We have a solid six-game NBA DFS slate on Thursday night, including a TNT doubleheader. It starts with the Knicks going on the road to face the Celtics at 7:30 p.m. ET before Luka Doncic and the Mavericks travel to Phoenix to play Chris Paul and the Suns at 10 p.m. ET. Our DraftKings lineup has a good mix of veterans with favorable matchups and a few value sleepers under $6K who are the type of low-risk, high-reward options that are key in daily fantasy basketball tournaments.
Before we break down all of our picks, here are the most notable scoring rules for DraftKings contests: Made three-point shot (+0.5 points), rebound (+1.25 points), assists (+1.5 points), steals and blocks (+2 points), double-double (+1.5 points -- max one per player) and triple-double (+3 points -- max one player).
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Thursday night's NBA DraftKings Picks: NBA DFS lineup for GPP tournaments
Thursday night main slate, $50,000 budget
PG Darius Garland, Cavaliers @ Rockets ($8,600). Even though Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are available at the point guard spot tonight, we will save some salary with Garland. He's played well over his past five games, averaging 50.7 DraftKings points per contest. In the Cavs' last game against the Knicks, Garland did a little of bit everything on the floor, posting 22 points (6/17 FG, 2/6 3pt), six assists, and four rebounds. He didn't shoot the ball well but still scored 40.5 DraftKings points. We like Garland to have another great performance against the Rockets, who are on the second night of a back-to-back after losing by five points at home to the Wizards. Houston is allowing the most DraftKings points per game to PGs this season. Garland shouldn't have issues scoring against Jalen Green or Kevin Porter Jr., who have 120 and 118 defensive ratings (DRtg), respectively.
SG Malcolm Brogdon, Celtics vs. Knicks ($6,000). To round out our backcourt for tonight's slate, we'll start Brogdon, who will play more with Marcus Smart (ankle) out for a week or two. The veteran combo guard has played well this season, averaging 14.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 27.1 DraftKings points per game. Brogdon didn't play in Tuesday night's matchup against the Heat but has played 30 or more minutes in three out of his past four matchups. He produced 37.46 DraftKings points per game in those three contests. Brogdon could score 30-plus points tonight against the Knicks, who allow the sixth-most DraftKings points to PGs this season. At a $6,000 salary, we are getting a steal for one of the better veteran combo guards on the slate.
SF Paul George, Clippers vs. Spurs ($8,500). George is coming off his third 40-point DraftKings performance this month against the Lakers on Tuesday night. He recorded 27 points (11-20 FG, 3-9 3pt), nine rebounds, and four assists (45.8) and is now averaging 34.2 DraftKings points per game this month. When the Clippers played the Spurs last week, George posted 16 points (7/13 FG, 2/3 3pt), 12 rebounds, and three rebounds for 42.3 DraftKings points in the close win. He shouldn't have problems with the lowly Spurs, who give up the 10th-fewest DK points per game to SFs. However, George can impact the game in multiple ways and score at all three levels.
PF Evan Mobley, Cavaliers @ Rockets ($7,200). The second-year power forward has taken a noticeable leap on both ends of the floor this season for the Cavs, helping them become one of the better teams in the East. Mobley is almost averaging a double-double with 15 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. The former USC standout is producing 33.5 DK points per game this season but is playing exceptionally well over the past five games (37.6 DK points). He will face the Rockets, who have a promising frontcourt with Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr. However, we still like Mobley to get his stats against Houston, who are allowing the 12th-most DraftKings points per game to PFs this season (46.26).
C Jalen Duren, Pistons @ Nets ($5,100). It was hard to pass up Nikola Vucevic and Sengun, who both have fun matchups, but we will hope for Duren to crash the boards against the Nets at the Barclays Center. The young center is coming off his best performance this season against the Bucks, posting 23 points and 15 rebounds (52.3 DK points) in a 20-point loss. We aren't expecting Duren to do the same thing against the Nets, who have a solid center in Nic Claxton, who can match his athleticism. However, it's not crazy to think that the rookie can't have 10 points and 10-15 rebounds tonight. The last time Duren played Brooklyn in December, he had eight points and 11 boards for 29.8 DraftKings points.
G Seth Curry, Nets vs. Pistons ($5,000). If you are looking for a solid value play at guard, Curry is a great option tonight against Detroit. The veteran sharpshooter is coming off a ridiculous outing last night against the Sixers, torching their perimeter defense for 32 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the field and seven-of-10 shooting from three-point range (42.5 DraftKings points). On the season, Curry is only averaging 18.8 DraftKings points, but with the Nets looking for another scorer without Kevin Durant, he could see an increase in production across the board. The Pistons have allowed opponents to shoot 36.2 percent from three-point range this season and 40 percent in their past three games. It's a tailored-made matchup for Curry.
F Hamidou Diallo, Pistons @ Nets ($4,300). Staying in the Pistons-Nets game, we will take a flier on Diallo, who has played well lately, scoring in double figures in six out of his past seven games. The 24-year-old wing is averaging 13.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game and shooting 71.2 percent from the field over that period. He's also scoring 23 DraftKings points per game in the past several games, which is tremendous production for a player whose salary is between $3500-$4300 on most nights. We will be hoping for Diallo to score in double figures tonight against a Nets' team that played last night and will give points in bunches.
UTIL Jalen McDaniels, Hornets vs. Bulls ($5,200). McDaniels has scored 27-plus DraftKings points in four out of his past games. In Tuesday night's 31-point road loss to the Suns, McDaniels had 35 DraftKings as he notched a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds. He will try to build off that performance tonight against the Bulls, who allow the 10th-most DK points to SFs and the sixth-most DK points to PFs this season. We aren't looking for monster numbers from the young forward, but if he can get 20 DK points, DFS players will get good value in their UTIL spot.
