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The top daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on 1/3/18. Tom Vecchio's NBA DFS analysis and sleepers for building your optimal DFS rosters.
We have a MASSIVE 12 game NBA slate, which is our first big slate of this new year, and there are some very interesting options across the board. There are a number of injuries going around, so this should open up some value plays once we get the starting lineups.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on 1/3/18. I play both cash and GPP, so I will be looking for both players who have consistency, along with value plays that have upside from a favorable match up, or other factors.
If you have any questions or comments, let me know @DFS_Tom on Twitter. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for sites like FanDuel, and other sports too. Let's get to it.
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DraftKings DFS Guards
Chris Paul - PG, HOU @ ORL (DK - $9,600)
We know that James Harden is going to be out for a few weeks with an injury, so this will likely be CP3's time to shine. He has a 32% usage rate when Harden is off the court, which is an 8% increase from his standard rate. He also averages 0.46 more fantasy points per minute when Harden is off the court. Big changes for him, and even though his price has risen since last game, we want to jump on now before it gets any higher. Paul is also up against the Magic, who are dead last in the league when it comes to guarding point guards.
Lance Stephenson - SG, IND @ MIL (DK - $6,500)
With Victor Oladipo ruled out for yet another game, Stephenson will be getting the start. He is coming off a rough game, where he only put up 14 DK points in 22 minutes. Not a great outing, but if people are simply just looking at recent production, they will shy away from playing him, which makes Stephenson a great GPP. We know that he is averaging 0.98 fantasy points per minute with Oladipo off the court, so take that production, and think of the last game as just an outlier.
DraftKings DFS Forwards
Paul George - SF, OKC @ LAL (DK - $7,600)
If you like DFS narratives, then I have one for you will PG13. He is from Palmdale California, which is just one hour from LA. This is essentially a home coming game for him, so if you are inclined to believe the friends and family narrative, then load him up. He has scored 32 or more DraftKings points in eight of his last 10 games, and is averaging 1.03 fantasy points per minute. George is up against the Lakers, who are 10th worst in the league at guarding small forwards, giving up 41 DK points per game.
Derrick Favors - PF, UTA vs NO (DK - $6,000)
Favors is in a prime spot tonight, and played well against the Pelicans the previous time they played this season. In the one game they played earlier this year, Favors put up 43 DraftKings points in 33 minutes. He has the match up history, and he has scored 30 or more DK points in three straight games. With Gobert off the court due to injury, he has a 21% usage rate and averaging 1.00 fantasy points per minute.
DraftKings DFS Centers
Karl-Anthony Towns - C, MIN @ BKN (DK - $9,400)
Towns is one of my favorite players to roster in NBA DFS since he is so consistent, and is a double-double machine. He has eight double-doubles in his last eight games, and is averaging 1.19 fantasy points per minute. Towns is up against the Nets, who are giving up 56 DraftKings points per game to centers, which is third worst in the league. This is a fantastic spot for Towns, one because of the very favorable match up, and two, how consistent he has been over his recent stretch of games.
John Henson - C, MIL vs IND (DK - $4,800)
Henson makes a cheaper option at center tonight, who is really only in play because he has a good match up. Henson is up against the Pacers, who are giving up 59 DraftKings points per game to centers, which is dead last in the league. We know he isn't one of the top offensive options when it comes to the Bucks, but he is cheap, and has 21 or more DK points in eight of his last 10 games.
