DraftKings NBA picks August 4: Take a look at Westbrook

DraftKings NBA forward plays:

Here’s the thing with the Bucks. Connaughton and Bledsoe are going to run about 20 minutes each. In theory that leaves more minutes for DiVincenzo, Hill, and Korver. I’ll be shocked if they play much more than 20 minutes either. There’s going to be a lot to mop up here, so taking a stab with the likes of Sterling Brown, Marvin Williams, Robin Lopez, or D.J. Wilson could be the way to go. However, there is massive risk involved on both sides of this game.

DraftKings jacked up the prices on all of the Nets. The only ones I might consider are Rodions Kurucs or Donta Hall. Lance Thomas is average or below everywhere on the court and the guards are going to be a mess. TLC, Temple, and Johnson are all fool’s bets at those prices. You would think that someone would have to step up. I think the more likely scenario is that the Nets lose by 50 and only score around 70 points. That’s not going to help anyone.

Now the good news: Giannis can break a slate in 25 minutes of court time. He’s done it before. He’s playing a G-League team today, so I’ll probably roll him out there once in case he drops 80 in 25 minutes.

Look out for Kristaps Porzingis. There is no one on that team that has a prayer at guarding him. The only thing that will stop him here is a blowout.

Paul George continues to score within 5 DraftKings points of Kawhi and he’s still $1000 cheaper. I don’t mind using both against Phoenix, but I’ll have far more exposure to George overall.

Jusuf Nurkic has topped 50 DraftKings points in both games inside the bubble. I don’t think Portland will be able to run him and Zach Collins at the same time with Houston’s small ball lineup, but Nurkic is plenty athletic enough to be the one that stays on the court. I like him in this matchup too. Instead of Collins, consider Mario Hezonja or Melo. Both should play more against the Rockets.

Someone throw a bucket of water on T.J. Warren. This is crazy! Oladipo is that bucket of water. If Oladipo is out again though, I’m still riding Warren, even with the price increase.

Aaron Gordon should see more usage and opportunities with Isaac out and should put up some good numbers. The issue is Gordon almost never does what he should. Covington is a safer play in the same price range. We all saw what Tatum did to the Blazers, right?

I’m big fans of Terrence Ross and Cam Johnson, but not against today’s opponents. There are better places to attack.

Running the Kelly Olynyk revenge narrative against Boston isn’t a bad idea. Olynyk has played well in the bubble so far and is still cheap. If you need to go cheaper yet, Boban Marjanovic has played 11 minutes so far in the restart and picked up 25.5 DraftKings points. Oh, if only Dallas would turn him loose against the princely Kings….

Most value plays and expensive plays carry big risks tonight. I like the idea of building a lineup or two in the middle tier without trying to cram in stars. I’ll have some exposure to Giannis and Luka, but I may have zero Harden. Portland is just not a good matchup for him.