Pascal Siakam Leads the Daily Fantasy DraftKings and FanDuel NBA Picks - Tuesday, January 10, 2023

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Point Guard/ Shooting Guard

James Harden FD - $10300 DK - $10400
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 58.33 DK - 62.48

Joel Embiid is questionable for this game which means the big guy could be back after being on the shelf with foot soreness. But even if that was the case, I still think this is a fine spot to roster Harden. Detroit is the second-worst defense in the league this season and they run an above-average pace. The efficiency hasn’t been all the way there for Harden with Embiid out of the lineup, shooting just 39% from the field over his last four games, but the usage is solid and even if Embiid is back I don’t think the latter runs a ton of minutes. From a floor perspective, at these prices, Harden still makes for a good cash game option at these prices.

Tyler Herro FD - $7800 DK - $8400
Opponent - OKC
Proj Pts FD - 39.24 DK - 43.19

Kyle Lowry has already been ruled out of this game which means it’s likely that Tyler Herro and Jimmy Butler take over ball-handling duties even more in this offense. With Lowry off the court this season, Herro sees a moderate usage bump, up to 27.4%, the highest on the team. And the assist percentage climbs as well. He’s a solid deal on FanDuel especially if the minutes are going to tick up and he’s facing off against a Thunder team running the second-fastest pace in the league. Plus, there’s a chance Bam Adebayo misses this game too. Keep an eye on this situation.

Killian Hayes FD - $7100 DK - $5700
Opponent - PHI
Proj Pts FD - 30.62 DK - 32.92

The Pistons are going to be without Bojan Bogdanovic in this game and of course, are already missing Cade Cunningham for the rest of the season, though the latter has been the case for some time now. Hayes is coming off being a chalk play last time out and he more than paid off, taking 17 shots in his 34 minutes and finishing with 26 points, six assists, four rebounds, and three steals. Even as big dogs to the 76ers, I think he sees ownership here on DraftKings especially. The FanDuel price is getting tough to justify, but Detroit is down playmakers and creators at this point.

Duane Washington Jr. FD - $4700 DK - $4200
Opponent - GS
Proj Pts FD - 24.91 DK - 28.55

The Suns are beat up right now, especially in the backcourt and Washington is coming off having seen a lot of ownership in his last game even coming off the bench. The price has climbed some in the short-term, but it’s justified and there’s even some chance we see a change and he ends up starting in this game. In the loss to the Cavs, Washington took a team-high 18 shots in his 25 minutes and finished with 25 points. He’s a score-first (and kind of score-only) guard which can always make things interesting if the shot isn’t falling, but the price is cheap enough to take the risk.

Small Forward

Jimmy Butler FD - $9000 DK - $8900
Opponent - OKC
Proj Pts FD - 46.24 DK - 47.39

Like I said with Herro, the Heat are down a starting point guard and we could see Jimmy Butler take over a better part of the offense. He’s coming off a 21-shot game against the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday that saw him finish with 26 points though he did miss a buzzer-beater that would have taken home the game for Miami. He makes for a high-floor option in this game against the Thunder and the assist numbers tick up about 5% this season when Lowry is off the court.

Hamidou Diallo FD - $4400 DK - $3500
Opponent - PHI
Proj Pts FD - 25.92 DK - 27.29

Diallo should draw the start for the injured Bojan Bogdanovic in this game, though as of this writing that has yet to be confirmed. If it is the case and the minutes get into the mid-to-upper 20s then he makes for a solid punt play option at these prices with the DraftKings number looking particularly like a bargain. When given the minutes, Diallo is a solid fantasy option, averaging 12 points and five rebounds per 25 this season. And he’s able to get after it some on the defensive end as well. Be sure to keep an eye out for the Pistons starters in this game.

Gary Trent Jr. (FD 7000 DK 6100) is a fine deal on DraftKings while he remains in the starting lineup.

Power Forward/ Center

Pascal Siakam FD - $9500 DK - $10100
Opponent - CHA
Proj Pts FD - 48.08 DK - 51.75

The Raptors draw the best matchup on the slate against the Hornets and there’s a reason they have the highest team total going here. Charlotte runs the fifth-fastest pace (it’s ticked up with LaMelo back) and they are the 24th-ranked defense. We’ve wanted to target plays against them for a while now and tonight is no different. Siakam is looking like an excellent FanDuel option though is in play on both sites. Statistically, he’s having the best season of his career, averaging 25.7 points and 8.3 rebounds with the 6.5 assists sitting at a career-high mark as well. The Raptors continue to run the starters huge minutes giving them very high floors on a night-to-night basis.

Walker Kessler FD - $5500 DK - $4700
Opponent - CLE
Proj Pts FD - 29.27 DK - 29.3

Kelly Olynyk has already been ruled out of this game opening the door for Walker Kessler to draw the start again. Though foul trouble has gotten in his way with this role before, the potential increase in minutes means he’s a good cash game option against a bigger Cleveland Cavaliers frontcourt. The rookie has double-double potential for sure but makes his bones with the blocks where he’s been able to pile up swats, coming off six in the last game alone. He’s among the league leaders in blocks despite playing fewer minutes than those above him on the list.

If Joel Embiid were to sit again for this game then I still think we can run Tobias Harris (FD 7400 DK 6800) out there on both sites.

Scottie Barnes (FD 7700 DK 6600) is still coming pretty cheap on DraftKings and the Raptors seem to still want to run him minutes in the mid-30s when everything breaks right.