denver earlier this year and a good one against Utah under the bubble. I really like him for the price since Noel doesn’t seem to be cutting into his minutes much. It is worth noting that Nikola Jokic dominated Adams offensively in those games as well. He’s a sneaky pivot off of Embiid while most chase Denver value.

I can’t believe that I’m actually typing this, but Kyle Kuzma looks like safe value. He seems to have a more clearly defined role under the bubble and is looking good within this team.

If you must gamble on a Spurs forward, make it Drew Eubanks. He’s more reliable that the much-too-expensive Poeltl. If you want to gamble, I’d much rather go with the huge upside of Michael Porter.

We have a lot of value again today, but who is actually worth paying up for? The way to leverage yourself may be to play sure values and leave some money on the table.