Daily Fantasy DraftKings and FanDuel NBA Picks - Monday, January 2, 2024

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Point Guard/ Shooting Guard

De'Aaron Fox FD - $10000 DK - $9600
Opponent - CHA
Proj Pts FD - 53.4 DK - 56.66

Chris Duarte FD - $3700 DK - $4000
Opponent - CHA
Proj Pts FD - 17.02 DK - 17.55 We’ve got some blowout risk happening on this slate and one of those games could involve the Kings who are -16 favorites going in. That’s one of the highest lines you will ever seeing, somewhat complicating matters for cash games. On the surface, De'Aaron Fox makes for a top-flight cash game play, putting up some of the best stats in the NBA this season.

He’s averaging 30 points per game on 48/40 splits while adding in 6.1 assists and 4.6 rebounds. The matchup against the shorthanded Hornets is, of course, a great one. But we will be fading a blowout all the way through.

Meanwhile, Chris Duarte joined the starting lineup last game in place of Kevin Huerter, playing 26 minutes in this role. He only scored seven points and added six rebounds, but the price is so cheap on both sites that you have to consider him at least. With salaries such as they are, the punt plays become even more important.

CJ McCollum FD - $8000 DK - $7100
Opponent - BKN
Proj Pts FD - 39.86 DK - 42.34

CJ McCollum is still a good DraftKings deal, coming in around the $7K range which can be a difficult tier with the newer pricing model. He gets to face a Nets team that’s been one of the worst defenses in the league over the last month or so and has trouble stopping just about anyone. Even with the Pels at relatively full strength, CJ is still getting up shots in this offense, tallying 14 or more FG attempts in each fo the last three games. Again, I like this play considerably more on DraftKings than FanDuel.

Ish Smith FD - $3700 DK - $4300
Opponent - SAC
Proj Pts FD - 21.44 DK - 23.18

Ish Smith should start again in the place of Terry Rozier, who is doubtful for this one. The former played 29 minutes in the blowout to Denver, tallying 10 points, four assists, and three rebounds. He was a popular play on Monday evening in this role, and I suspect it will be the case again considering the price didn’t adjust all that much.

Small Forward

Miles Bridges FD - $7800 DK - $8100
Opponent - SAC
Proj Pts FD - 41.07 DK - 43.79

Cody Martin FD - $4800 DK - $5100
Opponent - SAC
Proj Pts FD - 28.39 DK - 26.83

Like with Ish Smith, we are staring down some very real blowout risk with this game which could negatively impact the upside for each of these guys. That being said, with LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, and Gordon Hayward out of the mix, there are shots (and really everything else) to go around in this lineup.

Bridges led the team in shots, points, rebounds, and assists last time out against the Nuggets. And the minutes were there even in the blowout. This has him with a high floor even in games that get away from the Hornets. The price on both sites really isn’t there for Bridges considering all of the players out for the Hornets.

I’m also on the higher side with Cody Martin who is still coming off the bench, but should have plenty of opportunity in this game. He played 25 minutes against Denver and took six shots. Unfortunately, he missed them all. But the rest of the box score line kept him in the mix with six assists, three rebounds, and four block+steals.

At these prices, I think we can consider rostering him in cash games with the understanding that he won’t miss the rest of his shots forever.

Strongly consider Keegan Murray (FD 6300 DK 6200)

Power Forward/ Center

Domantas Sabonis FD - $10000 DK - $9700
Opponent - CHA
Proj Pts FD - 52.01 DK - 56.39

Stacking De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis in cash games seems like the play for now, considering so much of the fantasy production on the Kings is wrapped up in these guys, and they get a great matchup. Of course, as we said with Fox, there is big-time blowout risk. These dudes might not see the fourth quarter.

But I think it’s a chance we have to take with the state of this slate. Sabonis has seen the scoring come and go in the short term, but this dude is just eerily consistent on a year-over-year basis, putting up nearly identical numbers for the last four seasons. The price on both sites is more than reasonable.

Andre Drummond FD - $9200 DK - $8200
Opponent - PHI
Proj Pts FD - 47.62 DK - 48.87

He’s coming way too cheap on DraftKings for what he’s been doing as a starter for the Bulls. Dude is averaging 21.3 rebounds per game (you read that correctly) over the last three games. One of those even had him in foul trouble. Now, that could be the case again here, facing off against Joel Embiid, who gets fouled as much as anyone in the league. It’s a tough spot because we are clearly getting value on DK, but the matchup is one of the worst out there.

Trayce Jackson-Davis FD - $5600 DK - $4600
Opponent - ORL
Proj Pts FD - 30.61 DK - 31.43

Trayce Jackson-Davis drew the start for the Warriors against the Mavericks. It stands to reason he’ll be running with this group once again when facing the Magic. He went for 17 points and six rebounds in 29 minutes, though Golden State did lose that game. Regardless, if the minutes are going to push towards 30, then he’s an easy play on both sites in this price tier.

Strongly consider Nick Richards (FD 6000 DK 6000), who’s averaging almost a double-double over the last couple of weeks.