Isaiah Thomas and Monday’s Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks at DraftKings

Daily fantasy basketball picks up with a friendly (and rather surprising) nine-game NBA slate.

This is cash game heaven for NBA DFS fans, but folks looking for big GPP wins may have to get creative if they want to ensure a huge win.

Taking down guaranteed prize pools in any DFS genre is a tall order, but if you can at least start off with the best NBA DFS picks, you improve your chances.

To help nudge you in the right direction, let’s take a look at our favorite studs and values at each position for Monday night at DraftKings:

Point Guard

• Top Pick: Isaiah Thomas – Celtics ($7.9k)
• Best Value: Goran Dragic – Heat ($6.6k)

IT2 has been a machine this year, churning out over 26 actual points per game, which has helped him drop over 41 fantasy points per contest on DK.

That compares favorably to more expensive point guards like Stephen Curry, John Wall and Chris Paul – yet Thomas is far cheaper than all of them.

Thomas is on the road tonight, but his splits don’t take a dip away from home and he’s facing a bad Timberwolves defense. He tends to get his regardless, so at this fine price, he’s our favorite point guard on this slate.

Thomas offers some value as our top point guard pick, but there is not a ton of value at point guard. You will want to search elsewhere, as Dragon is looking like the best value here, making point guard a position to pay up at.

That being said, Dragic still looks like a decent value, as he poured in 31 and 35 fantasy points in his first two games back from an ankle injury.

He’s been pretty strong as one of two key options for Miami all year, too, and tonight he’s got a plus matchup with a bad Sixers team. There is blowout risk, but Dragon should slay tonight and at this price he’s a mild bargain.

Shooting Guard

• Top Pick: James Harden – Rockets ($11.9k)
• Best Value: Jonathan Gibson – Mavericks ($3.7k)

DeMar DeRozan finally sacked out against the Kings in his last game, so he makes sense to bounce back as a strong play tonight. Even so, this is James Harden’s DFS world, and we’re just playing in it.

Harden does have a pace down game on the road against a solid Pistons defense, but he’s been virtually matchup proof all season. Averaging over 60 fantasy points per game, Harden is worth the price – especially tonight with shooting guard being so weak.

There is nothing but value to hunt for beyond Harden, though, which brings us to Gibson, who has wrecked off the Dallas bench lately. It’s tough to fully buy into him wrecking the Spurs, but Dallas should get blown out and he should play a ton regardless of what happens.

The guy has proven he can score the ball, and with Deron Williams, Dirk Nowitzki, J.J. Barea and now even Andrew Bogut out, the role looks pretty locked in. He’s just $3.7k, too, so you’re not demanding the world out of him. If he can hit on 20-25 fantasy points, he’s a win.

Small Forward

• Top Pick: Kevin Durant – Warriors ($9.7k)
• Best Value: Glenn Robinson III – Pacers ($3.7k)

I greatly fear a Warriors blowout win tonight, largely because the Pacers played a ton last night in a crazy OT win. Still, Golden State just allowed the freaking Milwaukee Bucks to score 121 points, so their awful defense is at risk of letting Indiana crush for the second night in a row.

Because of that, I’m not afraid of using KD, who is without a doubt the top small forward to target on this slate. Kawhi Leonard faces just as much blowout risk, while Paul George isn’t even playing tonight.

Durant can be a nightly terror, as evidenced by his 50.9 DK points per game. He’s also been consistently elite, as he’s poured in a ridiculous four straight 50+ fantasy point outings.

Whether or not you fire up KD, you need to take a good, hard look at the guy across from him tonight – Glenn Robinson III. Big Dawg Junior has been big when called upon in his young career and went nuts just last night (34 fantasy points).

In an up tempo showdown with the Dubs, GR3 seems like an easy play. His price does the talking for him, though, as SF drops sharply beyond Durant. You will need/want this value tonight and you probably won’t be disappointed.

Power Forward

• Top Pick: Blake Griffin – Clippers ($8.5k)
• Best Value: Draymond Green – Warriors ($7.7k)

Blake Griffin is the most expensive power forward tonight and for good reason, as he’s averaging over 43 fantasy points on the year. He’s also been insanely hot lately, chipping in 51+ fantasy points in two straight and topping 40+ in 8 of his last 10 games.

Griffin remains a great price and he’s at home tonight, where he tends to play some of his best basketball. A date with a good Toronto defense isn’t ideal, but his price is only going to climb from here. This might be one of the last spots to use him under $9k.

As tempting as it will be to use Blake, there is no denying that Dray is the superior value play tonight. Markieff Morris (revenge narrative) is also in play tonight, but Green is averaging just three fewer fantasy points than Griffin on the year, yet just take a look at the price gap.

Green is on the road, but he gets a tasty date with a bad Indiana defense. The blowout risk is very real, just like it is with all Dubs options tonight, but Dray offers too much value to bypass completely on DK.

Center

• Top Pick: Karl-Anthony Towns – Timberwolves ($8k)
• Best Value: Jonas Valaniunas – Raptors ($5.6k)

Center is pretty weak tonight, as Hassan Whiteside is a whopping $1.3k more than anyone else and there are a bunch of guys who have gotten off to shaky starts.

That being said, its pretty crazy that KAT is just $8k, considering this guy has been insanely consistent with 40 fantasy points per game on the year and 32+ in 9 of his last 10 games.

Tonight he’s got one of his best matchups in a while against Boston, and this feels like an amazing spot to deploy him.

There is other value even beyond KAT, as Andre Drummond is $200 cheaper and guys like Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol and others look very tempting.

However, few may offer as much value as Jonas V, who wrecked to the tune of 48.5 DK points in his last outing. Jonas hasn’t been that elite all year, but he has been ridiculously consistent. In his last 10 games, Valanciunas has posted at least 20 fantasy points each time out and 25+ 70% of the time.

Valanciunas is logging more minutes than he has in the past, making him a remarkable value at this price tag.

That does it for Monday’s daily fantasy basketball picks. Hopefully some of our studs or value calls work out for you and help you bring down a huge GPP. Regardless, good luck in your NBA DFS contests tonight!