Joel Embiid suffered an injury last night and it didn't look good. He was enjoying an elite "rookie" campaign, and we're offering our best wishes to him. Hopefully the injury is nothing serious, and he can come back in a couple days.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on 1/21/17. The DFS lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays on DraftKings. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter @BalesSJustin.
Editor's Note: Our industry-leading NBA DFS Lineup Optimizer/Generator tool helps you build winning DFS lineups in seconds. Try it now for free, and get an edge on your competition.
DraftKings DFS Guards
Isaiah Thomas – PG, vs POR ($8,900)
Thomas has been an elite scorer in the NBA this season. He has the ability to score on anyone, and he’s averaging 33.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game over the last 10 days. He has been consistently scoring around 50 fantasy points per night with the upside for 60 or more fantasy points. Tonight, he gets an elite matchup against the Blazers, who have been one of the fastest paced teams in the NBA this season. Thomas makes a great option in all leagues.
Raymond Felton – PG, at DEN ($5,700)
Felton saw a price jump tonight, which was expected. He’s going to benefit quite a bit from the injury to Chris Paul, and he scored 31 fantasy points in his last game without Paul. He will be locked into at least 30 minutes tonight, and he has consistently scored 30 or more fantasy points when given the minutes this season. He gets a good matchup against the Nuggets tonight, and Felton is a bit too cheap for his production.
Kent Bazemore – SG/SF, vs PHI ($4,500)
Bazemore’s production has been down over his last two games, but both of those games were blowouts, in which he didn’t play big minutes. Before those games, he had scored at least 33 fantasy points in his previous two games. He finally looks healthy for Atlanta, and he has a clear path to minutes with Kyle Korver in Cleveland. Bazemore has the ability to contribute in multiple categories, and he gets a good matchup against the Sixers tonight. Bazemore does come with a bit of risk, but he’s a solid option for his price tag tonight.
DraftKings DFS Forwards
Kawhi Leonard – SF, at CLE ($9,200)
Leonard has gone on a few hot and cold streaks this season, but he has been on fire recently. He’s averaging 33.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.8 steals per game over the last 10 days. He has scored at least 40 fantasy points in eight of his last 10 games, including four games with more than 50 fantasy points. He gets a tough matchup against the Cavs tonight, but Leonard is the type of player that will take a game over. He’s only going to get more expensive during this current hot streak, and he’s a good option in all leagues tonight.
Markieff Morris – SF/PF, at DET ($6,200)
Morris is never an easy player to trust, but his recent production has been hard to argue with. He’s averaging 15.8 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.3 steals per game over the last 10 days. He has scored at least 30 fantasy points in six of his last seven games, including a few games with 40 or more fantasy points. He has been contributing in multiple categories, and he can be used in all leagues, as he still comes with a reasonable price tag.
James Johnson – PF, vs MIL ($5,800)
Johnson is coming off a terrible game against the Mavs, but he has been playing extremely well before that. He’s a player that comes with great upside, and he can score fantasy points in a hurry. He has been locked into big minutes for the Heat, and he gets a great matchup against the Bucks tonight. Johnson still comes with a surprisingly low price tag, and he’ll make an elite tournament option on this slate tonight.
DraftKings DFS Centers
Nikola Jokic – C, vs LAC ($9,300)
Jokic has been one of the best fantasy options in the NBA recently, as he’s averaging 29.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 1.0 steals per game over the last 10 days. He has scored at least 50 fantasy points in each of his last four games, and his price tag has yet to catch up to his production. He gets a tough matchup against the Clippers tonight, but Jokic has been a matchup proof player recently. He has also been able to control his fouling, which is a great sign for his fantasy outlook. He’s a elite option tonight.
DeAndre Jordan – C, at DEN ($7,800)
Jordan is the other center in this game, and he has been playing nearly as well as Jokic over the last 10 days. Over that span, Jordan is averaging 20.5 points, 18.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 2.8 blocks, and 1.3 steals per game. He saw his role in the offense increase in his last game with Chris Paul out, and the Clippers should continue to get him the ball in the post tonight. He gets a solid matchup against the Nuggets, and Jordan is entirely too cheap. He’s one of the best options on the slate tonight.
NBA & DFS Premium Subscription
Get an edge on your NBA DFS competition, every single night of the week:
- DFS Cheat Sheets and Lineup Picks: Access to 10 deeply researched lineup picks, and sample lineups - seven days a week! Includes advanced stats to unlock NBA player values, and boost DFS success.
- DFS Optimizer Tool: Generate optimal DFS lineups in seconds. Use advanced features and stats for including/excluding players, cash games vs. GPPs, stacks and more.
- DFS Value Picks: Our Optimizer helps you find, sort and filter the best lineup values and DFS sleeper picks. Premium stats like "Usage Rate" and "Points/$1K" give you a leg up on the DFS competition.
- Daily NBA Projections: Our secret sauce - the Optimizer Tool provides DFS points projections for FanDuel, DraftKings and Yahoo scoring.
Lineup Optimizer/Generator & Sleepers Tool
Click here to see a full size version of the tool
Click here to see a full size version of the cheat sheet