NBA DFS Picks For January 10, 2021

In doing research to prepare for tonight’s slate it is important to keep in mind that the two early games of the day are not included in the main slate. Additionally, as is customary on a Sunday, the action gets started an hour earlier. 

For those who have yet to subscribe, what are you waiting for? Until then you will get one free pick to whet your appetite. Oklahoma City is coming off an impressive win against what had been surging a Knicks team and tonight they face a Brooklyn team that is slated to get their studs back. With an over/under of 225, along with the Nets struggles on the defensive end so far this season, the clear candidate to capitalize on that is the highly utilized Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($8,000 DK, $7,600 FD). He is coming off perhaps his best game of the season on Friday in which he scored 25 points while grabbing 10 rebounds and adding seven assists. As the Thunder try to keep pace with a Nets team likely to be at full strength they are going to need everything Gilgeous-Alexander can give them. 

With respect to Brooklyn we need to keep an eye on the statuses of both Kevin Durant ($9,200 DK, $9,900 FD) and Kyrie Irving ($9,600 DK, $9,500 FD) leading up to game time. Not only are they among the top options on tonight’s slate but they impact whether or not there is value to be found among Brooklyn’s supporting cast. After missing his last three games due to quarantine issues regarding COVID-19, Durant should be well rested and primed to build on the 28 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists he is averaging so far this season. With 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 6.3 assists, Irving isn’t too far behind and my preference here is really based on positional needs. 

Another team that we have watch right up until tip-off is the Lakers. Anthony Davis ($9,700 DK, $10,200 FD) missed his last game with a hip injury and we are still waiting on whether he will return tonight in what promises to be a close (3.5-point spread) and high scoring (225 over/under) game. In other news LeBron James ($10,200 DK, $10,400 FD) is questionable. That hasn’t changed all season as James has yet to miss a game while also continuing to perform at an elite level. With 25.8 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 8.8 assists per game James is close to a daily triple-double and he is someone I’m targeting tonight.

On the other side of that game, at least from a star power perspective, I’m staying away from James Harden ($10,800 DK, $11,200 FD) as his price doesn’t exactly take into account his struggles so far this season as he is coming off back-to-back 15-point outings. For the season they are both averaging roughly the same (21) points per game but John Wall ($7,600 DK, $7,800 FD) is substantially cheaper and also beginning to pick up more of the offensive slack as Harden continues to work out of his funk.

Chris Boucher ($5,900 DK, $7,200 FD) is a talented player and his potential can’t be ignored. The problem though is that he is still inconsistent although that is priced into his value. In 29 minutes of action in his last game it’s awfully hard to ignore his 23 points and 10 rebounds. While his averages for the season of 14.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game are reasonable it is generally unlikely he hits those marks in any given game as he plays at the extremes. A safe bet for his floor is generally going to be around 25 DFS points but it’s also possible he doubles that mark as he did in his last game. 

Jimmy Butler ($7,300 DK, $8,100 FD) is better than this. But don’t get used to seeing him priced at this level for much longer. If you are going to base it on the 18 points he is averaging per game so far this season, then yes this is where he belongs but the guard has gotten off to a slow start while also dealing with a nagging injury. But after watching Butler score 26 points in each of his last two games while averaging 34.5 minutes per game with nine rebounds and six assists, it’s hard not to write him into your lineup with ink.

Julius Randle ($9,500 DK, $9,400 FD) was terrible on Friday. The Knicks looked sluggish despite being in contention for much of the game but Randle failed do much of anything in the first half. Watching the game you would have written him off as a bust for the night. But in looking at the box score at the end of the night that was far from the case at least from a DFS standpoint. Randle scored 18 points while adding 12 rebounds to keep the double-double train going but with seven assists he also continued to be a facilitator on offense. I’d love to see what a bounce back effort looks like tonight. 

It was also an off night for Austin Rivers ($4,900 DK, $4,800 FD) on Friday as he scored just 12 points but, especially based on the salary, it was still a profitable night from a DFS perspective. The Knicks are going to continue leaning on Rivers in their backcourt and his five rebounds and six assists provided a nice floor and we can expect an improvement on the offensive end tonight.

We know that Jayson Tatum will be sidelined due to COVID-19 protocols but we also need to verify Jaylen Brown’s ($9,100 DK, $8,300 FD) status prior to the start of the game. Even with Tatum in the lineup Brown has been a top option so far this season on the offensive end for Boston with 24.8 points per game. Without Tatum, the Celtics will lean more on Brown but Marcus Smart($7,200 DK, $5,900 FD) slides onto your radar in either scenario as they look for more scoring. Smart is averaging just 13 points per game so far this season but he has the potential for more while averaging 7.5 assists per game to give us a nice floor.

Jarrett Culver ($4,000 DK, $4,200 FD) could score 20 points in a game or he could score four. That is clearly a pretty substantial swing but he is playing 24 minutes per game as a part of Minnesota’s starting lineup while grabbing 5.4 rebounds per game. There is some offensive upside and Culver is more of a GPP option but he can help you balance the books.