We have a four-game NBA DFS mainline Thursday night, including a double-header on TNT. It begins with James Harden and the Sixers taking on Luka Doncic and the Mavericks at 7:30 p.m. ET before Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers take on Klay Thompson and the Warriors at 10:00 p.m. ET in a bid for their three-game loss end. Our DraftKings lineup has a good mix of veterans and sleepers with multiple values under $6,000, which are the kind 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 competitions: Three-point shot made (+0.5 points), recoil (+1.25 points), supports (+1.5 points), steals and blocks (+2 points), double-double (+1.5 points – maximum one per player) and triple-double (+3 points – maximum one player).
Thursday Night’s NBA DraftKings Picks: NBA DFS lineup for GPP tournaments
Thursday night main edition, $50,000 budget
PG Russell Westbrook, Clippers @ Warriors ($7,000). Westbrook has been a pleasant surprise since joining the Clippers on Feb. 24, at least for DFS players. The 34-year-old has found new life as a starting point guard in 30.9 minutes per game (three games), averaging 16 points, 9.3 assists and 5.7 rebounds. He also shoots an efficient 52.9 percent from the field and produces 41.3 DraftKings points per outing. In the Clippers’ last game against the Timberwolves earlier this week, Westbrook had 14 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds (40.3 DK points). He’ll look to put in another solid performance against the Warriors, who award the sixth-highest DK points per game to PGs this season (51.29).
SG Bradley Beal, Wizards vs. Raptors ($8,000). Beal put on a stellar performance against the Hawks Tuesday night when he recorded 37 points, seven assists and three rebounds for 52.8 DraftKings points. He has scored 30 or more points in four of his last seven games, averaging 43.4 DraftKings points per game over that span. The 29-year-old might not have 50 DraftKings points tonight, but he should have at least 35 points against the Raptors, who award the 10th-highest DK points per game to SGs (43.81) this season.
SF Paul George, Clippers @ Warriors ($8,500). George’s teammate Kawhi Leonard will be a popular play on the small and power forward spot tonight. However, we remain with George who lost another 40 DK points against the Timberwolves on Tuesday night. George has played well since returning from the All-Star hiatus, averaging 46.5 DraftKings points per game. The last time George played the Warriors, he had 20 points, eight assists and two rebounds (34 DK points). He didn’t shoot the ball well from three-point range (1-5) but went off the field 6-of-12. If George can knock down a couple of threes, he pays his high price.
PF Tobias Harris, Sixers @ Mavericks ($5,200). Harris struggled against the Heat (10.8 DK points) Monday but rebounded Wednesday night with 38 DraftKings points (18 points, six rebounds and five assists). The last time the veteran forward scored 30 or more DK points in a game was on February 23 against the Grizzlies (31.5). The DFS players will be hoping for another great performance from Harris, who has scored in double digits in five of his last six games. He’s got a great matchup tonight against a Mavericks roster that gives the 8th most DraftKings points per game to PFs (47.48).
C. Myles Turner, Pacers @ Spurs ($7,400). Turner should be one of the highest-scoring centers tonight as he faces the Spurs, who allow the second-highest DraftKings points per game for centers this season (58.35 and the 22). Turner has been making excellent baskets after the All-Star break, averaging 29.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. He also shoots an outstanding 72.3 percent from the field and 68.8 percent from three-point range. With not many star centers tonight, Turner needs to be in a lot of lineups as he’s averaged 48.3 DraftKings points per game in his last three games.
G Tyrese Maxey, Sixers @ Mavericks ($4,900). Maxey doesn’t have a great matchup against the Mavericks, who award the third lowest DK points per game to PGs (45.93) and SGs (40.19). However, the 22-year-old combo guard has played great in his last five games, hitting double digits four times and averaging 27.26 draft kings per game. The former first-round pick was back in the Sixers’ starting XI last night and played aggressively from the first pick. Maxey produced 27 points (10-17 FG, 4-7 3pt), seven assists and four rebounds for 46.5 DraftKings points. The young guard might not score more than 40 points tonight but if he stays aggressive the DFS players will improve their line-up.
F Jonathan Kuminga, Warriors vs. Clippers ($4,300). The sophomore forward will make his way into our lineup after 16 points and three rebounds in Tuesday’s win over Portland. Kuminga averaged 21.3 DraftKings points, breaking the 20-point threshold for the fourth time in the last five games. In the final game against the Clippers before the All-Star break, Kuminga lost 16 points (5-12 FG, 2-4 3pt), five rebounds and had 23.3 DraftKings points. He should expect another solid performance as the Clippers award the sixth-highest DK points per game to PFs (47.98) this season.
UTIL Devonte’ Graham, Spurs vs. Pacers ($4,400). Our last game for tonight’s main list will be Graham, who could see plenty of playing time as Malaki Braham (back) is deemed ‘questionable’ and Keldon Johnson (left foot) is ruled out. The veteran guard has played well since joining Spurs at the close of trade, scoring in double digits in six of his last seven games. The only time Graham didn’t have at least 10 points was on February 11 against the Hawks, where he had nine points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field and on 3-of-7 shooting from three. The vet has averaged 23.2 DraftKings points per game in his last five games, which is quite an achievement for a player of his salary.