NBA DFS action on Sunday, Jan. 3 locks at 6:00 p.m. EST with an intriguing seven-game main slate. Before you lock in your NBA DFS picks and favorite lineups on DraftKings, FanDuel, Yahoo and SuperDraft, make sure to check out Awesemo’s daily fantasy basketball rankings and projections. Let’s dig into some NBA DFS picks, including Russell Westbrook, Zach LaVine and more.
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NBA DFS Picks: Key Building Blocks | Jan. 2
Russell Westbrook: Washington Wizards at Brooklyn Nets
DraftKings $10,200, FanDuel $11,000, Yahoo $42
Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 18.1%, FanDuel 30.7% Yahoo 21.4%
This is an appropriate price point for Westbrook, who has triple-doubles in his first four games as a Wizard. It appears he will be playing 36-38 minutes while forsaking back-to-backs. FanDuel has decided to have a sale on small forwards, with Otto Porter $4,400, Derrick Jones $4,000 and Will Barton $5,000, so it is not difficult working Westbrook into rosters on the blue site. Washington and Brooklyn are both in the top 10 for pace. Even better, neither team is particularly concerned with playing defense.
Zach LaVine: Chicago Bulls vs. Dallas Mavericks
DraftKings $7,300, FanDuel $7,900, Yahoo $46
Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 22.1%, FanDuel 20.2% Yahoo 14.8%
The Bulls got worked over by the Bucks on the road in their last game, as they were trailing by 21 points to open the fourth quarter. Looking at NBA WOWY on AddMoreFunds.com, we can see that rookie Patrick Williams was the only starter who played more than a minute in the fourth. We are going to see teams utilizing this strategy this season with the compressed schedule. The Bulls have several players on the COVID-19 reserve, including Chandler Hutchison, Lauri Markkanen, Tomas Satoransky and Ryan Arcidiacono. If they are healthy, the latter three players will be available for Chicago’s game in Portland on Tuesday.
All of this is to say that it should be no surprise that the starters got the final frame off on New Year’s Day. In the three games prior to that, Zach LaVine played between 35 and 38 minutes and averaged 18.3 field goal attempts with 17.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 3.0 combined blocks/steals. We can confidently go right back to him tonight.
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NBA DFS Picks: Good Value
Dillon Brooks: Memphis Grizzlies vs. Los Angeles Lakers
DraftKings $6,900, FanDuel $6,800, Yahoo $24
Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 19.2%, FanDuel 28.4% Yahoo 31.8%
This is not a particularly easy matchup, but even the new-look Lakers are not that focused on defense. With Ja Morant out, we have seen Dillon Brooks pick up the offensive slack with 19.3 field goal attempts over his last four games. He can be somewhat volatile with his scoring dependent ways, but he has been racking up steals and the volume of shot attempts can help him approach something like a 25-point floor with access to 40 fantasy points. Los Angeles is a 9-point road favorite, so we could see a fair amount of their second unit, which bodes well for Brooks’ fantasy potential.
Paul Millsap: Denver Nuggets at Minnesota Timberwolves
DraftKings $4,500, FanDuel $4,700, Yahoo $12
Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 22.9%, FanDuel 18.4% Yahoo 35.6%
Paul Millsap is really popping on Yahoo at just $2 above the minimum salary. On DraftKings his multi-position eligibility helps him along with the reasonable price point. We have yet to see Millsap top 30 fantasy points, but at least he does not have to compete with Jerami Grant and Mason Plumlee for frontcourt minutes. This is a better cash play on DraftKings, though he is fine in any game format on Yahoo.
Thaddeus Young: Chicago Bulls vs. Dallas Mavericks
DraftKings $3,900, FanDuel $4,200, Yahoo $14
Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 23.6%, FanDuel 16.5% Yahoo 12.0%
Thaddeus Young made his season debut in the Chicago back-to-back games in Washington and Milwaukee. If not for the aforementioned blowout by the Bucks, it looks like Young should see 25-27 minutes on Sunday night. He is a steal on DraftKings and a reasonable pivot away from Millsap on FanDuel and Yahoo. Young will average just shy of a fantasy point per minute, and he has upside via steals and blocks.
NBA DFS Picks: Risky Value
Robert Covington: Portland Trail Blazers at Golden State Warriors
DraftKings $5,000, FanDuel $5,200, Yahoo $20
Ownership Rating (preliminary run): DraftKings 22.7%, FanDuel 25.6% Yahoo 24.4%
While I think that Robert Covington is a great fit on the Trail Blazers, he is going to be more of a 3-and-D guy than what his roles were in Minnesota and Houston. With Jusuf Nurkic cleaning the glass, it will be harder for him to post hefty rebound numbers. Plus, he is basically the fifth option on offense. Through five games he has taken only 31 shots, with 23 from behind the arc. His value to Portland will be to disrupt the passing lanes and help cover for defensive lapses by his guards and fellow forward Carmelo Anthony. This severely mutes his upside, and thus we should let others assume the risk of yet another 20-point fantasy performance.
 Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies
- Derrick Jones: POR at GSW – $10
- Trey Burke:Â DAL vs. CHI – $10
- Patrick Beverly: LAC vs. PHX – $10
SuperDraft Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks
- Russell Westbrook:Â WAS at BKN – 1.35x multiplier
- Thomas Bryant: WAS at BKN – 1.75x multiplier
- Coby White: CHI at DAL – 1.65x multiplier
Final Thoughts
Once again, we will have plenty of value, so we can facilitate a stars-and-scrubs build. Just keep in mind that it is not necessarily going to be the same players across all of the sites.
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