Kmarko's DraftKings Picks - January 20

Welcome back to the daily DraftKings picks where we try to get super rich playing daily fantasy basketball. As usual I’ll do a brief recap of my lineups from the week before then throw out some picks that I’m brainstorming for this weekend, and hopefully get some good feedback/tips/picks from you guys either in the comment section or on Twitter @kmarkobarstool.

Womp wommppppppp.

Blog picks – 58.25 points, just slightly under our target goal of 120. Gallo did alright but Barton and Markieff totally bombed (to be fair though Morris got hurt, that’s not my fault, plus he was 50% owned so it didn’t hurt too bad). Of course, me filling out the rest of my lineup with guys like D Wade, Jokic and Tyler Johnson was…let’s just say…not productive.

No better way to shake it off and get back in the mix like a gigantic Wednesday slate. Let’s get into it, 3 plays from the 3 price tiers with some bonus guys at the end.

PF DeMarcus Cousins $10.6K

Probably the guy I’ve featured the most times so far, but what can I say, I’m a sucker for Boogie. Couple of reasons he’s the superstar I’m rolling with tonight. 1, the PF slot SUCKS…you’re either paying up for a sure thing, or taking a shot on a cheapo guy who, no matter how good he’s been, can ruin your entire lineup with one 7 point dud (looking at you, Amir Johnson). 2, he’s playing the Lakers. 3, he’s just really, really good at basketball. The only way I’ll pay this much for a guy is if I’m super confident he has a shot to break the 60 point mark, and I’ll give DeMarcus the slight edge over Westbrook, Steph, Lebron, Harden and Durant when it comes to that.

PG Ish Smith $7.5K

People been keeping track of Ish Smith since he got traded to the Sixers? Just quietly putting up some of the best stats for any point guard, in any price range. He was a big play for me at the beginning of the season when he was starting for the Pelicans, then Tyreke came back, Jrue took over, and he became pretty much forgotten. Now he’s dropping 40-50 point best games every other night. I like his price because it’s not too high, but high enough to make people think twice about paying 7.5K for Ish Smith. The Sixers might be the worst team in the league and an insult to the NBA, but it’s not like we have to watch them play – just need to throw their PG on our rosters and watch his stat totals explode in a garbage game.

VALUE PLAY SF Aaron Gordon $4.2K

Two games ago Aaron Gordon finished with 1.25 points in 7 minutes of action. So why am I featuring him? Because I’m a crazy motherfucker that’s why. And because he’s coming off a 27 minute, 34 point gem, AND because his head coach recently said he may be juggling the starting lineup around to get guys (read: Gordon) more time, AND because they’re playing the Sixers. He’s proven that if he gets the minutes, he can produce, and you got to believe there will be some minutes available against the Sixers. It’s a risk, but scared money don’t make money.

Other notes…

PG: You got Westbrook and Steph at the top of the heap, both of whom virtually guarantee you at least 50 points…but that middle to upper tier has a lot of great options: Lowry, Rondo and Ish, maybe even Kemba (although I try not to play him). You got Elfrid Payton as the ultimate wild card, getting the start against the Sixers, or D’Angelo Russell putting up solid 20-30 pointers off the bench lately. My personal favorite has been Donald Sloan lately, getting way more run than Larkin in Jack’s spot.

SG: Tough position tonight. I always love Jimmy Buckets, probably even more than Harden considering his fantasy slump lately. There are some intriguing middle tier and value type plays: I’ve been hammering Tyler Johnson with Dragic and Udrih out, and everyone might be off him after an absolute dud last night. Afflalo is quietly stringing together quite the hot streak, and Garrett Temple is still getting minutes even with Beal back.

SF: Durant has been on fire but I might like Lebron more, pissed off coming off that curb stomping by Golden State. Gordon Hayward has been on fire, and a little cheaper, you got Rudy Gay against the Lakers. I definitely love Covington especially after getting the endorsement from his coach and a new starting spot, and I’d expect Parsons’ usage to go up with Dirk out.

PF: Yuck. This is why I’m paying up for Cousins. Not much to love here. Dirk being out opens up a possible value play in Dwight Powell, and Julius Randle has been solid lately. I guess you could roll with Millsap as a solid safe play, and Nerlens always has plenty of upside.

C: Lot to like at the top here: Drummond, Pau, Dwight and Whiteside all have an even money shot of being the top scoring center of the night. Vucevic is a great option against the Sixers, Valanciunas has been good and is a little cheaper, Towns could feast on Dallas…I like Rudy Gobert too, who is quietly back in game shape and dropped a couple of monsters in a row.

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That’s it for me, good luck tonight. Tweet me @kmarkobarstool with your picks or to talk shit, whatever. Also if you’re depositing to play make sure to use my referral and we’ll both get hooked up with some stuff.